Obama: Private security raises risk for troops in Iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: October 6, 2007
Obama: Private security raises risk for troops in Iraq

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — White House hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday said private security contractors in Iraq are raising the risk for U.S. troops because Iraqis don't distinguish between the forces. He also criticized the pay disparity between soldiers and private contractors.

"You've got young men and women signing up to serve, willing to spill blood for America. How could they be treated less well than private contractors?" Obama told a crowd of more than 1,400 at a high school gymnasium in this early voting state.

"And these private contractors, they go out and they're spraying bullets and hitting civilians and that makes it more dangerous for our troops," Obama said.

Blackwater USA, the private contractor that provides heavily armed security for U.S. diplomats serving in Baghdad, has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. Security forces employed by the company are accused of killing 13 Iraqi civilians in a violent incident in central Baghdad last month. North Carolina-based Blackwater — which Obama did not mention by name — contends its employees came under fire first, but the Iraqi government and witnesses have disputed that, saying the guards opened fire without provocation....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/06/obama-private-security-raises-risk-for-troops-in-iraq/#more-2390