US Security Firms Help Rebuild Iraq
Jim Kouri, CPP
August 02, 2005
Rebuilding Iraq is a US national security and foreign policy priority and constitutes the largest US assistance program since World War II. Billions of dollars in grants, loans, assets, and revenues from various sources have been made available or pledged to the reconstruction of Iraq.
The United States, along with its coalition partners and various international organizations and donors, has embarked on a significant effort to rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and decades of neglect by the former regime. The US effort to restore Iraq's basic infrastructure and essential services is important to attaining US military and political objectives in Iraq and helping Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. Just as important is the protection these Construction managers and workers receive from the security personnel assigned to their projects.
Although many of the protection forces operating in Iraq are from private security firms, little is mentioned in the mainstream news media about their tasks, their roles and their problems in providing protection for contractors who are building a new Iraqi infrastructure such as schools, power plants and other important facilities. The United States is spending billions of dollars to reconstruct Iraq while combating an insurgency that has targeted military and contractor personnel and the Iraqi people. This environment created a need for those rebuilding Iraq to obtain security services.
The civilian US government agencies and reconstruction contractors in Iraq that were evaluated have obtained security services, such as personal and convoy security, from private security providers because providing security to them is not the US military's stated mission. US military forces provide security for those Department of Defense civilians and contractors who directly support the combat mission. In Iraq, the Department of State and other federal agencies contract with several private security firms to protect their employees.
Under their contracts, contractors rebuilding Iraq are responsible for providing their own security and have done so by awarding subcontracts to private security companies. As of December 2004, the agencies and contractors reviewed by the US Government Accounting Office had paid more than $766 million for private security protection. The contractors' efforts to obtain suitable security providers met with mixed results, as they often found that their security provider could not meet their needs.
Overall, the GAO found that contractors replaced their initial security providers on more than half the 2003 contracts it reviewed. Contractor officials attributed this turnover to various factors, including the absence of useful agency guidance. While the US military and private security providers have developed a cooperative working relationship, actions are being taken to improve its effectiveness.
The relationship between the military and private security providers is one of coordination, not control. Prior to October 2004 coordination was informal, based on personal contacts, and was inconsistent. In October 2004 a Reconstruction Operations Center was opened to share intelligence and coordinate military-contractor interactions. While military and security directors agreed that coordination has improved, two problems remain. First, private security providers continue to report incidents between themselves and the military when approaching military convoys and checkpoints. Second, military units deploying to Iraq are not fully aware of the parties operating on the complex battle space in Iraq and what responsibility they have to those parties.
Despite the significant role played by private security firms in enabling reconstruction efforts, neither the Department of State, nor DOD nor the US Agency for International Development have complete data on the costs of using private security companies. Even at the contract level, the agencies generally had only limited information readily available, even though agency and contractor officials acknowledged that these costs had diverted a considerable amount of reconstruction resources and led to canceling or reducing the scope of some projects.
For example, in March 2005, two task orders for reconstruction worth nearly $15 million were canceled to help pay for security at a power plant. GAO found that the cost to obtain private security providers and security-related equipment accounted for more than 15 percent of contract costs on 8 of the 15 reconstruction contracts it reviewed.
Sources: US Department of Defense, US Department of State, Government Accounting Office, American Society for Industrial Security, National Association of Chiefs of Police Private Security Committee, National Security Institute
The United States, along with its coalition partners and various international organizations and donors, has embarked on a significant effort to rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and decades of neglect by the former regime. The US effort to restore Iraq's basic infrastructure and essential services is important to attaining US military and political objectives in Iraq and helping Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. Just as important is the protection these Construction managers and workers receive from the security personnel assigned to their projects.
Although many of the protection forces operating in Iraq are from private security firms, little is mentioned in the mainstream news media about their tasks, their roles and their problems in providing protection for contractors who are building a new Iraqi infrastructure such as schools, power plants and other important facilities. The United States is spending billions of dollars to reconstruct Iraq while combating an insurgency that has targeted military and contractor personnel and the Iraqi people. This environment created a need for those rebuilding Iraq to obtain security services.
The civilian US government agencies and reconstruction contractors in Iraq that were evaluated have obtained security services, such as personal and convoy security, from private security providers because providing security to them is not the US military's stated mission. US military forces provide security for those Department of Defense civilians and contractors who directly support the combat mission. In Iraq, the Department of State and other federal agencies contract with several private security firms to protect their employees.
Under their contracts, contractors rebuilding Iraq are responsible for providing their own security and have done so by awarding subcontracts to private security companies. As of December 2004, the agencies and contractors reviewed by the US Government Accounting Office had paid more than $766 million for private security protection. The contractors' efforts to obtain suitable security providers met with mixed results, as they often found that their security provider could not meet their needs.
Overall, the GAO found that contractors replaced their initial security providers on more than half the 2003 contracts it reviewed. Contractor officials attributed this turnover to various factors, including the absence of useful agency guidance. While the US military and private security providers have developed a cooperative working relationship, actions are being taken to improve its effectiveness.
The relationship between the military and private security providers is one of coordination, not control. Prior to October 2004 coordination was informal, based on personal contacts, and was inconsistent. In October 2004 a Reconstruction Operations Center was opened to share intelligence and coordinate military-contractor interactions. While military and security directors agreed that coordination has improved, two problems remain. First, private security providers continue to report incidents between themselves and the military when approaching military convoys and checkpoints. Second, military units deploying to Iraq are not fully aware of the parties operating on the complex battle space in Iraq and what responsibility they have to those parties.
Despite the significant role played by private security firms in enabling reconstruction efforts, neither the Department of State, nor DOD nor the US Agency for International Development have complete data on the costs of using private security companies. Even at the contract level, the agencies generally had only limited information readily available, even though agency and contractor officials acknowledged that these costs had diverted a considerable amount of reconstruction resources and led to canceling or reducing the scope of some projects.
For example, in March 2005, two task orders for reconstruction worth nearly $15 million were canceled to help pay for security at a power plant. GAO found that the cost to obtain private security providers and security-related equipment accounted for more than 15 percent of contract costs on 8 of the 15 reconstruction contracts it reviewed.
Sources: US Department of Defense, US Department of State, Government Accounting Office, American Society for Industrial Security, National Association of Chiefs of Police Private Security Committee, National Security Institute
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