This is my first DailyKos posting and I’m really pleased to be joining this vibrant on-line community. I wanted to share with you some of the work that I'm doing in Congress on the important issue of military contractors.
One of the more disturbing developments nurtured by the Bush Administration has been the outsourcing of the “business” of war. The truly big winners of the “War on Terror” and the U.S. occupation of Iraq are military contractors like Halliburton. Cheney’s former company is raking in billions of dollars for various service contracts in Iraq, including food that was never served, water that was contaminated, tents that made soldiers sick.
Of even greater concern to me has been the role of private military contractors and Blackwater Worldwide in particular. Blackwater is a privately held company whose heavily armed employees are serving as security mainly for the State Department and whose employees have been involved in some of the deadliest blunders in Iraq. Though the Iraqis want Blackwater out, their billion dollar plus contract has been renewed for another year.
I have introduced comprehensive legislation called the Stop Outsourcing Security, or SOS, Act, HR4102 which would remove private security contractors from Iraq within six months and phase out all private contractors engaged in mission critical activities in combat zones. That legislation has not moved from committee, but I and some of my colleagues passed amendments to the Defense Authorization Act in the House to ban the use of private contractors in interrogations and to limit the use of these mercenaries in combat zones. The Senate is now considering these amendments but the Bush Administration has promised to veto any bill that has these provisions – yet another reason that we must elect Barack Obama in November and work to elect progressives at every level.
I was recently interviewed by Truthout on this subject. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.
-Jan