Plainclothes contractors working for Blackwater USA take part in a firefight.Gervasio Sanchez / AP / Time Magazine
From The Danger Room:
Iraq's parliament on Thursday signed off on a Status of Forces Agreement that paves the way for withdrawal of U.S. forces within three years. The pact -- which has been in negotiation for nearly a year -- provides legal cover to U.S. troops stationed in the country after a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.
But here's the interesting part: the agreement also makes thousands of U.S. contractors subject to Iraqi law. According to the final version of the text, Iraq will have the "primary right to exercise jurisdiction over United States contractors" and their employees.
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My Comment: Iraq has changed in the past five years .... the role of contractors must also change with the times.