And who can blame them! A long list of abuses by American military contractors in Iraq would certainly justify concern about their behaviors. What have they done this time?
Just after the last American troops left in December, the Iraqis stopped issuing and renewing many weapons licenses and other authorizations. The restrictions created a sequence of events in which contractors were being detained for having expired documents that the government would not renew.
The Iraqi authorities have also imposed new limitations on visas. In some recent cases, contractors have been told they have 10 days to leave Iraq or face arrest in what some industry officials call a form of controlled harassment.
Latif Rashid, a senior adviser to the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and a former minister of water, said in an interview that the Iraqis’ deep mistrust of security contractors had led the government to strictly monitor them. “We have to apply our own rules now,” he said. ...NYT
For the most part, according to the Times article, Iraqi civilians, after years of bullying and violence, distrust private contractors who don't play by the rules. The Times gives few details of charges. Respect -- or, rather, disrespect -- for Iraqi law on the part of the outsiders seems to be the main issue.
An adviser to Mr. Maliki said that as part of the current agreement between the United States and Iraq, no Americans should be in the country without the permission of the Iraqi government.
“Iraq always welcomes foreigners into the country, but they have to come through legally and in a way that respects that Iraq now has sovereignty and control over its land,” said the adviser, Ali Moussawi. ...NYT
