Xe, the controversial private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, is no longer providing security services in Iraq, since their contract with the State Department expired last Thursday. Triple Canopy, a company based in Herndon, Virginia, took its place as the State Department's primary security contractor in a deal worth $977 million. Despite this change in personnel, the widespread use of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan is set to remain a contentious issue, as holding security contractors accountable for abuse of power remains elusive. 

The State Department was unable to extend Xe's contract after an incident in September 2007, when Blackwater security guards opened fire on civilians in Baghdad, killing 17 of them. The Iraqi government revoked Blackwater's operating license after the occurrence, effectively expelling them from the country. The five guards are currently facing charges of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and weapons violations. A sixth has already pled guilty to manslaughter.

Trying to wash its hands of its bad reputation, Blackwater later changed its name to Xe, though the superficial change had no effect on the company's banishment from Iraq.  A rose by any other name, eh? 

Though Iraqis may feel that justice has been done by Blackwater's expulsion, they have every right to have reservations about the status of private military contractors in their country, especially since former Blackwater employees may be hired by Triple Canopy. Secondly, and more importantly, Triple Canopy, like all private military contractors, is no stranger to controversy.

In July 2006, a Triple Canopy security team leader decided to celebrate his last day in Iraq by declaring his desire to “kill somebody today." He fired randomly at civilian vehicles, possibly killing one, en route to picking up an employee of KBR at the Baghdad airport. When his two subordinates on the team, Shane Schmidt and Chuck Shepard, reported him two days later, they were fired for their troubles and put on a private military contractors' blacklist - a far cry from the few and the proud.   

Although Triple Canopy claimed that the two were fired for not reporting the transgressions immediately, Schmidt and Shepard believe they were fired for whistleblowing. They did not want to notify the company immediately because they were fearful of their disturbed shift leader, who had not yet left the country nor apparently refilled his medications.

Schmidt and Shepherd later sued Triple Canopy, claiming they were dismissed unlawfully, but a court backed Triple Canopy's claim that Schmidt and Shepard had not followed company procedure. And yet the contractor never even properly investigated the incident. Executives were sided with the disturbed team leader, who claimed that the other two made up the story. But how can Triple Canopy doubt Schmidt and Shepard's story and simultaneously fire them for not reporting it on time? Furthermore, what possible incentive could the two have had in reporting misbehavior by a superior who had already left the conflict? 

This denial of responsibility does not come as much of a surprise; many abuses by private security contractors go unnoticed. And although the Uniform Code of Military Justice has applied to contractors in Iraq since 2007, it is doubtful that this change in the law will suffice in holding contractors responsible for their actions.

One problem with the entire system of oversight lay in the fact that contractors only report weapons discharges on a voluntary basis. Many simply leave the scene without need for a report after an area is “secured," even if there was no real threat in the first place. So it is hardly  shocking that Schmidt and Shepard were fired after bringing such a damaging revelation to the company's attention. Whatever they may have observed next could've been terrible for business. 

Thus, the continued widespread use of contractors will remain controversial until greater restrictions, oversight, and transparency of actions are established. Proof comes just this month, when four Xe contractors found themselves in trouble after killing an Afghan shopkeeper (at least it didn't go unnoticed or unpunished). Yet despite the trouble with private military contractors, their extensive use is in high demand. Given the current strain on the U.S. military, its likely business as usual will continue until at least one war ends.

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