FRONTLINE
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/- This Week: "Private Warriors" (60min.),
Tuesday, Jun. 21 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings)
- Inside FRONTLINE: A first encounter with the private side of the
Iraq war
- Live Discussion: Chat with producer/correspondent Martin Smith this
Wed. at 11 am ET
-------------------------------
+ This week
There is a story in Iraq that I'd call 'the elephant in the room' - the
huge role of private contractors in the war effort. There are as many as
100,000 civilian contractors and approximately 20,000 private security
forces in the country. In "Private Warriors," our report this Tuesday,
you will get an eye-opening look behind the scenes at the Halliburton
subsidiary, KBR, the largest company running U.S. military supply lines
and operating U.S. military bases. You'll also enter the world of the
private security firms that are performing many military functions. The
tension between these security teams and the military is just one
simmering and largely unreported problem in the private side of this
war. The problem is reflected in an incident that didn't make it into
the film, but which producer/correspondent Martin Smith shared with me:
"It didn't take long for our story to slap us in the face. We had just
arrived in Kuwait and were driving to Camp Arijan, southwest of Kuwait
City. It's a major staging area for the Iraq war. Captain David Tippett
would be greeting us somewhere outside the first checkpoint to clear us
in. Tippett's a guy a lot of journalists know well as he has helped
hundreds move through Kuwait and over the border into Iraq ever since
the early days of the war. He's a savvy public affairs officer, and I
knew we were in good hands.
But, just outside the main base gates we hit a long line of trucks.
Tippett is on the phone telling us to skip the line and meet him at the
gate. We pull out of the line-up and move down the left lane. But, out
of nowhere, two black Suburbans with tinted windows bear down on us
forcing us onto the left shoulder. Armed guards jump out.
The guards work for a Fort Worth, Texas private security company CSA
(Combat Support Associates), which, I learn, has the contract to protect
the base. We get Tippett on the phone to get these guys off our backs.
But the fun and games were just beginning. By the time we get to the
gate and shake hands with the captain, we're already late and our first
appointment on the base is threatening to cancel. We get out of our car
and march over deep gravel up to a small trailer park of offices to get
our ID's.
Next, I hear Tippett begin to raise his voice at one of the CSA guards,
"They are my guests, they are approved." Our names are not on the list
of visitors. Tippett wants the guard to call an army officer on base but
the guard refuses. It's an army base; Tippett is a captain.
By now, Tippett is yelling, "This is an army base! These are my guests!
Call the base commander!"
"We don't do that," says the CSA guard.
"Well, goddamn it, what if a bomb went off out here? You wouldn't call
the base commander?" asks Tippett.
"We don't talk with the army. We call our office," replies the guard.
There's always a silver lining. Because I'm thinking it could be part
of our story. We can't even get onto an army base with an army escort.
Then, in the middle of Tippett's argument, sirens go off. We're told,
"You gotta go, the dog sat down." We're herded, along with hundreds of
imported laborers also waiting to get onto the base, out into the desert
.. a few hundred yards away from the gate. We stand for an hour or two
under a rising desert sun. One of the K-9's sniffed explosives and, as
trained, sat down. We never did get on the base that day."
-----
We hope you'll join us Tuesday night for "Private Warriors" and after,
explore our web site for more on the consequences of outsourcing the
war, a closer look at the contractors who've been hired, and "Baghdad
>From A Bullet Proof Window" -- a vivid report from producers Martin
Smith and Marcela Gaviria describing the dramatic changes they saw on
this most recent reporting trip to Iraq. Plus, watch their report again
online and, take the opportunity to express your opinion about it at
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/shows/warriors/Finally, a note: "Private Warriors" concludes FRONTLINE's 23rd
broadcast season. We'll be back in September with a new line-up of
reports. Meanwhile, check your local tv listings over the summer for
rebroadcasts and go to our Web site where 50 video streamed programs
can be viewed online.
Louis Wiley Jr.
Executive Editor
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