New rules for private guards
Published 9:53 pm Wednesday, January 30, 2008
WASHINGTON — Bush administration officials outlined stricter rules for private armed guards in Iraq during a three-hour meeting Wednesday at the Pentagon with top executives from the largest security firms working in Iraq.
The session comes nearly four months after a shooting incident involving Blackwater Worldwide that left 17 Iraqi citizens dead. The incident led to a December agreement between the Defense and State Departments that gave U.S. military commanders a stronger hand in managing security workers.
The military does not want to assume responsibility for guarding large numbers of U.S. officials, and the State Department’s own security force is already stretched too thin.
Other topics in the meeting hosted by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Deputy Secretary State John Negroponte included changes in security contract management ordered by Congress and “contractor accountability and expectations.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a progress report by Feb. 28.
