The trigger happy ex-navy seals of Blackwater have created a major ruckus and a strain in US-Iraqi relations. Maliki has not thrown out Blackwater out of Iraq only because this would compromise the security of Ryan Crocker and other US diplomats in the country. But he will have to gain some sort of a hold over these security companies or he will lose whatever respect he has of the people.
It has brought the dislike of the US military to such security contractors to the fore. Blackwater-like security men have to answer no one except those who hire them. They are least concerned about Iraqi lives or the consequences. Their only aim is their job. In Iraq after Blackwater men killed many Iraqi civilians, it is the US soldiers who are having to face the hostility of the people. After such acts Iraqis tend to paint all US fighters in the country with the same brush. It has been a public relations disaster for the US army.
The Iraqi people are angry and resent the presence of Blackwater ‘cowboys’ in their country. More so because these men are there to protect US diplomats and buildings, not to protect the Iraqis. It has stoked the hatred for US in the country and enabled elements like Moqtada al-Sadr and even al-Qaeda to score brownie points.
Moreover these contractors are not subject to any Iraqi governmental control, yet they freely operate in the country. This would be unacceptable to any self-respecting nation and Iraqis are no exception.
Blackwater has affected US position in Iraq earlier too. In 2004, after its security men were killed in Falluja, US army had launched major offensives to secure the city.
The issue has started a mini bureaucratic inter-departmental wrangle in the US government. In Iraq Blackwater was employed by the State Department, hence responsible only to it and not to the Department of Defense. DOD has a better record of keeping security contractors on a leash, hence there are suggestions that it’ll vet all the forces employed by the US government. But the State Department resents DOD intruding into its turf.
Not that the DOD has any enthusiasm for taking responsibility for the irresponsible acts of trigger happy securitymen. It wants that the code of conduct that guides an US soldier be enforced on them too.
