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Date Posted: 23:16:32 02/13/09 Fri
Author: Bobby N. Harmon
Subject:

VULTURES IN BLACKWATER!

CV05-00030 - David C. Farmer vs Harmon - Exhibit: "Dubin Asks Defense Subcommittee to Investigate Private Contractors in Iraq" & Witnesses: Eric Holder, Dan Inouye, Erik Prince...

Saturday, February 14, 2009 2:01 AM

From: Bobby N. Harmon

To: "Barack H. Obama" , "Eric Holder" , "David Farmer" , "Steven Guttman" , "Carol K. Muranaka" , "David A. Ezra" , "Judith Neustadter" , "Kevin S.C. Chang" , "Barry M. Kurren" , "Securities & Exchange Commission Enforcement Division" , "U.S. Treasury Dept. Office of Inspector General" , "Office of Inspector General US Dept of Justice" , "Executive Office for U.S. Trustees" , "Bunny Greenhouse" , "Robert Faris"

Cc: "ACLU Hawaii" , "All Representatives" , "All Senators" , "Andrew Walden" , "Aon Insurance Managers" , "Arthur Rath" , "Benjamin Kudo" , "Bradley Tamm" , "Carl Morton" , "Charles Goodwin" , "Charles Hurd" , "Dave Shapiro" , "Dee Jay Mailer" , "Dorothy Sellers" , "Executive Office for U.S. Trustees" , "Hugh Jones" , "Insurance Division Fraud Branch" , "J C Shannon" , "James B Nicholson" , "James B. Farris" , "James Cribley" , "James Paul" , "James Wriston" , "Jeffrey Watanabe" , "Jim Dooley" , "Jo Ann Uchida" , "Joe Moore" , "John D. Finnegan" , "John Goemans" , "Judge Lloyd King" , "Judith Neustadter" , "Judson Witham" , "Ken Conklin" , "Kenneth Hipp" , "Lawrence Reifurth" , "Linda Lingle" , "Lyn Flanigan Anzai" , "Margery Bronster" , "Marsh Affinity Group" , "Michael N. Tanoue" , "Michelle Tucker" , "Nathan Aipa" , "Office of Inspector General Civil Rights Complaints" , "Office of the U.S. Trustee District of Hawaii" , "Paul Alston" , "Randall Roth" , "Rick Daysog" , "Robert Bruce Graham" , "Robin Campaniano" , "Samuel P. King" , "Susan Tius" , "William K Slate" , "Jim Terrack" , "Don Michak" , "Rocco Sansone" , "Ted Pettit" , "Mark Burch" , "Laura Thielen" , "Vaughn & Lynda Robinson" , "Rebecca Christie" , "Catbird" , "Real News" , "James Duca" , "Ian Lind" , "Roy F. Hughes" , "Michelle Malkin" , "Malia Zimmerman" , "Elisa Yadao" , "Ray Fuqua" , "Jack Cashill"

Related information:
http://www.kycbs.net/Blackwater.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Holder-Eric.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Inouye-Dan.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Prince-Erik.htm

Durbin Asks Defense Subcommittee to Investigate Private Contractors in Iraq

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] � U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense asking for a hearing on private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, specifically Blackwater Security.

In today�s letter, Durbin noted: �Companies such as Blackwater have enjoyed enormous government contracts. Their ties to the Administration have allowed them to grow significantly and reap large wartime profits. Yet their accountability has been limited.�

Text of the letter appears below:

September 19, 2007

Dear Senator Inouye:

The recent incident in Iraq involving Blackwater Security and the Iraqi government�s decision to ban the company from operating in that country shines a light on yet another critical issue in Iraq: the use of private security forces. There are approximately 20,000-30,000 private security contractors in Iraq; the exact number is unknown. I have serious concerns about the inadequate regulation and oversight of these companies.

Companies such as Blackwater have enjoyed enormous government contracts. Their ties to the Administration have allowed them to grow significantly and reap large wartime profits. Yet their accountability has been limited.

Stories abound of contract employees placed in war zones without the proper personal protection or equipment and of units being undermanned. If these companies are unnecessarily risking American lives while their profits increase, they should be held accountable just as a military commander would be held accountable under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice for a failure to protect the troops. The connections Blackwater has established with the Administration and that fact that its work is done in Iraq should not prevent it from being held legally accountable for its actions.

Many of the men and women working for Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan are honorable, professional and patriotic. But any organization with as wide a footprint as Blackwater is likely to have some exceptions in its midst. While in theory security contractors are bound by the same Rules of Engagement as our soldiers are, the limited oversight of their work by the Administration has made it exceedingly difficult to hold them accountable for their actions. In practice there has been little or no accountability exercised.

Finally, the Administration�s haphazard planning for this war has fostered an over-reliance on private security forces to fill gaps that should have been anticipated. When the Administration has needed more security than our over-stretched armed forces can provide, it has turned to private security contractors paid by American tax dollars. Those contractors are seen abroad as representing the United States, even though U.S. oversight has been limited.

These issues need greater attention. Accordingly, I request that the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee conduct a hearing to investigate, among other things, the following issues:

How many private security contractors currently work in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Under what rules do they operate? What are their specific rules of engagement?

Under what legal authority are they held accountable?

How many lethal and non-lethal incidents have they been involved in since the beginning of the war?

Who investigates these incidents and ensures that they are held accountable for any lapses or illegal acts?

What no-bid contracts has Blackwater received from the Administration?

Are there ties between Blackwater and the Administration that raise concerns about any of these no-bid contracts?

What are Blackwater and other companies doing to ensure the maximum protection of their employees on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Who, if anyone, monitors whether the companies are placing profit ahead of the protection of their employees?

What U.S. laws, if any, are groups like Blackwater
required to obey in their operations abroad?

What Iraqi or Afghan laws are they subject to when they work in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Are there any restrictions that prevent such groups from being hired by foreign governments or entities as private mercenaries?

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=283757

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