President of the International Peace Operations Association
President of the International Peace Operations Association, a nonprofit group that represents several major private-security firms
PROFILE
Doug Brooks
Guest
FROM Doug Brooks
To the Point
Iraq Wants Blackwater Security Guards Out All US diplomats are banned from leaving the Green Zone by land as Iraq's Prime Nouri al-Maliki Minister tells the State Department to fire Blackwater USA security guards. Iraq says ten civilians were killed on Sunday when Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately into a crowd. Blackwater says they shot at "armed enemies." It's the latest in a long series of incidents that have infuriated Iraqis from the streets to the corridors of power. Why is the State Department so dependent on private guards? Has it failed to exercise appropriate oversight?
To the Point
Pentagon Increasingly Outsources War Effort The Army that cleaned latrines and did kitchen patrol is a thing of the past, with that kind of grunt work now performed by private contractors. But those aren't the only kind of tasks that have been outsourced by the Pentagon. The second largest force in Iraq is 100,000 private contractors, many performing jobs that soldiers used to do including that of providing security for construction projects, diplomats and visiting dignitaries. One of the largest is Blackwater USA , which has been called, "the world's most powerful mercenary army." Supporters of privatization say it will be critical to the US military for a long time to come. Critics call it "outsourcing war" behind the backs of the American people. Is it a good deal for taxpayers? Does it help soldiers do their real jobs? Is it a formula for conducting war without accountability?
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