Not all that long ago, the US Marine Corps was responsible for protecting US diplomats in our embassies around the world. But thanks to the geniuses who brought us the wonderful war in Iraq, in many places that is no longer the case. One of those places isIraq:
The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.
The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country _ depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad."We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.
The U.S. order confines most American officials to a 3.5-square-mile area in the center of the city, meaning they cannot visit U.S.-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter. The notice did not say when the suspension would expire.
Am I the only one out there who is embarrassed by the fact that we hire private contractors to protect our diplomatic personnel? I realize that Republicans love to privatize things, but this really is ridiculous. If protecting diplomatic personnel in a war zone isn't a sovereign task, what is?
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