this is pretty much what some internal aust internal sec assessments have said as well - that some of the gun-happy PMC's are undermining the credibility of the uniforms. also there is the non small fact that the ave iraqi doesn't see PMC and Military - they see people who walk like a duck, quack like a duck - and then must be ducks.
source: ht!p://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/29/2046862.htm?section=justin
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Contractors over-reacting in Iraq: US general
Private security contractors, who are under scrutiny over the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis this month, have over-reacted in some situations and used "over the top" tactics, a US general says.
US defence officials say contractors in Iraq serve critical roles that free US troops up for other duties.
But officers, often speaking privately, say the strong-arm tactics employed by private security contractors hurt troops' efforts to secure the trust and cooperation of Iraqi civilians.
"I can certainly say I've seen them do some tactics that I thought were over the top," said US Brigadier General Joseph Anderson, chief of staff for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq.
"Are they quicker with the trigger? Are they quicker to wave a weapon, brandish a weapon, other tactics, cutting people off? All of us have experienced, have seen different things at different times. I have seen them, in my opinion, over-react but that does not mean it's consistently the case," he told Pentagon reporters by videolink from Iraq.
Security contractors have come under intense scrutiny after a September 16 incident involving US firm Blackwater, in which 11 Iraqis were killed after guards opened fire while escorting a convoy through Baghdad.
Blackwater works for the US State Department in Iraq. The Defence Department employs at least 7,300 security contractors in the war zone, but none from Blackwater.
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