Bill aims to control security groups

Some observers say the
measure won’t change
operations in Iraq.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday to bring all private security contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan under a federal code of conduct, despite strong opposition from the White House and some Republican members of Congress.

The bill, by Rep. David Price, D-N.C., gained attention this week after a September shooting in Baghdad in which Blackwater USA guards killed at least 11 Iraqis.

Witnesses said the shootings were unprovoked, though Blackwater defended its actions. The State Department, which employs the Blackwater guards, is investigating with the help of the FBI.

The bill passed 389-30. Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat and presidential candidate, is expected to offer a companion bill in the Senate.

Price argued that his bill would bring needed accountability to contractors, who often work without strict legal rules of conduct, and he said individual employees might change their behavior as a result.

“It will make a huge difference,” Price said Thursday. “It would have made a huge difference in the situation two weeks ago. You couldn’t have a better example.”

What’s expected

Contractors and human rights organizations support the measure, but some observers predict that, in practice, little will change in the way that contractors operate in Iraq.

“Hopefully it won’t,” said Doug Brooks, the executive director of the International Peace Operators Association, the trade group for security contractors, which supports the legislation.

“All this does is clarify some of these things,” Brooks said.

The bill also would require the Bush administration to set up specialized FBI offices in Iraq and Afghanistan to investigate suspected misdeeds.

Amendments approved this week require the Justice Department to give Congress a report on all allegations of misdeeds reported to the agency and how it handled them.

The White House said Wednesday that it supports accountability but “strongly opposes” the bill, calling the jurisdiction vague and saying the FBI offices would stretch the agency too thin. It expressed concerns that the bill would hurt intelligence operations if contractors were exposed through investigations.

It also questioned whether Congress was infringing on the powers of the executive branch.