By Anthony Shadid

Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, Oct. 6 — In a dramatic illustration of shifting authority in the Green Zone, once an American preserve here, Iraqi soldiers confronted a security detail contracted by the U.S. government, detained four of the guards and beat them in a standoff last week that lasted at least two hours, according to Iraqi officials, the company and the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. military negotiated the guards’ release several hours later, the U.S. Embassy said, and the four men were flown out of Iraq, for fear that charges might be filed against them.

Philip Frayne, an embassy spokesman, confirmed that an incident occurred at one of the fortified entrances to the Green Zone but said no American diplomats were in the convoy. “Information is still in the process of being gathered and evaluated,” he said.

Douglas Ebner, a spokesman for Falls Church-based DynCorp International, said the men involved in the Sept. 28 incident were employed by the company. He said that they were mistreated and that the company “has strongly voiced our deep concerns regarding this incident both with the State Department and with Iraqi authorities.”

A senior Iraqi officer with the Baghdad Brigade, the Iraqi army unit charged with guarding the Green Zone, also confirmed the incident but denied that the men were beaten. He said the confrontation escalated because no interpreter was available.

“The problem is that the PSDs,” an abbreviation that has entered Iraqi slang as a catchall term for contractors’ convoys, “don’t understand that sovereignty is in the hands of Iraqis now,” the officer said. “These groups still consider themselves above the law.”

Before a U.S.-Iraqi agreement took effect Jan. 1, regulating the U.S. presence here and outlining an eventual American withdrawal, contractors were immune from the Iraqi legal process under an order signed by L. Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, in June 2004. At the time, it was unclear whether contractors were covered under U.S. military or civilian law.

The result was that not a single private security contractor was charged with a crime despite dozens of suspicious shootings involving Iraqi civilians. The legacy has made contractors one of the most loathed groups in today’s Iraq. In one of the worst incidents, heavily armed guards for the North Carolina-based firm then known as Blackwater opened fire on Iraqis in a crowded street on Sept. 16, 2007, killing 17 civilians, after the guards’ convoy reportedly came under fire.

Under the agreement, some U.S. contractors retain their immunity, but the Iraqi government, as it did in the case of Blackwater, can revoke or refuse to renew operating licenses.

An account of last week’s incident that appeared to be written by a DynCorp employee was forwarded by e-mail to The Washington Post. Several people said the details of the account seemed accurate, but Ebner said he could not confirm who authored it.

According to the account, the last vehicle of a convoy was stopped at an entrance to the Green Zone. Iraqi guards tried to get the private security guards to turn over smoke grenades. One of the private guards tried to find out who was in charge and started shouting at an Iraqi captain. A member of the contractor team then tried to photograph the captain, who grabbed the camera.

The Iraqi officer with the Baghdad Brigade said the security contractor hit the captain, although the account denied that. The incident quickly escalated, according to the account and the Iraqi officer.

“This is where the wheels fell off,” the account said.

“Our opinion is that they were being aggressive against us 100 percent,” the senior Iraqi officer said in the interview. “That’s not me as an Iraqi talking. That’s me as a professional soldier.”

The captain then fired two shots in the air, the account said. An Iraqi colonel arrived, along with at least five vehicles of Iraqi army personnel, eventually numbering about 80 soldiers. The security contractors refused to get out of their Suburban, and the colonel ordered a tank to run over the vehicle.

When asked whether a tank was ordered to crush the Suburban, the senior Iraqi officer replied, “No comment.”

Before the tank did so, the account said, the contractors got out, one of them at gunpoint. The men were cuffed and beaten, according to the Iraqi officer and the account.

“The Iraqis loaded them into their vehicles, putting one in the trunk/boot of the vehicle. They then drove away to an Iraqi base with an Iraqi sitting on the hood waving his arms up and down, screaming a victory cry,” the account said.

At the base, the account said, the men were beaten, some of them with a bar used for weights in a gym. One of their assailants was an Iraqi general, who repeatedly punched one of the men, then took part in the negotiations over their release, it said.

One “was beaten so bad that he was covered in blood and began projectile vomiting from the head injuries he was receiving,” the account said.

The Iraqi official denied that the contractors were hurt in custody.

“Trust me,” he said, “we didn’t beat them up.”

The account ended with a warning.

“In the past, people could shoot and not worry about the ramifications. Now, people must think, analyze the situation and make appropriate decisions,” it read. “Unfortunately, not all people are capable of doing that and many of them still see bad guys behind every bush, which just isn’t the case anymore.”

Special correspondent Qais Mizher contributed to this report.

The U.S. Department of State has selected DynCorp International (NYSE:DCP) as one of four awardees under the AFRICAP recompete, which supports regional stability in Africa by building the capacity of African countries and regional organizations to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts on the African continent. The Department of State currently is supporting programs and initiatives for conflict resolution and stability in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union. This new multiple award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract is a follow-on contract to DynCorp International’s Africa Peacekeeping contract under which it supported contingency and security sector reform programs in Africa for the State Department. The new AFRICAP contract establishes a mechanism for awardees to compete for task orders to provide training and advisory services, equipment procurement, logistical support services, and construction services to African countries. The period of performance is a base year plus four 1-year options beginning on September 11, 2009. During the performance period, the customer shall place orders with each company for a guaranteed minimum of $500,000, with a maximum ceiling value across all four IDIQ contracts of $1.5 billion over the life of the contracts. Each company has a contract ceiling of $375,000,000. “This is an important opportunity for DynCorp International to continue supporting the work of the Department of State in Africa through contingency operations, training and mentoring, and logistics services,” said DynCorp International CEO William L. Ballhaus. “It’s an honor to support our government’s efforts to improve people’s lives, and offer them stability and security in their communities.”

Jose Guillen, employed by DynCorp International as a civilian police advisor in Afghanistan, received the DynCorp International President’s Valor Award on September 15, 2009. He was recognized for his distinguished service and valor in rendering medical assistance to an injured police advisor while under enemy fire. The award was presented by Tony Smeraglinolo, President of the DynCorp International Global Stabilization and Development Solutions (GSDS) business division, which includes work under the international civilian police program (CIVPOL) of the U.S. Department of State.

Walter Redman, Chief Police Advisor, U.S. Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), addressed the ceremony on behalf of the Department of State. He noted “tonight we honor the significance of the sacrifice made by those who serve in the international civilian police program,” and emphasized the special role of these advisors, stating that “American police bring experience and knowledge of policing in a democracy” to their duties.

On September 24, 2008, a police training mission convoy which included civilian police advisors Guillen and Steve Martin, was en route to an Afghan National Police station in Chark District, Logar Province, Afghanistan, when it was attacked by an improvised explosive device (IED). The lead vehicle was struck and its occupants ejected, seriously injured, onto the road. Steve Martin was among them. Jose Guillen left the relative safety of his own vehicle further back in the convoy to render medical assistance to the injured. When they came under small arms fire from insurgents, he shielded Martin’s body with his own.

As cited on the commendation, Police Mentor Guillen brought credit to the CIVPOL mission, to the law enforcement profession and to himself as a man with great courage and character under hostile and austere conditions. He acted selflessly, saving lives by rendering first aid and comforting his injured companions.

Jose Guillen, previously with the Houston Police Department in Houston, Texas, said he was touched by the valor award, but wanted to give a special tribute to Steve Martin, his partner on the CIVPOL mission in Afghanistan, as a true hero, whose commitment would never be forgotten. Guillen said he was “encouraged to continue to strive for excellence as an international police advisor.”

Steve Martin also spoke movingly of his own debt to Guillen, because “without him with me that day, I would not be here now.” Also joining Guillen at the ceremony was his wife and four children, and Army Infantry Staff Sgt Michael Downing, who was injured in the same IED attack.

About DynCorp International
DynCorp International DCP is a provider of specialized mission-critical services to civilian and military government agencies worldwide, and operates major programs in law enforcement training and support, security services, base operations, aviation services, contingency operations, and logistics support. DynCorp International is headquartered in Falls Church, Va. For more information, visit www.dyn-intl.com.

Associated Press article taken from the Washington Post

A U.S. contractor helping to train Afghanistan’s national police was found dead of a possible drug overdose last week in Kabul, just months after the State Department reprimanded his company for another worker’s drug-related death.

The deaths have raised questions about DynCorp International’s vetting and management of employees assigned to the police-training contract, a crucial component of the U.S. effort to hand over security responsibilities to the Afghans.

The leaders of an independent panel investigating wartime spending said Wednesday that they are troubled that drugs appear to be involved in the deaths of two workers hired by the State Department’s largest contractor.

“This shouldn’t be treated as an isolated event that [the State Department] can ignore,” said Christopher Shays, co-chairman of the Commission on Wartime Contracting. “They really need to step in and say, ‘Do we have a drug problem at DynCorp?’ ”

A State Department spokesman said an investigation is underway. A toxicology test will be conducted to determine if drugs were a factor.

A DynCorp spokesman said the company would not speculate on the cause of the death.