[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1745
IMPROPER OVERSIGHT OF BLACKWATER AND THE PASSAGE OF H.R. 3087 IS A STEP 
  IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO RESPONSIBLY REDEPLOY OUR TROOPS FROM IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, today in the House Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee, my colleagues and I questioned the CEO of 
Blackwater and lead figures in the Department of State regarding 
private security contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  During the course of this hearing, I was absolutely alarmed and 
shocked by the stark reality that private contractors such as 
Blackwater have possibly created a shadow military of mercenary troops 
that are not accountable to the United States Government or to anyone 
else.
  With 180,000 Americans, Iraqis and nationals from other countries who 
operate under an array of Federal contracts provide everything from 
security and intelligence gathering to infrastructure building and 
transporting supplies to a country nearly the size of California.
  Even more alarming is the fact that Blackwater and similar private 
contractors make up the largest security force in Iraq. There are 
currently over 20,000 more contractors than the total U.S. military 
forces.
  With these numbers, one may suspect the contractors are being 
utilized, in part, to mask the true extent of our involvement in Iraq. 
I am also concerned with the fact that many contractors such as those 
working for Blackwater are simply held to a different standard, where 
circumventing criminal law, rules of engagement and even the Geneva 
Conventions have become far too commonplace.
  There have been 195 escalation of force incidents from Blackwater 
alone since 2005, including several previously unreported killings of 
Iraqi civilians. In 80 percent of these instances, Blackwater fired 
first. This ``shoot now and ask questions later'' attitude has resulted 
in further distrust amongst Iraqis for American military forces and the 
Iraqi Interior Ministry demanding that Blackwater cease its operations 
in Iraq, all during a time when winning the cooperation of Iraqi 
civilians and government is critical for our success for our mission.
  Due to these and other incidents, Blackwater has undermined our 
strategic mission in Iraq and possibly stifled our already sensitive 
relationship with Iraq's neighboring states, those same countries where 
garnering multilateral and bilateral support is critical to solidifying 
political reconciliation in Iraq.
  The President has consistently stated that he wants to win the hearts 
and the minds of Iraqis. However, the ongoing use of Blackwater 
contractors that are consistently beyond legal reach is not the way to 
achieve that goal. Blackwater is clearly the realization of former 
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's vision of a ``hollow military,'' 
where everything that can be privatized and outsourced will be.
  Blackwater appears to be held above the law, as the State Department 
continues to make little effort to hold it accountable, while 
continuing to award contracts amounting to over $1 billion since 2000, 
$300 million of which were awarded as no-bid contracts. Clearly it is 
time for a new direction beyond the failed policy in Iraq, which has 
been further deteriorated by the administration's use of inept 
privatized security contractors.
  That new direction begins with outlining a clear statement on 
appropriate and detailed contingency plans for a reasonable 
redeployment of troops from Iraq, including consideration of force 
protection for military and civilian personnel and a need to continue 
to protect our vital national security interests as mandated in 
Representatives Abercrombie, Tanner and Turner's bill, H.R. 3087.
  As such, the passage of H.R. 3087 is a clear step in the right 
direction, that our men and women in uniform not sacrifice another 
3,800 lives without a clear strategy for redeploying our troops. We 
recognize that, since the planning of the redeployment of our troops 
from Iraq is a complex status, we must plan accordingly as to not 
repeat the mistakes made in the original planning for the Iraq invasion 
and post-war occupation.

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