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The role of private contractors supporting deployed military forces and reconstruction efforts in Iraq is the subject of a new report to Congress from the Department of Defense.

The extensive U.S. reliance on contractors in Iraq is a sensitive subject, involving complex questions of oversight and authority.

“The interaction between U.S. military forces and security contractors in Iraq is one of coordination rather than control because private security contractors have no direct contractual relationship with the Commander,” the new report states.

The report describes the legal status of contractors, addresses questions of misconduct, and provides various data on casualty and fatality figures for contractor personnel.

The report, which was required by the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act, has not been publicly released. A copy was obtained by researcher David Isenberg.

See “Public Law 108-375, Section 1206 Report” here (1.6 MB PDF file):

Original at: www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/1206report.pdf