Contractor 'command center' urged for Iraq
13827
A panel recommended to the State Department that the U.S. create a "central command center" to improve coordination among agencies using private security contractors in war zones, senior State Department officials and others familiar with the review told CNN Monday.
585307
Growing impatience with the slow pace of work to improve basic services like electricity and water could threaten security gains in Iraq's Anbar province, a former al Qaeda stronghold, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
131660
U.S. military commanders in Iraq, where bombings pose the deadliest threat to their soldiers, have welcomed news the Pentagon wants to speed up production of upgraded armored Humvees, a military spokesmen said Saturday.
605844
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that his concerns over insufficient oversight of private security firms in Iraq led him this week to dispatch a team to the country to investigate the issue, while also instructing commanders to tighten their controls over the armed guards.
431966
Iraqi security forces will need years of mentoring and support from U.S. forces, a senior U.S. commander said on Friday, warning against an American withdrawal before local forces can operate independently.
679748
HILLA, Iraq  - The top U.S. military commander in Iraq on Thursday promised the truth from a progress report on the country that he will deliver to Washington in September.
137006
Intimidation and death threats  against Iraqi workers hired for U.S.-funded projects in Iraq  are stalling reconstruction in many areas as contractors  struggle to attract laborers, said a senior U.S. official.
686907
Private security contractors do indispensable work in Iraq, but the muscle-bound showiness associated with these hired guns, and lack of control over them, is drawing criticism.
392013
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday criticized security contractors in Iraq as Baghdad piled more pressure on the State Department to pull the Blackwater firm out of Iraq after deadly shootings last month.
513090
Incoming US Gen. Jeffery Hammond plans to add US-Iraqi command outposts.
643601
US-led reconstruction efforts in Iraq are changing track amid a scourge of hostage beheadings, as contractors seek to hire more local companies directly instead of high-risk and costly foreign expertise.
575086
BAGHDAD, Dec. 21 -- One of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders and a close American ally called Friday for tighter Iraqi control over the thousands of armed men, most of them Sunnis, taking part in a U.S.-backed program to combat insurgents.
40654
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the mission of private security contractors guarding individuals in Iraq is fundamentally at odds with the broader U.S. military objective of stabilizing Iraq, and that changes would be required to reconcile them.
363490
A new contract proposal put forward last week by the Joint Contracting Command-Iraq shows that the U.S. military believes there is going to be a continuing need for private, armed, security services such as Blackwater USA in that country for years to come.
420618
Private security contractor Blackwater USA said on Wednesday it supports recommendations by a State Department panel to boost oversight of contractors in Iraq.
180227
The plan calls for Iraqi troops to assume the primary responsibility for security in Baghdad early next year.
447134
Pentagon planners and military commanders have identified areas in Iraq that must be brought under control before elections.