Contractor Deaths in Iraq
Posted by Michael Cohen
Some pretty extraordinary numbers out today on deaths of civilian contractors in Iraq.
According to the Department of Labor, 1,123 military/security contractors have been killed in Iraq, compared to 3,954 U.S soldiers. That means civilian contractors represent 22% of all personnel, civilian and military, killed in Iraq.
In fact, 2007 was the worst year for contractor deaths - civilian contractor deaths rose 17 percent in 2007: a higher rate that than of the military. And here's the even more disturbing part, the actual number could be much higher. These figures are compiled by the Labor Department (why it's not done by the Pentagon is inexplicable) and they only reflect insurance or worker compensation claims filed with the department. If the family of a contractor doesn't seek compensation they don't get counted.
Yet, even at these levels, these are huge numbers and they are unprecedented. When one considers that contractors are not engaged in combat with the enemy and generally perform support functions, like serving meals, washing clothes etc, these numbers are even more sobering. It's just a startling example of exactly how reliant the US has become on private contractors to fight wars.
It also demonstrates how using contractors can allow elected leaders to shield from the American people the true costs of war. In previous conflicts many of the contractors killed would be military personnel so in a sense by only focusing on uniformed casualties the American people are not getting a clear sense of exactly how many individuals have died, and are dying, on behalf of the Iraq mission.
This is not to say that using contractors in national security operations is a bad thing - it's not. These individuals can, and often do, play a critically important role. But our elected leaders need to be upfront about their use and contractors shouldn't be a tool for political obfuscation. Unfortunately, that seems to be what's happening in Iraq.
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