U.S. to Use Private Security Contractors in Iraq

(AFP) - As the U.S. withdraws its forces from Iraq, it will be pouring private security contractors into the country to take up some of their tasks, State Department officials said Thursday.

Under President Barack Obama's plan to end U.S. combat operations this month and withdraw most military forces from Iraq by October 2011, the State Department will double the number of contractors it employs there to about 7,000, the officials said.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, confirming a report that appeared in The New York Times, said the larger force of contractors would carry out a variety of tasks.

"We will still have our own security needs to make sure our diplomats and development experts are well protected," Crowley said.

"We have contractors who are guarding our embassy, and we'll have contractors who are, as they are today, helping with our mobility and helping with personal security as our diplomats move around the country."

Crowley said the extra security would be needed as long as Iraq remains a dangerous place, but he said he expected the number to decrease as security improves over time.

The Times said the contractors would be deployed to defend five fortified compounds that will be left behind as combat forces exit Iraq and the mission switches from a military-led to a civilian-headed operation.

Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said private security contractors would also operate radar to warn of enemy fire, search for roadside bombs and fly surveillance drones.

They could also staff "quick reaction forces" dispatched to rescue civilians in trouble.

The massive increase in security contractors is an indication of the unusually large role that will be assumed by diplomatic staff after combat troops leave Iraq.

The last combat brigade left Iraq at dawn on Thursday, leaving behind some 56,000 soldiers who will gradually draw down over the coming year.

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