My daily stroll down Diatribe lane...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902503.html

Much has been made of the apparent lack of oversight and accountability of private security contractors working in Iraq. The number of security contractors is estimated to be between 20,000 and 50,000. This educated guess further illustrates the fact that few know much about the security contractors in Iraq.

Blackwater is the crème de la crème of security contractors and treated as such by the US government. Blackwater works for the State Department and not Defense like most of the contractors. This makes perfect sense considering Blackwater is tasked with protecting State Department officials. The problem lies, however, in the fact that the security firms working for Defense – although immune from prosecution under Iraqi law – are subject to US military law and regulations. Blackwater, which works for State, is not.

The lack of soldiers in Iraq trained for specialized tasks such as dignitary protection combined with the overall privatization trend in government makes the existence of Blackwater types a sensible and unsurprising trend. However, like many trends associated with the Post-September 11th environment, Blackwater is asked to operate in an uncertain environment with uncertain rules. Like the military and CIA with enemy combatants and the NSA with monitoring domestic phone calls, Blackwater is asked to blaze new trails in the name of national security without clear restrictions.

September 11, 2001 changed everything: we know. But six years later we are still making the same mistakes and bumbling along no closer to resolution in Iraq or the struggle with Islamic fundamentalism. It doesn’t matter whether Blackwater is contracted by State or Defense; whether they are private contractors of US soldiers. The problem is a lack of leadership in the United States government: both the executive and legislative branches. We are asking our military, our intelligence officers and our private citizens to participate in an unprecedented struggle with an indefatigable foe, but we have not clearly defined the rules in which they must operate. The failure of US legislators and the President to bring our war on terrorism within the scope of US law has served to undermine our efforts to protect our nation from threats. It is no wonder that we have so far been unsuccessful.