US CONTRACTORS

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6981680/

Security contractors largely unregulated

Pentagon monitors conduct but doesn’t assist with hiring

By Lisa Myers & the NBC investigative unit

Updated: 7:46 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2005They are the Army you rarely see: Thousands of heavily armed security contractors protecting top officials and escorting convoys — most paid by U.S. taxpayers.

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But unlike American soldiers, critics say these men sometimes operate under vague rules with little accountability.

"It's like the wild, wild West," says Jim Errante, a former contractor in Iraq.

One former manager in Iraq tells NBC News he caught inexperienced, frightened security teams literally shooting civilian cars off the road to clear the way for a convoy.

Though contractors can use lethal force, the U.S. government does not vet who is hired. The Pentagon says it does watch how companies perform and investigates any alleged misconduct.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs — who monitored U.S. contractors in Bosnia — says it's up to companies themselves and to military commanders in Iraq to ensure rules are followed.

"It's difficult. And it takes a special effort by the military chain of command," says Meigs, who also serves as an NBC military analyst. "If they're overburdened fighting a war, it's even more difficult."

Contractors who commit crimes can be prosecuted under U.S. law.

How disciplined are these men?     

"[it varies] greatly from highly professional contractors to flat-out dangerous guys," says Col. Thomas Hammes, a Marine instructor at the National Defense University in Washington.

Hammes spent two months working alongside Iraqis. He says some contractors showed outright contempt for civilians. And even good contractors sometimes used tactics that turned Iraqis against the United States.

  An exclusive NBC News investigation

Four former contractors say they witnessed crimes

"If the government is hiring people that are running them off the road and intimidating them, that really undercuts your message," says Hammes. 

But contractors say they perform a vital role, with discipline.

"We aren't cowboys," says Chris Taylor, who is a security contractor for a firm named Blackwater. "Nobody's running around with bandanas and knives in our teeth."

Given the dangers in Iraq — where 70 security operators have been killed — they argue that extreme tactics sometimes are necessary.

"When you have people that are ready to kill you if they get the opportunity, it means getting caught in a traffic jam can be a lethal experience," says Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association.

Private contractors say they're essential to the war effort, but critics say they sometimes undermine the battle for Iraqi hearts and minds.

Those dang contractors. They ain't nothing but raging rebels

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6988854/

happened during water survival training at boot camp. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

Nightly News

Marines probe boot camp drowning

Drill instructor caught on tape striking 19-year-old

By Jim Miklaszewski

Correspondent

NBC News

Updated: 7:39 p.m. ET Feb. 17, 2005An autopsy revealed 19-year-old Jason Tharp drowned last week during water survival training at the Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C.

Video shot on Feb. 7, the day before Tharp's death, by NBC affiliate WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C., shows Tharp, visibly shaken and almost terrified, taking a forearm shot from a Marine drill instructor.

In the Marines only five weeks, Tharp had written seven letters home telling his family he wanted out. His father, John Tharp, claims Jason had been singled out by drill instructors because he couldn't keep up with the rigorous basic training.

"I don’t know how they could treat my son the way we saw on that video," says Tharp. "He never hurt nobody. He'd do anything anybody asked him."

During last week's training, Tharp, seen on the WIS-TV video, at first refused to get into the water.

"He's just afraid because he is not able to do the swim correctly right now, and he just wants to leave and go home," said Staff Sgt. Anthony Davis on the Feb. 7 videotape.

After 20 minutes of trying to coax Tharp into the pool, the drill instructor turned physical in apparent violation of Marine Corps regulations — striking Tharp across the chest.

"That right there, where this Marine grabs the recruit, this is not how you treat recruits," said Eugene Fidell, the president of the National Institute of Military Justice, when NBC News showed him the video. "I mean, this is a wrongful touching. Basically, it's an assault."

Marine Corps officials say Tharp voluntarily entered the pool the next day, where he drowned during a 25-meter swim. Officials also say there's no early evidence of any misconduct by Marine instructors at the time Jason drowned, but the conduct caught on camera the day before raises questions about exactly what happened in that pool.

Jason's father is considering a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Marines.

"We just want justice for Jason," says Tharp. "To get some kind of bill passed to where this won't happen to another family."

The Navy and Marines are investigating Jason's death and the conduct of the drill instructors who were supposed to protect him.

They should really drill this guy for doing this