Today’s Must Read

It took a catastrophe that some say may ultimately prove “worse than Abu Ghraib,” but finally the administration is thinking long and hard about oversight of security contractors in war zones. Bob Gates has a simple plan: put them under Defense Department control.

The New York Times reports this morning that the defense secretary, who shortly after the Nisour Square shootings pronounced himself dissatisfied with the apparent impunity exercised by private-security firms, wants a single, unified authority overseeing all security companies in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s not clear if the military would exercise command authority over security contractors — something some ex-contractors support — under Gates’ nascent plan. But the State Department isn’t so hot on relinquishing control over the contractors, like Blackwater, that guard its diplomats:

That idea is facing resistance from the State Department, which relies heavily for protection in Iraq on some 2,500 private guards, including more than 800 Blackwater contractors, to provide security for American diplomats in Baghdad. The State Department has said it should retain control over those guards, despite Blackwater’s role in a September shooting in Baghdad that exposed problems in the current oversight arrangements.

In practical terms, placing the private security guards who now work for the military, the State Department and other government agencies under a single authority would mean that those armed civilians would no longer have different bosses and different rules. Pentagon advisers say it would also allow better coordination between the security contractors and American military commanders, who have long complained that the contractors often operate independently.

Gates is still making up his mind over how changes in contractor oversight should work. One as-yet-unresolved issue is whether additional legal clarification is needed to ensure that contractors don’t operate in legal black holes:

Some military commanders in Iraq favor using the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a system they know well and trust. Other Defense Department officials support the model being considered by Congress, which would make clear that the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act would extend federal law to civilians supporting military operations.

The Times reports that Gates and Rice haven’t spoken about the issue yet, as Rice is traveling in the Middle East. But apparently Gates is prepared to make a strong push for total DOD control over contractors: the paper says he’s willing to go to President Bush directly for a decision.