Contractors part of Iraqi climate

Published: Aug. 11, 2009 at 4:14 PM

BAGHDAD, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Private security contractors in Iraq may be a necessary inconvenience as the country struggles to court foreign investors for reconstruction, official say.

Private security companies in Iraq now number more than 50 as Iraq tries to recover from decades of under-investment and years of conflict following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Foreign investment in the burgeoning Iraqi infrastructure is considered vital to reconstruction efforts, though several companies in a June auction for oil contracts cited insecurity as a reason to stay away.

Abdul Kareem Kaleph, a spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry, told London's Guardian newspaper that despite the tarnished image of the private security industry, Iraqi law is drafted to permit their presence.

"There are now 54 private companies operating in Iraq, providing escort services, on-site services and private close personal protection for businessmen," he said. "They are subject to laws and conditions of the Iraqi government and have been since 1 January. We cannot prevent them from working here to support private businessmen."

His statements follow accusations that Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater Worldwide, rebranded as Xe Services LLC, "viewed himself as a Christian Crusader who wants to eliminate Muslims everywhere."

Guards working for Blackwater in 2005 provoked the ire of the Iraqi population when they opened fire on an intersection in Baghdad.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints


Additional News Stories
Flyers fire Coach John Stevens (11 min)
Boston developer reaching for the sun
Notre Dame pulls out of bowl picture
Oldest python in captivity dead at 43
Mother gives birth aboard airplane
Dallas man ordered to lose fake grass
CDC: H1N1 Guillain-Barre syndrome remote
fark
Five children go 11 days without food while mother makes no effort to look for job: "We were supposed...
Comcast may kill NBC, but cable will never kill Tom Brokaw
Be vewy quiet, we're hunting mugshots
College student achieves dream of sitting around and eating pizza for the rest of her life
Listen my children and you shall hear: the midnight ride of the mystery meth tweeker of good cheer...
TSA head believes screeners should be allowed to unionize, because hey, it's not like they can get...