Obama wants to crack down on military contractors

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By Ed Tibbetts | Thursday, October 04, 2007 |

IOWA CITY — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama proposed a crackdown on military contractors during an appearance here Wednesday, criticizing the Blackwater USA security firm that has been embroiled in controversy over its actions in Iraq.

U.S. Sen. Obama, of Illinois, called for greater oversight and a special FBI office to investigate contractor abuses as part of his remarks at the Iowa Memorial Union here. The campaign said more than 700 people attended.

“We cannot win the fight for hearts and minds when we outsource critical missions to unaccountable contractors,” he said.

Blackwater personnel were involved in a shooting last month during which several Iraqi civilians were killed. The Sept. 16 incident is under investigation.

The head of Blackwater, Erik Prince, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing Tuesday that his firm has acted appropriately during its Iraq operations.

But in his speech here, Obama said there were reports that Blackwater employees had acted “with reckless regard to Iraqi life.”

He cited an allegation that a Blackwater employee was intoxicated when he shot and killed a security guard for an Iraqi official last year and then was “whisked out of the country.”

“This is outrageous,” Obama said. He said the Bush administration’s oversight of the firm has constituted “inaction at best and collusion and cover-up at worst.”

Blackwater is a contractor for the State Department.

In his testimony Tuesday, Prince said the worker involved in the shooting last year was fired.

Also on Wednesday, Obama repeated his pledge to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, although he said the United States would not unilaterally disarm under his leadership.

In response to a questioner, Obama said the U.S. military still is geared toward the Cold War and not at more contemporary threats such as terrorism. He said this country’s large nuclear stockpile can be counterproductive, too.

“We still have such enormous nuclear stockpiles that really serve no use when it comes to dealing with terrorists and, if anything, weakens our ability to go to other countries and say, ‘We need to lock down your nuclear weapons,’ ” he said.

After his visit here, Obama was headed to another town hall meeting in Washington, Iowa.

He is spending several days in Iowa this week to highlight the fifth anniversary of a 2002 speech he gave opposing the Iraq War.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.