Memo from U.S. Rep. David Price to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: Um, hello?
Gates’ ideas for reviewing private security contractors’ work in Iraq falls short and arrives late, Price said in a letter today to the Defense chief, reports Barb Barrett.
“This review is welcome, although it is long overdue,” wrote Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat.
Then he gave a few suggestions for issues Gates should look into: Under what constitutional authority could private security contractors suspected of crimes be prosecuted? Why have no contractors been held accountable for felony abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan so far? And just how does Gates’ inquiry apply to the latest Blackwater incident, which took place during the company’s work for the State Department?
“While I welcome the current attention you are placing to this essential accountability issue, I must say I am disappointed that it has taken years for your Department to get engaged in this area,” Price wrote.
Read the full letter after the jump.
–––––
September 27, 2007
The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Dear Secretary Gates:
I have read reports, with great interest, of your current plans to review the Pentagon’s management of private security contractors working in Iraq and of Deputy Secretary Gordon England’s memorandum clarifying the authority for application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) in cases of misconduct by Department of Defense (DoD) contractor personnel. This review is welcome, although it is long overdue.
As you may know, I have, on numerous occasions asked military leaders, including your predecessor, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to clarify DoD’s approach to contractor accountability. Unfortunately, answers to my inquiries were not forthcoming, and the DoD has failed to issue regulations for applying UCMJ to contractor personnel in the nearly one year since passage of legislation amending UCMJ to this end (Section 552 of P.L. 109-702). I am pleased that the recent incident, in which Blackwater USA contractors allegedly used excessive force against civilians in Baghdad, has prompted you to begin a review of this matter. However, I am concerned that Secretary England’s memorandum fails to address many critical questions about the law and its application.
Secretary England’s memorandum states, “Commanders have UCMJ authority to disarm, apprehend and detain DoD contractors suspected of having committed a felony …and to conduct the basic UCMJ pretrial process and trial procedures currently applicable to the courts-martial of military service members.” This guidance raises several critical questions regarding your intent, authority, and capability to hold contractors accountable, and I would appreciate your addressing them:
(1) Do you anticipate, as the memorandum suggestions, applying UCMJ authority to prosecute civilian contractors in military courts-martial settings, with military juries? I am not aware of any legal precedent for trying civilian personnel (other than military family members) in courts-martial. Do you anticipate any constitutional concerns or objections to this application?
(2) The memorandum notes that there is jurisdiction under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to investigate and prosecute possible felony offenses committed by contractors, yet it does not issue guidance about whether UCMJ or MEJA is the preferred framework for prosecution of such offenses. Which is the most appropriate framework for prosecuting serious felony offenses by civilian contractors?
(3) The memorandum acknowledges that MEJA is a viable option for prosecuting contractors, yet the Department of Justice has not prosecuted a single DoD contractor for abuse under MEJA. How many cases has DoD referred to the Justice Department for investigation and prosecution? Why, in your view, have no contractors been held accountable for any felony abuses during the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan thus far?
(4) Do you have adequate assets, including Military Police and officers in the Judge Advocate General corps, to implement the guidance expressed in the memorandum, that is, to disarm, apprehend, detain, investigate, and prosecute felony offenses committed by Defense Department contractors? Do you anticipate the need for additional resources to implement this guidance?
(5) What relevance does the memorandum have to a situation like the aforementioned Blackwater incident, where the contractors in question were not contracted through the Defense Department?
I would greatly appreciate a timely and in-depth response to these questions, which I believe are at the heart of the debate on whether our government has adequate tools and resources to hold contractors accountable for abuses. I have asked similar questions on several previous occasions. In a March 29, 2005 hearing of the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I asked U.S. Central Command Commander General John Abizaid several questions about accountability for private security contractors in Iraq. In a March 29, 2006 hearing of the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I posed several similar questions to Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker. General Schoomaker failed to provide responsive answers either in his testimony or in answers submitted for the record later that year. Subsequently, I wrote General Schoomaker and Secretary Rumsfeld and resubmitted my questions. My letter was sent on May 24, 2006, and I have yet to receive a response.
I have also introduced legislation, H.R. 369, urging you to issue guidance for implementing Section 552 of P.L. 109-702. And I worked with my colleagues to include provisions in the FY 2007 Defense Authorization bill directing you, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator of USAID to establish uniform standards for managing contractors under your authority, including procedures to report contractor misconduct and regulations to better coordinate security contractor operations with the military chain of command that controls the battle space. I urge you to work immediately with the heads of U.S. government agencies that employ contractors in Iraq to devise uniform standards for managing and overseeing contract personnel.
While I welcome the current attention you are placing to this essential accountability issue, I must say I am disappointed that it has taken years for your Department to get engaged in this area. I hope you will provide responses to my questions in a timely manner so that we can work together to enact any needed legislative remedy.
Sincerely,
DAVID PRICE
Member of Congress
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