October 23, 2007

Reports: State Dept. Lax In Monitoring Security Contractors

The increased scrutiny on security contractors in Iraq in the wake of last month's shooting involving Blackwater USA is shifting focus to the State Department, with two new reports offering fresh criticism of the agency's oversight of the private firms that help protect its personnel in war zones.

The New York Times reports this morning that an internal State Department evaluation "assails the department for poor coordination, communication, oversight and accountability involving armed security companies like Blackwater USA." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered the internal review of security practices following the Blackwater shooting, but the probe did not deal directly with that incident.

Rice was briefed on the four-member panel's findings yesterday, which included recommendations for tighter monitoring of armed convoys through a "central command center," closer cooperation with the Pentagon and better communication between U.S. firms and foreign security guards. In a press briefing, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice would be looking at the recommendations closely and discussing them with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Ambassador Ryan Crocker to determine the best way forward. Last week, Gates expressed concern that private security firms were hindering U.S. efforts to bring stability to Iraq.

Meanwhile, a government audit slated for release today is expected to show that "records documenting the work of DynCorp, the State Department's largest contractor, are in such disarray that the department cannot say 'specifically what it received' for most of the $1.2 billion it has paid the company since 2004 to train the police officers in Iraq," the Times reports.

AP has more on the DynCorp audit and the recommendations of the State Department panel.

Posted at 9:00 AM
Posted to: Condoleezza Rice, Iraq, Robert Gates
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