Blackwater Warnings Ignored
The Defense Department has paid $2.7 billion for private security in Iraq since 2003, according to a watchdog group. Rules and regulations for contractors have often come from the Private Security Company Association of Iraq, a trade group funded by the security companies.
The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. They reflected growing concern about the lack of control over the tens of thousands of private guards in Iraq, the largest private security force ever employed by the United States in wartime.
Tags: blackwater
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