A Little Bit of Foreign Policy Dialogue...

In passively browsing the internet today, I came across a Youtube video posted by U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Sean McCormack. He introduced an innovative idea - allowing other Youtube users to ask him questions about foreign policy, and, in a half-hour recorded session a week later, he would respond with answers.

Great! Great idea. Open dialogue between a government official and citizens of the United States. Definitely something we need more of, wouldn't we all agree?

But let's think this through for a second.

Whereas any willing and wondering American should be inclined to find a phone number, pick up a telephone and have the capacity to get in touch with most government officials any day of the work week, our U.S. Department of State has gone from absolutely no dialogue between the government and the American people to instead, answering five utterly irrelevant questions from five yuppie college kids who, for some reason, can't come up with anything relevant or pertinant to ask about the immediate problems we face today overseas.

Here's a couple things I think need to be addressed, right off the bat, if we are to have a meaningful discussion about matters concerning our foreign policy. If we decline to even mention the following issues to our U.S. Department of State, we're wasting our time talking to people in government who don't wish to speak to the outright dilemmas we face as a country.

Not that we'd ever settle for that for almost a decade, right?

To begin, Iraq. Of course. Where else would one carry this discussion of foreign policy except to the central battleground of our "War on Terror".

Since the start of the war, we have heard much from the government, the media, our troops, and public opinion overall about trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
It is obvious that the U.S. Armed Forces, whether it be the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. - all of these divisions have a specific code of conduct that they are expected to honor while in duty, along with the laws imposed by the Iraqi Government. As is to be expected, our men and women in uniform do have rules to follow. Though I have nothing to base this on except the integrity I expect our American soldiers to perform with, I would be willing to say that nearly all of our Armed Forces operate along the guidelines set forth to them under our commanders, and in the best interest of establishing a safe and secure Iraq, for the people of Iraq.

Anyone who has heard of a Private Military/Security Contractor, however, knows that these folks can make such a task a hell of a lot harder to accomplish. Perhaps you've heard of Blackwater before.

Private Military/Security Contractors, as some of us may know, are private companies which operate on behalf of firms in Iraq to protect assets and supply personnel to achieve this end. This is to say, more or less, that there are private militias operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not under the scrutiny of Army watchdogs, and they are not requried to abide by Iraqi law. They can be hired by different branches of the military to carry out jobs which they, themselves, would normally not be allowed to; thus, PMC's become the "right-hand men" in accomplishing tasks that the normal military cannot.

The following information was taken from the COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ORDER NUMBER 17, signed into action by Paul Bremer III the day he left office:

Section 1
Iraqi Legal Process

10) “Iraqi legal process” means any arrest, detention or legal proceedings in Iraqi courts or other Iraqi bodies, whether criminal, civil, or administrative.

11) “Contractors” means non-Iraqi legal entities or individuals not normally resident in Iraq, including their non-Iraqi employees and Subcontractors not normally resident in Iraq, supplying goods or services in Iraq under a Contract.

Section 2
Iraqi Legal Process

1) Unless provided otherwise herein, the MNF, the CPA, Foreign Liaison Missions, their Personnel, property, funds and assets, and all International Consultants shall be immune from Iraqi legal process.

Section 4
Contractors

2) Contractors shall not be subject to Iraqi laws or regulations in matters relating to the terms and conditions of their Contracts, including licensing and registering employees, businesses and corporations; provided, however, that Contractors shall comply with such applicable licensing and registration laws and regulations if engaging in business or transactions in Iraq other than Contracts. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Order, Private Security Companies and their employees operating in Iraq must comply with all CPA Orders, Regulations, Memoranda, and any implementing instructions or regulations governing the existence and activities of Private Security Companies in Iraq, including registration and licensing of weapons and firearms.

3) Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract thereto. (http://www.trade.gov/static/iraq_memo17.pdf)

Therefore, I pose this question:
How do you win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and create any sort of sustained stability, when much of the Iraqi population has seen or heard of friends and family being killed by PMC's or PSC's who are not required to operate in Iraq according to any nationally accepted standards of operation? Who cannot be held accountable under a military court? Who have nobody to hold them accountable except for the people who pay them?

And, much more importantly,

Is it constitutional or lawful for agencies such as the Department of Defense, FBI, and CIA to outsource military weapons and personnel to private firms and security companies, an industry which generates roughly 110 billion dollars a year?