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<DIV style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-private4jul04,0,1855560.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml">http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-private4jul04,0,1855560.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml</A><BR>
<DIV class=body><I>From the Los Angeles Times</I></DIV>
<H1>Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq</H1>
<DIV class=storysubhead>New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration
has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of the war-torn
nation.</DIV>By T. Christian Miller<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>July 4,
2007<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers and
a few thousand civilian government employees are stationed in Iraq.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed
contractors drew special criticism from military experts.<BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>Contractors
perform functions including construction, security and weapons system
maintenance.<BR><BR>Military officials say contractors cut costs while allowing
troops to focus on fighting rather than on other tasks.<BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>Adding an element of potential confusion, no
single agency keeps track of the number or location of contractors.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR>However, the Defense Department's
Motsek, who monitors contractors, said the Pentagon estimated the total was
6,000.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>"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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>"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."<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>"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?"<BR><BR>
<HR width="20%">
<I>t.christian.miller@latimes.com<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>(INFOBOX BELOW)<BR><BR>The
back story<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>The database is the
result of a census conducted earlier this year by the U.S. Central Command.
<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Los Angeles
Times<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Contractors in Iraq<BR><BR>There are more
U.S.-paid private contractors than there are American combat troops in
Iraq.<BR><BR>Contractors: 180,000<BR><BR>U.S. troops:
160,000<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Nationality of contractors*<BR><BR>118,000 Iraqis
<BR><BR>43,000 non-U.S. foreigners<BR><BR>21,000 Americans <BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Top
contractors<BR><BR>Company: Kulak Construction Co.<BR><BR>Description: Based in
Turkey, supplies construction workers to U.S. bases<BR><BR>Total employees:
30,301<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: KBR<BR><BR>Description: Based in Houston,
supplies logistics support to U.S. troops<BR><BR>Total employees:
15,336<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: Prime Projects
International<BR><BR>Description: Based in Dubai, supplies labor for logistics
support<BR><BR>Total employees: 10,560<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: L-3
Communications<BR><BR>Description: Based in New York, provides translators and
other services<BR><BR>Total employees: 5,886<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: Gulf
Catering Co.<BR><BR>Description: Based in Saudi Arabia, provides kitchen
services to U.S. troops<BR><BR>Total employees: 4,002<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company:
77 Construction<BR><BR>Description: Based in Irbil, Iraq, provides logistics
support to troops<BR><BR>Total employees: 3,219<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company:
ECC<BR><BR>Description: Based in Burlingame, Calif, works on reconstruction
projects<BR><BR>Total employees: 2,390<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: Serka
Group<BR><BR>Description: Based in Turkey, supplies logistics support to U.S.
bases<BR><BR>Total employees: 2,250<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: IPBD
Ltd.<BR><BR>Description: Based in England, supplies labor, laundry services and
other support<BR><BR>Total employees: 2,164<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company: Daoud
& Partners Co.<BR><BR>Description: Based in Amman, Jordan, supplies labor
for logistics support<BR><BR>Total employees: 2,092<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Company:
EOD Technology Inc<BR><BR>Description: Based in Lenoir City, Tenn., supplies
security, explosives demolition and other services<BR><BR>Total employees:
1,913<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Note: Data are as of February, which is most current
available.<BR><BR>*Approximate - numbers rounded<BR><BR>Sources: U.S. Central
Command, Times reporting<BR><BR>--<BR><BR>Paul Duginski Los Angeles
Times<BR><BR></I></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>