THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Shadow Men

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, May 6-12-2007

President Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki cast similar shadows. Both men, while official heads of state, find themselves presiding over ever-decreasing spheres of influence. Public support for Bush continues to erode. No one pretends that Maliki has widespread Iraqi support. He does not even command much of the “green zone” in Baghdad. Neither has improved the safety or well-being of the people they purportedly serve.

Both men share the peculiar blindness of power that fosters the exercise of petty authority. The Bush administration has a long history of placing ideology above competence in its appointments. The current scandal over the firing of U.S. attorneys is part of an unmistakable pattern in the Bush administration to use political power to distort the ordinary and essential functions of good government. Early this week Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy summed up the sorry episode, saying, “The mass firing of U.S. attorneys appeared to be a part of a systematic scheme to inject political influence into the hiring and firing decisions of key Justice employees.”

Such politically-motivated firings seem to have found their way to Baghdad. Since early March Prime Minister Maliki has been purging the military. He has ordered the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers who seem to be doing their job. At least 16 army and national police commanders have been fired, detained or pressured to resign. While some may have been fired for legitimate reasons, there is widespread evidence that the real problem was their success against the Mahdi Army, the most powerful of the Shiite militia. “Their only crimes or offenses were that they were successful,” said Brig. Gen Dana J. H. Pittard, commanding general of the Iraq Assistance Group. He concluded, “I’m tired of seeing good Iraqi officers having to look over their shoulders when they’re trying to do the right thing.”

Maliki depends on the Shiite militia for what little power he has. These forces, more than the official army, are the primary source of his power. The militias are not only a source of violence but often the sole source of security on the streets.

Much less reported is the dependence by the Bush administration on a similar shadow army. Called private military contractors, rather than militia, these forces now constitute the second largest force in Iraq.. While many are providing logistical support activities such as laundry, food, fuel and mail, many are also directly engaged in military and combat activities.

These activities go on outside of any oversight or control. Their incentive is to keep the war going, not to stop it. It is estimated that $4 billion has been spent so far on armed security companies like Blackwater and that tens of billions has been spent on logistical support, going to companies like KRB and Fluor. Representative Jan Schakowsky of the House Intelligence committee believes that up to 40 cents of every dollar spent on this war has gone to war contractors.

This shadow army has provided the cover to keep the real costs of this war from the public. It has nearly doubled the size of the U.S. occupation, sustained at least 770 deaths and nearly 8,000 injuries. None of this is reported in official accounts of the costs of the war.

Equally important, these forces operate without any accountability to anyone.

Both Bush and Maliki are depending on forces outside of official armies for their power. Our press tends to focus on the face of the Shiite militia, while allowing U.S. contractors to continue to make huge fortunes from death in the shadows.

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