Gates orders investigation of Pentagon security contractors in Iraq; 'My concern is whether there has been sufficient accountability and oversight'

Above: Two Iraqis inspect their vehicle following the September 16th shooting incident involving Blackwater 'security contractors'.

Gates Orders Team To Oversee Contractors In Iraq

Unhappy with the Pentagon's oversight of its private contractors in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has dispatched a fact-finding team to probe further into the problem.

Gates' press secretary, Geoff Morrell, said Wednesday that the Pentagon chief began asking questions about the military's relationship with these contractors after 11 Iraqis were killed Sept. 16 in a shooting involving Blackwater contractors protecting a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad.

The Blackwater employees in that case were working for the State Department.

"He's asked some early questions, he's received some early answers," Morrell said. "Those answers, at least when it comes to the oversight component, have not been satisfactory."

Read the rest at CBS 11

Gates Orders Team to Probe Oversight of Iraq Contractors

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress on Wednesday he is unhappy with the Pentagon's oversight of its private contractors in Iraq, saying he's dispatched a fact-finding team to investigate problems there.

My concern is whether there has been sufficient accountability and oversight," he told the Senate Appropriations Committee at a hearing called to discuss the administration's request for additional war funding...

The Pentagon also disclosed that for several months it has been developing additional guidance for American commanders and other senior defense officials on how the Uniform Code of Military Justice can be used to discipline contractors. Prior to October 2006 the code did not apply to contractors.

There are about 7,300 private security contractors working for the Pentagon in Iraq, of which about 5,000 are guarding fixed sites of importance to the U.S. military or the Iraqi government, according to Pentagon figures. The contractors are immune from Iraqi law, and none has been prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

Read the rest at ABC 6

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