have the resources to do. There are now 150,000 contractors in
Iraq, comprising about 39,000 Americans, 70,000 “third country
nationals,” and 37,000 Iraqis. A little more than half provide
support to the more than 50 American bases and installations
in Iraq, and they are the ones Odierno wants to phase out. His
directive asks for a 5 per cent reduction in the use of contractors
each quarter. Many will simply be terminated as the need for
services like cleaning bathrooms and serving food ends with the
US departure. But Iraqi security forces will take over other bases
and the need for those jobs there will continue.
Whenever appropriate, the remaining contracting jobs should be
given to Iraqis, says Odierno’s directive.
The unemployment rate in Iraq is now about 18 percent,
while 28 percent of men between the ages of 15 and 29 are
“underemployed.”
CRUCIAL SUPPORT
But reducing the number of contractors may not be quite so easy.
The support these contractors provide is sometimes critical, and
difficult to eliminate quickly. Further complicat