"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." — Japanese adage
Iraq For Sale contrasts the war in Iraq with previous conflicts, noting that there are over 100,000 private contractors employed in this effort. Jobs that were previously the domain of the US military are now outsourced to firms like Blackwater Security Counseling, CACI, Titan, and KBR (and its parent company, Halliburton). Private security contractors number approximately 20,000, more than any other contingent of the coalition forces, including the British army.
The film asserts that the use of private contractors escalated because Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was desperate to deal with the Sunni insurgency that continues largely unabated today. Given the current level of troops deployed in Iraq, that means that private contractors are the largest non-US military contingent of the multinational force.
Investigators always follow the money, and director Robert Greenwald reports that of all appropriations for the war, 40% of the funds go to private contractors for troop support and rebuilding Iraq. At issue are the 'no bid' contracts that exclude competition, and 'cost plus' provisions that provide a guaranteed percentage of profit based on expenditures. But the film also points out that profit often takes precedence over service to our troops, and companies have also cut corners that place their own employees in danger.
As the allegations of abuse, profiteering, and fraud surfaced there have been a number of amendments proposed by members of Congress to investigate and regulate contractors, but each has been defeated by the Republican majority.
The most persistent in this regard is Senator Dorgan of North Dakota, who has offered an amendment at least four times that would establish a special committee in the Senate to investigate the allegations. This committee would be bipartisan and follow the precedent established by the Truman Committee that was established in 1941. One of the special features on this DVD provides C-Span footage highlighting the arguments made both in favor and against these amendments as well as the roll call vote that followed.
"We used to call them mercenaries." — Former Marine general
As the documentary begins, Greenwald first points to private security firms and focuses on Blackwater SC and the contractors who were killed and whose charred bodies were hung from a bridge in Fallujah. The movie introduces us to the families of two of the men killed.
The idea is to make us familiar with these men as people, to develop an emotional appeal. This may resonate with some viewers, yet these men were veterans of US Special Forces. They knew the risks they faced and accepted the conditions of their employ. That they were sent on a mission without a map, and undermanned, doesn’t negate the fact that they made a choice and died as a result. What the film doesn’t tell us is that Blackwater operatives are paid as much as a $1000 a day to provide security services, though one mother does mention that the money was good. Very, very good if you compare that to what we pay our soldiers and reservists.
The reaction of Blackwater is more telling and supportive of the overall theme. By the next day they had hired a lobbying firm to make the right contacts and insure their viability as a contractor. Visits to Senators Warner and Santorum and Representative Hunter were apparently successful as Blackwater suffered no adverse consequences, and indeed managed to garner even more contracts, doubling their value in 2004 and raising it to $221 million in 2005.
"We gotta get outta this place." — The Animals
Moving on to the Abu Ghraib prison and the scandal that erupted in October 2003, Greenwald again finds private contractors doing the work that previously was reserved for the military and CIA. When photos surfaced showing abuse of the detainees, several soldiers were charged and court-martialed, the most famous being Lynndie England and Charles Graner of the 372nd Military Police company.
In the film, former Brigadier General Janis Karpinski claims surprise when viewing the photos and seeing civilians inside the cells, giving the impression that that was first indication she had that contractors employed by CACI were active within the prison. But it was no surprise to the enlisted men who were interviewed. One army interrogator even recounts a conversation with a CACI employee who told him that he made four to five times the money for doing the same job.
Another man filmed in silhouette explains that CACI contractors were given the rules of interrogation, but with a "wink and a nod" that provided the chain of command "plausible deniability" as to the actual methods used. To date none of these private contractors have been held accountable.
To facilitate interrogations of detainees, a company called Titan employed under contract as many as 4,000 linguists. One of the men hired claims his interview over the phone lasted only a minute, and that no further training was provided. He also claims that many of the translators were only partially fluent in English, and that they performed their work without supervision or follow up. Obviously under these circumstances the potential for misunderstanding exists and the consequences not only include bad intelligence, but for our military men and women in the field it could be catastrophic.
An amendment authored by Senator Dodd of Connecticut to limit or prohibit the use of private contractors for detention and interrogation of prisoners was defeated, like Senator Dorgan’s amendments, along party lines.
"Highway to hell" — AC/DC
Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR (aka Kellogg, Brown & Root) has long been a target for critics because of their acquisition of no bid contracts, and of course Vice President Cheney’s association with the firm. Iraq For Sale highlights the firm’s involvement in logistical transport, and services provided for our troops, such as water purification, meals, and laundry.
We hear the story of Americans who signed on as truck drivers and were ambushed by insurgents after being sent out without an escort into an area that was hostile. Again, we meet these men and their families, and hear their stories of the attack. What we learn from them is that under the corporate model they are expendable, and one describes the initials KBR as Kill, Bury, and Replace.
It’s understandable that they did not expect to be in the middle of a war. They went to Iraq to work on the reconstruction effort, and to make several times what they could make in the States, all tax free as well. Their naivete is engaging, yet the film also brings out the fact that American contractors can resign their positions at any time, unlike the Third Country Nationals who are obligated for two years.
This segment also brings to reality the cost plus provisions of these contracts, and how equipment is routinely destroyed rather than repaired because the more the company spends the more profit they make. In other words, because KBR and perhaps other contractors are paid a percentage based on expenditures, there is a concerted effort to run up the costs. One example involved the leasing of vehicles for $7,000 a month for 36 months resulting in a cost to the taxpayer of $252,000 for a truck that could be bought outright for approximately $45,000.
"Don’t drink the water." — Advice to the turistas
One of the more disturbing aspects of the film is presented by Ben Carter, a water purification expert who testified before Congress that of 67 plants operated by KBR, 63 delivered to our troops water that was not chlorinated and contained blood-borne pathogens like typhus, malaria, cryptosporidium, and others. While the primary use was for bathing and toilets, the possibility of infection and chronic illness exists.
KBR also operated laundries that reportedly charge as much as $99 for one bag of clothes, and chow halls where the lines were an hour long. Worse, meals were provided at designated times, allowing the insurgents to target the facilities when they were full of soldiers, rather than operating on a 24-hour schedule so the troops would not be present en masse.
"It's like déja vu, all over again." — Yogi Berra
Obviously a good portion of this documentary revisits the exposés already headlined in the news, and how much of this has changed is not known. But the overall presentation paints a picture that is antithetical to our values as Americans. Private contractors apparently answer to no one in the performance of their duties, and yet to the Iraqis they represent America. Combined with the failure of Congress provide oversight and exert fiscal and moral constraints, it’s safe to say that our interests are secondary to what Dwight Eisenhower termed the military industrial complex.
In part the lack of accountability stems from an unhealthy symbiosis between our government and the contractors it employs. Inside the Beltway those who achieve a prominent position in government can easily find employment with a firm that does business with the parent agency. In some cases, especially among political appointees, there’s a revolving door as they enter and reenter the public and private sectors.
None can call it bribery when a government official resigns to work for a company that he or she previously regulated. And as the officer corps migrates to defense contractors, and congressional staff members head for a K Street lobbying firm, and political appointees alternately sit on corporate boards, there will be the equivalent of insider trading in our capitol. But as Major General Smedley Butler, two-time winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, wrote in his treatise "War is a Racket", there’s no time for making money as when the bullets are flying.
There’s no doubt that Robert Greenwald is an accomplished director and a muckraker to boot. He takes on the task of sorting through the muck known as the Iraq War and points out the slimy details of outsourcing our military and making a profit while doing it. Of course, like most muckrakers, he has a political agenda as well. Make no mistake about the timing of this release, or the underlying message that we’d be better off with the Democrats running both houses of Congress. The filmmakers encourage sharing the DVD with friends and neighbors. In fact, the DVD offers a highlighted version specifically edited for organizing.
Iraq For Sale merits four out of five stars, and is worth the money. The idea is to share it with friends and neighbors, and whether they’re liberal or conservative, there’s food for thought for everyone who cares about America, its future, and our troops abroad.
