Once the U.S. military completely pulls out of Iraq, the State Department will be on its own to handle security—a task for which it does not have the funding, the experience or the expertise.

 

The State Department will now be in charge of more than 1,000 tasks and functions ranging from fire prevention and environmental cleanup to management of real estate and portable toilets. However, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan has indentified 14 security-related tasks that are well beyond the normal responsibilities of the State Department. These include recovering killed and wounded personnel, downed aircraft and damaged vehicles, convoy security and policing Baghdad’s International Zone.

 

If the Defense Department will no longer be performing these services, the State Department will be forced to dramatically increase the number of private security contractors it employs.

 

The agency’s force of contractors is expected to increase from 2,700 to as many as 7,000. This private army will also handle emergency medical evacuations, remove roadside bombs and respond to attacks from insurgents.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Concern Grows Over Defense-To-State Transition in Iraq (by Robert Brodsky, Government Executive)

Diplomats Face Security Problems in Iraq (Washington Post)

Better Planning for Defense-to-State Transition in Iraq Needed to Avoid Mistakes and Waste (Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan) (pdf)