Rep. Rob Andrews Vows to Investigate Corruption in Iraq

Recently it has become clear that there has been an extreme amount of corruption involved in various defense and building contracts in the midst of the War on Terror. To be exact, $6 billion worth of contracts to accommodate troops in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan with supplies are under criminal review. Pentagon officials had not appropriately trained contracting officers, and had not established any way to track those who committed offenses.

Additionally, the private security contractor “Blackwater” has been under investigation for their alleged illegal violent practices in Iraq. “Blackwater employees killed at least two civilian bystanders while on patrol in Baghdad, left behind a burning vehicle containing civilians after a traffic accident, and covered up one Blackwater employee's Christmas Eve murder of a security guard working for Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi”, a recent report alleged.

I, along with my colleagues in Congress, vow to fight this corruption, to insist that investigations be conducted into this activity. My colleagues in the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform have already begun this battle by insisting on explanations and investigations. We cannot be responsible for implementing corrupt systems into the new Iraqi government, and we must put forth a precedent of respecting human rights under the new regime.

 Below is a recent article regarding the investigation into these practices:

Gloucester County Times

Andrews seeks investigation of Blackwater 

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
 By BILL CAHIR Bill.Cahir@Newhouse.com

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews on Tuesday called for the investigative arm of Congress to probe whether private security contractors had allowed their employees to abuse alcohol while serving in Iraq, creating an environment in which private-sector triggermen could commit improper shootings due to substance abuse problems.
Andrews claimed a probe by the General Accountability Office was needed to assess whether drunk, trigger-happy contractors had killed innocent Iraqis and thereby committed atrocities that would fuel the anti-American insurgency in Iraq.

"This rogue behavior is increasing that hatred and making it more dangerous for the uniformed personnel of the United States," asserted Andrews, D-1st Dist.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday held a hearing about the conduct of Blackwater USA, which has received more than $1 billion in federal contracts to work for the U.S. State Department in Iraq. The panel published a report on Monday raising questions about the propriety of several contractor shootings, including one apparent homicide.

Blackwater employees killed at least two civilian bystanders while on patrol in Baghdad, left behind a burning vehicle containing civilians after a traffic accident, and covered up one Blackwater employee's Christmas Eve murder of a security guard working for Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi, the report alleged.

The firm paid $15,000 to compensate the family for the Iraqi guard's death, and fired the Blackwater employee involved in the shooting. However, the Blackwater employee was not arrested or charged under U.S. law, according to the investigation by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. The report alleged that the contractor was drunk at the time of the shooting.

"We fired him," Erik Prince, founder and chairman of Blackwater USA, told House officials. "We fined him. But we, as a private organization, can't do any more. We can't flog him. We can't incarcerate him. That's up to the Justice Department. We are not empowered to enforce U.S. law."

The March 31, 2004, killing and mutilation of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, led to major combat operations in that city in the following weeks. U.S. Marines were ordered to take the city; to halt their offensive; and then to take the city again a second time in November 2004.

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