[R-G] Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq

[Anthony Fenton]

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq
New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration has relied on  
corporations to carry out the occupation of the war-torn nation.
By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer
July 4, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na- 
private4jul04,0,5419234,full.story?coll=la-home-center

The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that  
of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh  
questions about the privatization of the war effort and the  
government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns.

More than 180,000 civilians — including Americans, foreigners and  
Iraqis — are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State  
and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers and a few  
thousand civilian government employees are stationed in Iraq.

The total number of private contractors, far higher than previously  
reported, shows how heavily the Bush administration has relied on  
corporations to carry out the occupation of Iraq — a mission  
criticized as being undermanned.

"These numbers are big," said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution  
scholar who has written on military contracting. "They illustrate  
better than anything that we went in without enough troops. This is  
not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing."

The numbers include at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign  
contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis — all employed in Iraq by U.S.  
tax dollars, according to the most recent government data.

The array of private workers promises to be a factor in debates on a  
range of policy issues, including the privatization of military jobs  
and the number of Iraqi refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S.

But there are also signs that even those mounting numbers may not  
capture the full picture. Private security contractors, who are hired  
to protect government officials and buildings, were not fully counted  
in the survey, according to industry and government officials.

Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed contractors drew  
special criticism from military experts.

"We don't have control of all the coalition guns in Iraq. That's  
dangerous for our country," said William Nash, a retired Army general  
and reconstruction expert. The Pentagon "is hiring guns. You can  
rationalize it all you want, but that's obscene."

Although private companies have played a role in conflicts since the  
American Revolution, the U.S. has relied more on contractors in Iraq  
than in any other war, according to military experts.

Contractors perform functions including construction, security and  
weapons system maintenance.

Military officials say contractors cut costs while allowing troops to  
focus on fighting rather than on other tasks.

"The only reason we have contractors is to support the war fighter,"  
said Gary Motsek, the assistant deputy undersecretary of Defense who  
oversees contractors. "Fundamentally, they're supporting the mission  
as required."

But critics worry that troops and their missions could be jeopardized  
if contractors, functioning outside the military's command and  
control, refuse to make deliveries of vital supplies under fire.

At one point in 2004, for example, U.S. forces were put on food  
rations when drivers balked at taking supplies into a combat zone.

Adding an element of potential confusion, no single agency keeps  
track of the number or location of contractors.

In response to demands from Congress, the U.S. Central Command began  
a census last year of the number of contractors working on U.S. and  
Iraqi bases to determine how much food, water and shelter was needed.

That census, provided to The Times under the Freedom of Information  
Act, shows about 130,000 contractors and subcontractors of different  
nationalities working at U.S. and Iraqi military bases.

However, U.S. military officials acknowledged that the census did not  
include other government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for  
International Development and the State Department.

Last month, USAID reported about 53,000 Iraqis employed under U.S.  
reconstruction contracts, doing jobs such as garbage pickup and  
helping to teach democracy. In interviews, agency officials said an  
additional 300 Americans and foreigners worked as contractors for the  
agency.

State Department officials said they could not provide the  
department's number of contractors. Of about 5,000 people affiliated  
with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, about 300 are State Department  
employees. The rest are a mix of other government agency workers and  
contractors, many of whom are building the new embassy.

"There are very few of us, and we're way undermanned," said one State  
Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We have  
significant shortages of people. It's been that way since before [the  
war], and it's still that way."

The companies with the largest number of employees are foreign firms  
in the Middle East that subcontract to KBR, the Houston-based oil  
services company, according to the Central Command database. KBR,  
once a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., provides logistics support to  
troops, the single largest contract in Iraq.

Middle Eastern companies, including Kulak Construction Co. of Turkey  
and Projects International of Dubai, supply labor from Third World  
countries to KBR and other U.S. companies for menial work on U.S.  
bases and rebuilding projects. Foreigners are used instead of Iraqis  
because of fears that insurgents could infiltrate projects.

KBR is by far the largest employer of Americans, with nearly 14,000  
U.S. workers. Other large employers of Americans in Iraq include New  
York-based L-3 Communications, which holds a contract to provide  
translators to troops, and ITT Corp., a New York engineering and  
technology firm.

The most controversial contractors are those working for private  
security companies, including Blackwater, Triple Canopy and Erinys.  
They guard sensitive sites and provide protection to U.S. and Iraqi  
government officials and businessmen.

Security contractors draw some of the sharpest criticism, much of it  
from military policy experts who say their jobs should be done by the  
military. On several occasions, heavily armed private contractors  
have engaged in firefights when attacked by Iraqi insurgents.

Others worry that the private security contractors lack  
accountability. Although scores of troops have been prosecuted for  
serious crimes, only a handful of private security contractors have  
faced legal charges.

The number of private security contractors in Iraq remains unclear,  
despite Central Command's latest census. The Times identified 21  
security companies in the Central Command database, deploying 10,800  
men.

However, the Defense Department's Motsek, who monitors contractors,  
said the Pentagon estimated the total was 6,000.

Both figures are far below the private security industry's own  
estimate of about 30,000 private security contractors working for  
government agencies, nonprofit organizations, media outlets and  
businesses.

Industry officials said that private security companies helped reduce  
the number of troops needed in Iraq and provided jobs to Iraqis — a  
benefit in a country with high unemployment.

"A guy who is working for a [private security company] is not out on  
the street doing something inimical to our interests," said Lawrence  
Peter, director of the Private Security Company Assn. of Iraq.

Not surprisingly, Iraqis make up the largest number of civilian  
employees under U.S. contracts. Typically, the government contracts  
with an American firm, which then subcontracts with an Iraqi firm to  
do the job.

Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, a  
contractors' trade group, said the number of Iraqis reflected the  
importance of the reconstruction and economic development efforts to  
the overall U.S. mission in Iraq.

"That's not work that the government does or has ever done…. That's  
work that is going to be done by companies and to some extent by"  
nongovernmental organizations, Soloway said. "People tend to think  
that these are contractors on the battlefield, and they're not."

The Iraqis have been the most difficult to track. As recently as May,  
the Pentagon told Congress that 22,000 Iraqis were employed by its  
contractors. But the Pentagon number recently jumped to 65,000 — a  
result of closer inspection of contracts, an official said.

The total number of Iraqis employed under U.S. contracts is  
important, in part because it may influence debate in Congress  
regarding how many Iraqis will be allowed to come to the U.S. to  
escape violence in their homeland.

This year, the U.S. planned to cap that number at 7,000 a year. To  
date, however, only a few dozen Iraqis have been admitted, according  
to State Department figures.

Kirk Johnson, head of the List Project, which seeks to increase the  
admission of Iraqis, said that the U.S. needed to provide a haven to  
those who worked most closely with American officials.

"We all say we are grateful to these Iraqis," Johnson said. "How can  
we be the only superpower in the world that can't implement what we  
recognize as a moral imperative?"

t.christian.miller at latimes.com

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(INFOBOX BELOW)

The back story

Information in this article is based in part on a database of  
contractors in Iraq obtained by The Times under the Freedom of  
Information Act, which allows the public access to government records.

The database is the result of a census conducted earlier this year by  
the U.S. Central Command.

The census found about 130,000 contractors working for 632 companies  
holding contracts in Iraq with the Defense Department and a handful  
of other federal agencies.

The Times received the database last month, four months after first  
requesting it. Because the Freedom of Information Act law requires an  
agency to provide only information as of the date of the request, the  
census is based on figures as of February. During interviews,  
Pentagon officials said the census had since been updated, and they  
provided additional figures based on the update.

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Los Angeles Times

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Contractors in Iraq

There are more U.S.-paid private contractors than there are American  
combat troops in Iraq.

Contractors: 180,000

U.S. troops: 160,000

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Nationality of contractors*

118,000 Iraqis

43,000 non-U.S. foreigners

21,000 Americans

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Top contractors

Company: Kulak Construction Co.

Description: Based in Turkey, supplies construction workers to U.S.  
bases

Total employees: 30,301

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Company: KBR

Description: Based in Houston, supplies logistics support to U.S. troops

Total employees: 15,336

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Company: Prime Projects International

Description: Based in Dubai, supplies labor for logistics support

Total employees: 10,560

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Company: L-3 Communications

Description: Based in New York, provides translators and other services

Total employees: 5,886

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Company: Gulf Catering Co.

Description: Based in Saudi Arabia, provides kitchen services to U.S.  
troops

Total employees: 4,002

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Company: 77 Construction

Description: Based in Irbil, Iraq, provides logistics support to troops

Total employees: 3,219

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Company: ECC

Description: Based in Burlingame, Calif, works on reconstruction  
projects

Total employees: 2,390

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Company: Serka Group

Description: Based in Turkey, supplies logistics support to U.S. bases

Total employees: 2,250

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Company: IPBD Ltd.

Description: Based in England, supplies labor, laundry services and  
other support

Total employees: 2,164

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Company: Daoud & Partners Co.

Description: Based in Amman, Jordan, supplies labor for logistics  
support

Total employees: 2,092

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Company: EOD Technology Inc

Description: Based in Lenoir City, Tenn., supplies security,  
explosives demolition and other services

Total employees: 1,913

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Note: Data are as of February, which is most current available.

*Approximate - numbers rounded

Sources: U.S. Central Command, Times reporting

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Paul Duginski Los Angeles Times