Administration Bridles at Bar on Contractors

[cal04]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/15/AR2009071503415.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The Obama administration has objected to a provision in the 2010 defense funding bill currently before the Senate that would bar the military's use of contractors to interrogate detainees.

The provision, strongly backed by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), describes interrogations as an "inherently governmental function" that "cannot be transferred to contractor personnel." It would give the Defense Department one year from the bill's enactment to ensure that the military had the resources to comply with it.

A White House policy statement yesterday signaled "many areas of agreement" with the bill that emerged from Levin's committee late last month but said the administration has "serious concerns" about some provisions. The statement repeated Obama's threat to veto the $680 billion bill unless $1.75 billion to fund an additional seven F-22 fighter aircraft is removed.

(snip)
The contractor interrogation issue is the latest challenge to the White House as it tries to fashion a policy on current and future detainees. It comes as the administration is struggling to address demands by human rights organizations, members of Congress and even some within its own ranks, to fully investigate and make public actions taken by the Bush administration.

[LiberalFighter]

1. The administration needs to avoid contractors at all costs when using interrogators.

Or any personnel associated with interrogators.

[boppers]

2. Interesting precedent.

I suppose most people don't realize this, but there are a *VAST* number of intelligence functions, military actions, questionable research (etc.) that government employees aren't legally allowed to (or trained to) do, but private contractors can be "hired" to accomplish.

Maybe Levin's trying to boil the frog one degree at a time, or maybe he realizes how fast our entire defense system would come crashing down if we stopped using mercenaries of all kinds.