U.S. security contractors in Iraq are outside law

"[P]rivate security contractors, the hired guns who fight a parallel and largely hidden war in Iraq. The contractors face the same dangers as the military, but many come to the war for big money, and they operate outside most of the laws that govern American forces.
. . . The Pentagon estimates that at least 20,000 security contractors work in Iraq.
. . . Private contractors were granted immunity from the Iraqi legal process in 2004 by L. Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. occupation government. More recently, the military and Congress have moved to establish guidelines for prosecuting contractors under U.S. law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but so far the issue remains unresolved.
. . . Triple Canopy, a 3 1/2 -year-old company founded by retired Special Forces officers and based in Herndon.
. . . Triple Canopy's 'Milwaukee' project, a contract to protect executives of KBR Inc., a Halliburton subsidiary, on Iraq's dangerous roads. He earned $600 a day commanding a small unit of guards armed with M-4 rifles and 9mm pistols, the same caliber weapons used by U.S. troops." [1]

With these private contractors operating outside the law and at least some of them having Special Forces connections, could some be involved in any conspiracy-type activities?

source
Fainaru, Steve. (The Washington Post). Four Hired Guns in an Armored Truck, Bullets Flying, and a Pickup and a Taxi Brought to a Halt. Who Did the Shooting and Why? April 15, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 4:27 AM ET
update: monday, april 23, 2007, 10:34 AM ET

tags: iraq halliburton triple canopy