Blackwater, etc. immune from Iraqi law, despite GAO window dressing

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week evaluating DoD’s and State’s oversight of private security contractors (or PSCs, for those who couldn’t go without another government acronym). Contractors take a variety of forms in Iraq, doing everything from manning the chow lines to performing intelligence analysis to training Iraqi government officials. 

But PSCs generally refer to the 11,000-strong force of armed goon squads that garnered headlines for some rather horrific behavior, including the infamous Blackwater incident late last year. Following that nightmare, there was significant angst on Capitol Hill to reign in the trigger-happy mentality that was spoiling positive work of other American entities.

The GAO report meanders through efforts of the relevant departments to enact various degrees of oversight, saying there has been “improvement” but that DoD still lacks a comprehensive strategy to sustain the increased levels of oversight.

Fair point, but here’s the rub. The “highlights” of the report (essentially the executive summary at the beginning) says:

The legal framework for holding PSCs accountable also includes Iraqi and international law and contract provisions.

This struck me as a significant oversight improvement. A central problem with the 2007 Blackwater incident was that contractors were not held to Iraq law. Now, it seemed, the situation had be addressed. But then I read page 33 of the report, which states:

PSCs … operate under the law of the government of Iraq, which includes orders issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that have not been rescinded. PSCs, however, currently enjoy legal protections by virtue of CPA Order 17, which was revised on June 27, 2004. CPA Order 17 provides that PSCs are not subject to Iraqi laws or regulations on matters relating to the terms and conditions of their contracts, as long as they comply with CPA Orders and instructions governing the activities of PSCs in Iraq… One such instruction, CPA Memorandum17, provides binding rules for the use of force and a code of conduct that must be followed by all PSCs. CPA Order 17 further recognizes that the United States shall have the right to exercise within Iraq any criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction conferred by U.S. law over persons subject to U.S. military law.

In laymen’s terms, nothing has changed - security contractors remain immune because the CPA order is considered Iraq law, and the CPA gave contractors a get-out-of-jail-free card in 2004. 

Almost more disturbing is that the GAO leaves the distinct impression in the “highlights” that the situation is vastly improved. Most Congressional staffs only have time to read the executive summaries, and may never dig down to find the devil in the details.