180,000 U.S. Private Contractors Flood Iraq

The United States has assembled an imposing industrial army in Iraq larger than its uniformed fighting force. More than 180,000 Americans, Iraqis, and nationals from other countries work under a slew of federal contracts to provide security, gather intelligence, build roads, forge a financial system, and transport needed supplies in a country the size of California.

That figure contrasts with the 163,100 U.S. military personnel, according to U.S. Central Command.

As the military leans on the private sector, there’s a push to hold contract employees to the same legal standards as military personnel. That effort has generated renewed attention in the wake of a weekend shooting involving Blackwater guards that left 11 Iraqis dead.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama, D-Ill., is promoting legislation in the Senate that would require all government contractors to be covered by federal criminal codes, a shortcoming revealed by the conflict in Iraq.

In Iraq we’re doing something that’s never been done before — there’s three concurrent missions going on. Normally this would be a sequential process. You achieve a degree of security and then you start reconstruction and then you build the infrastructure. But it’s all being done at the same time.