An independent human rights group is criticizing the Bush administration for failing to hold private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan criminally responsible for acts of violence and abuse.

The group, Human Rights First, is pressing Congress to beef up legislation that could force the federal government to investigate and prosecute cases in the face of stiff resistance from the White House.

The report comes after Congress held hearings last fall on misconduct by private security contractors, including the involvement of Blackwater USA security guards in a September shooting that left at least 17 Iraqis dead.  

That incident prompted Congress to reassess the role of private security contractors in war zones and brought about an agreement late last year between the State Department and the Pentagon to put contractors under stronger military control.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England is expected to meet in coming weeks with the heads of private security companies, including Blackwater, as well as with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte to go over the implementation of the agreement and the impact it would have on the companies’ contracts.

On the other side of the Potomac, several senators are working on legislation that would increase the accountability of U.S. security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is the main sponsor of the legislation, which has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. Obama has been working with Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Leahy’s GOP counterpart, Arlen Specter (Pa.); and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to move the legislation as soon as possible, according to a Senate aide. The lawmakers have been working with the House and the administration and have made much progress, according to the aide.

Obama’s bill, whose companion legislation in the House is sponsored by Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), would clarify the language of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to ensure that it applies to all contractors working in war zones.

The bill would also establish so-called theater investigative units of the FBI to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct by contract personnel.

Price’s bill passed by an overwhelming vote last October.

The congressman, who has been at the forefront of contractor issues for several years, called the Human Rights First report “timely.”

“It will help concentrate our government’s attention on this issue that simply must be addressed,” he said at the press conference announcing the report.

The report should also prompt the Senate to act quickly on the legislation, he added.

“It’s timely, urgent and critically important. I sincerely hope that the Senate will act soon,” he said.

The Human Rights First report — based on interviews, court records, government reports and declassified documents — concludes that the lack of accountability for contractors has given rise to a principle of “shoot first, ask questions later — or never.” It argues that such an attitude threatens the safety of Iraqi and Afghan civilians, but also of the American military and the contractors.

Driven by the demands of fighting wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq with an all-volunteer military force, the U.S. government has increasingly relied on a record number of private contractors to undertake many assignments typically performed by soldiers.

The report estimates that there are now at least 35,000 private contractors employed by 181 different companies in Iraq alone, constituting the second largest armed security force in the U.S.-led coalition. Some other estimates place the number far higher.

In contrast to the military, which has a substantial criminal justice establishment deployed and present in the war zones, the human rights group found that for contractors “there is no systematic hand-off to investigators and then to prosecutors with the exception of incidents of the highest political profile, which invariably result in late uncoordinated and ad-hoc responses by relevant agencies.”  

Even in those cases, the investigations never resulted in prosecutions, the report says.

But the report also underscores that a legal framework already covers most criminal misconduct by most contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those laws “could and should be strengthened and expanded.”

“Arguments to the contrary merely rationalize inaction,” the report says.

Among the group’s recommendations is that DoJ must take the lead — compelled by Congress if necessary — to investigate and prosecute cases of contractor crime abroad. Furthermore, MEJA should become the principle legal framework for the U.S. government to hold contractors criminally responsible for violations of the law, while the Uniform Code of Military Justice (USMJ) should become a secondary legal mechanism to hold contractors responsible.

The administration opposes any expansion of MEJA.

The group also recommended that DoJ and Defense develop formal and effective coordination for investigating contractors abroad. In addition, the Department of State should negotiate agreements with third countries to sort out criminal jurisdiction over their own nationals who work as contractors for the U.S.  

“Private security companies fully support investigations of incidents here and we look forward to the development of an investigatory mechanism with a rule of law,” said Lawrence Peter, the director of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq. “One of our big concerns is ensuring that we receive access to a Western-style legal due process.”

Private security companies and their trade associations have welcomed more oversight and more consistent regulation. The companies say they want to prevent the actions of a few bad apples, which they fear can ultimately cost them their business.

Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, a broad organization that represents the government services industry, said there should not be a general assumption of widespread illegal activity. But he welcomes an expansion of MEJA.

“Allegations are only allegations, and that makes it even more important to have the process in place so that we find out what the facts are and not judge prematurely,” he said.

“We have long supported expanding MEJA as the appropriate means by which individuals can be tried for violations overseas. [But] we do not believe that the Military Code of Justice … applies to contractors, which makes it even important that MEJA is expanded quickly.”

Aside from the Obama-Price measure, the pending 2008 defense authorization bill contains several provisions meant to keep armed contractors on a tighter leash and provide Congress with better oversight. Those include clearer rules of engagement and minimum standards for hiring and training contractors and a stronger military role in coordinating the movement of contractor convoys.