Tonight, while reading more of Naomi Wolf's electrifying and important book,
The End of America, I wondered what our candidates' plans are with regards to the outsourcing of military missions to private contractors such as Blackwater.
Using Google, I immediately found John Edwards's five-part plan for reform:
Restore Democracy to Our Military Decisions About the War: Edwards will transfer most security missions currently performed by contractors back to military command, narrowly limit the circumstances under which security contractors can be engaged and bring all security contractors within the Pentagon's chain of command.
Expand Legal Oversight and Prosecutions: Edwards will ask Congress to expand the range of contractors covered by the Military Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction Act, and work with his Attorney General to ensure criminal allegations involving contractors are always investigated. He will also charge his Secretary of Defense with establishing clear rules of engagement for contractors.
Get Cronyism out of Security Contracts: Edwards will ask Congress to pass legislation prohibiting campaign contributions by applicants for and recent recipients of security contracts. He will also ask Congress to pass legislation prohibiting former officials from working as contractors for five years.
Establish Strong Quality Control and Accountability Measures: Edwards will charge his National Security Advisor with establishing a regular system of Quality Assurance Evaluations of contractors and will make sure that agencies exercise oversight.
Implement a Formal Evaluation of the Role of Contractors: Edwards will order his Secretary of Defense to deliver a comprehensive accounting of all contractors performing security operations and will propose the creation of a new National Security Budget that will include all security activities, so that Congress can better evaluate the role and value of security contractors in the future.
More:
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/headlines/20071003-contractors/ What are Clinton's and Obama's plans with regards to these mercenary armies?