Flexing Muscle, Baghdad Detains U.S. Contractors
秀肌肉，巴格達(dá)拘捕美國(guó)承包商

BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities have detained a few hundred foreign contractors in recent weeks, industry officials say, including many Americans who work for the United States Embassy, in one of the first major signs of the Iraqi government’s asserting its sovereignty after the American troop withdrawal last month.

巴格達(dá)——據(jù)業(yè)內(nèi)官員透露，伊拉克當(dāng)局在最近幾周拘捕了數(shù)百名外國(guó)承包商，其中包括許多為美國(guó)大使館工作的美國(guó)人。這是在美軍于上月撤離之后，伊拉克政府伸張主權(quán)的首輪重要標(biāo)志之一。

The detentions have occurred largely at the airport in Baghdad and at checkpoints around the capital after the Iraqi authorities raised questions about the contractors’ documents, including visas, weapons permits and authorizations to drive certain routes. Although no formal charges have been filed, the detentions have lasted from a few hours to nearly three weeks.

拘捕大多發(fā)生在伊拉克當(dāng)局對(duì)承包商所執(zhí)的簽證、執(zhí)槍證、特定地段通行證等文書提出質(zhì)疑之后，地點(diǎn)多在巴格達(dá)機(jī)場(chǎng)及首都周邊的交通哨卡。盡管目前尚未有正式指控，拘留時(shí)間在幾小時(shí)至接近三周之間。

The crackdown comes amid other moves by the Iraqi government to take over functions that had been performed by the United States military and to claim areas of the country it had controlled. In the final weeks of the military withdrawal, the son of Iraq’s prime minister began evicting Western companies and contractors from the heavily fortified Green Zone, which had been the heart of the United States military operation for much of the war.

本輪行動(dòng)正逢伊拉克政府接掌曾由美軍控制的區(qū)域及行使的職能。在美軍撤離的最后幾周，伊拉克總理之子開始從戒備森嚴(yán)的綠區(qū)驅(qū)逐西方公司與承包商。在伊戰(zhàn)的大多數(shù)時(shí)間里，綠區(qū)曾作為美軍的行動(dòng)中樞。

Just after the last American troops left in December, the Iraqis stopped issuing and renewing many weapons licenses and other authorizations. The restrictions created a sequence of events in which contractors were being detained for having expired documents that the government would not renew.

美軍剛于去年十二月撤離，伊拉克就停止發(fā)放、更新許多執(zhí)槍證及其它證件，導(dǎo)致許多承包商因執(zhí)過(guò)期證件被捕。

The Iraqi authorities have also imposed new limitations on visas. In some recent cases, contractors have been told they have 10 days to leave Iraq or face arrest in what some industry officials call a form of controlled harassment.

此外，伊拉克當(dāng)局還對(duì)簽證加以新的限制。例如最近一些承包商被告之在十日內(nèi)離境，逾期則面臨監(jiān)禁，業(yè)內(nèi)官員稱之為＂有控騷擾＂。

Latif Rashid, a senior adviser to the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and a former minister of water, said in an interview that the Iraqis’ deep mistrust of security contractors had led the government to strictly monitor them. “We have to apply our own rules now,” he said.

伊拉克總統(tǒng)高級(jí)顧問(wèn)、前水利部長(zhǎng)Latif Rashid在采訪中表示，伊拉克人民對(duì)安全承包商的嚴(yán)重不信任，導(dǎo)致政府對(duì)他們嚴(yán)加管束，＂我們現(xiàn)在要實(shí)施自己的法律＂。

This month, Iraqi authorities kept scores of contractors penned up at Baghdad’s international airport for nearly a week until their visa disputes were resolved. Industry officials said more than 100 foreigners were detained; American officials acknowledged the detainments but would not put a number on them.

本月，伊拉克當(dāng)局在伊拉克國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)將多名承包商扣押近一個(gè)星期，直到他們的簽證問(wèn)題獲得解決。業(yè)內(nèi)官員稱有超過(guò)百名外國(guó)人被捕，美國(guó)官員證實(shí)有人被捕但拒絕透露具體數(shù)字。

Private contractors are integral to postwar Iraq’s economic development and security, foreign businessmen and American officials say, but they remain a powerful symbol of American might, with some Iraqis accusing them of running roughshod over the country.

外國(guó)商人和美國(guó)官員稱，私人承包商在伊拉克戰(zhàn)后經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展與防務(wù)中扮演著至關(guān)重要的角色，但他們同時(shí)又是美國(guó)強(qiáng)權(quán)的象征，此外一些伊拉克人指責(zé)承包商在伊境內(nèi)無(wú)法無(wú)天。

An image of contractors as trigger-happy mercenaries who were above the law was seared into the minds of Iraqis after several violent episodes involving private sector workers, chief among them the 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisour Square when military contractors for Blackwater killed 17 civilians.

在一系列涉及私人雇員的暴力事件之后，承包商們凌駕于在法律之上、胡亂開槍的雇傭軍形象在伊拉克人心目中打下烙印，其中最重大的要數(shù)2007年黑水武裝雇員在巴格達(dá)Nisour廣場(chǎng)開槍打死17名平民。

Iraq’s oil sector alone, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the government’s budget, relies heavily on tens of thousands of foreign employees. The United States Embassy employs 5,000 contractors to protect its 11,000 employees and to train the Iraqi military to operate tanks, helicopters and weapons systems that the United States has sold them.

占伊拉克政府預(yù)算九成以上的石油業(yè)嚴(yán)重依賴于數(shù)萬(wàn)名外國(guó)雇員。美國(guó)使館還聘請(qǐng)了五千名承包商，用以保護(hù)館內(nèi)一萬(wàn)一千名員工，并訓(xùn)練伊拉克部隊(duì)使用購(gòu)自美國(guó)的坦克、直升機(jī)及其它武器系統(tǒng)。

The United States had been providing much of the accreditation for contractors to work in Iraq. But after the military withdrawal, contractors had to deal with a Iraqi bureaucracy at a time when the government was engulfed in a political crisis and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, fearing a coup, was moving tanks into the Green Zone.

美國(guó)曾負(fù)責(zé)為大多數(shù)在伊工作的承包商發(fā)放證件，但美軍撤離之后，承包商們不得不與正處于政治危機(jī)中的伊拉克官僚機(jī)構(gòu)打交道——伊拉克總理Nuri Kamal al-Maliki因害怕政變，曾調(diào)集坦克入駐綠區(qū)。

The delays for visa approvals have disrupted the daily movement of supplies and personnel around Iraq, prompting formal protests from dozens of companies operating in Iraq. And they have raised deeper questions about how the Maliki government intends to treat foreign workers and how willing foreign companies will be to invest here.

延遲發(fā)放簽證破壞了人員與物資在伊境內(nèi)的日常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，導(dǎo)致數(shù)十家駐伊公司提出正式抗議；并引發(fā)了更深層次的問(wèn)題，即Maliki政府打算如何對(duì)待外國(guó)員工以及外國(guó)公司今后在伊投資的意愿。

“While private organizations are often able to resolve low-level disputes and irregularities, this issue is beyond our ability to resolve,” the International Stability Operations Association, a Washington-based group that represents more than 50 companies and aid organizations that work in conflict, post-conflict and disaster relief zones, said in a letter on Sunday to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

周日，總部設(shè)在華盛頓、代表50多家在沖突與救災(zāi)地區(qū)活動(dòng)的公司與組織的＂國(guó)際穩(wěn)定行動(dòng)聯(lián)合會(huì)＂致信國(guó)務(wù)卿希拉里：＂雖然私人組織有能力解決一些低端爭(zhēng)議與違規(guī)行為，但這一問(wèn)題已經(jīng)超出我們的能力范圍。＂

Doug Brooks, president of the organization, said in a telephone interview that the number of civilian contractors who have been detained was in the “l(fā)ow hundreds.” He added in an e-mail on Sunday, “Everyone is impacted, but the roots have more to do with political infighting than any hostility to the U.S.”

該組織主席Doug Brooks在電話采訪中表示，被拘留的平民承包商人數(shù)為＂小幾百＂。他在一份電子郵件中補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明：＂大家都受到了影響，但其根源在于政治內(nèi)斗而非針對(duì)美國(guó)的敵意。＂

As Iraqi and American officials were negotiating last summer to keep American troops in Iraq into 2012, the Iraqis refused to grant American troops immunity from Iraqi law, in large part because of violent episodes like the one in Nisour Square. Although the contractors working for the embassy are doing many of the same jobs American troops had, including training, logistics, maintenance and private security, they are not protected from Iraqi law.

去年夏天，美伊兩國(guó)官員在討論將美軍駐留期延長(zhǎng)至2012年時(shí)，伊拉克曾拒絕授予美軍豁免權(quán)，其主要原因就是諸如發(fā)生在Nisour廣場(chǎng)的暴力事件。雖然大使館聘用的承包商所做的工作與美軍原來(lái)的大體相同，例如訓(xùn)練、后勤、維護(hù)、私人安全等，但承包商卻要受到伊拉克法律管轄。

Mr. Rashid, the adviser to Mr. Talabani, said Iraqis are fed up with foreign contractors. “The Iraqi public is not happy with security contractors. They caused a lot of pain,” he said. “There is a general bad feeling towards the security contractors among the Iraqis and that has created bad feelings towards them all.”

伊拉克總統(tǒng)顧問(wèn)Rashid稱，伊拉克人已經(jīng)厭倦了外國(guó)承包商，＂伊拉克人民不滿這些安全承包商，他們帶來(lái)很多痛苦，伊拉克人民普遍對(duì)他們沒(méi)有好感。＂

Mr. Rashid said that traveling to the United States to work was no different. “Every time I go to the airport in New York they open my suitcase three times,” he said. “How long does it take to get an American visa?”

總統(tǒng)顧問(wèn)Rashid還稱到美國(guó)工作也同樣麻煩，＂我每次飛抵紐約他們都要三次打開我的行李，另外，申請(qǐng)一個(gè)美國(guó)簽證要等多久？＂

An adviser to Mr. Maliki said that as part of the current agreement between the United States and Iraq, no Americans should be in the country without the permission of the Iraqi government. “Iraq always welcomes foreigners into the country, but they have to come through legally and in a way that respects that Iraq now has sovereignty and control over its land,” said the adviser, Ali Moussawi.

伊拉克總理顧問(wèn)Ali Moussawi說(shuō)，根據(jù)目前的美伊協(xié)議，美國(guó)人未獲伊拉克政府批準(zhǔn)不得入境。他說(shuō)：＂伊拉克歡迎外國(guó)人，但他們必須合法入境并尊重伊拉克已對(duì)本國(guó)擁有主權(quán)與控制的事實(shí)。＂

Last month, two Americans, a Fijian and 12 Iraqis employed by Triple Canopy, a private security company, were detained for 18 days after their 10-vehicle convoy from Kalsu, south of Baghdad, to Taji, north of the capital, was stopped for what Iraqi officials said was improper paperwork.

上個(gè)月，受雇于私人安全公司Triple Canopy的兩名美國(guó)人、一名斐濟(jì)人和
十二名伊拉克人被伊拉克官方以證照不全攔截并關(guān)押十八天。

One of the Americans, Alex Antiohos, 32, a former Army Green Beret medic from North Babylon, N.Y., who served in the Iraq war, said in a telephone interview Sunday that he and his colleagues were kept at an Iraqi army camp, fed insect-infested plates of rice and fish, forced to sleep in a former jail, and though not physically mistreated were verbally threatened by an Iraqi general who visited them periodically. “At times, I feared for my safety,” Mr. Antiohos said.

其中一名美國(guó)人、曾在伊戰(zhàn)中服役的Alex Antiohos在周日的電話采訪中表示：他們被關(guān)押在一個(gè)伊拉克軍營(yíng)里，靠爬滿蟲子的米飯與魚肉度日，被迫睡在過(guò)去的監(jiān)獄里，雖然沒(méi)有受到肉體虐待，但一位不時(shí)探視的伊拉克將軍對(duì)他們進(jìn)行口頭威脅。他說(shuō)：＂有時(shí)，我為我的安全擔(dān)憂。＂

In a statement, Triple Canopy, which denied any problems with documents, said that during the detention period, company officials were in contact with employees by cellphone, and brought them food, blankets, clothing, medical supplies and cellphone batteries. All were released unharmed on Dec. 27.

安全公司Triple Canopy在一份聲明中表示，他們的證照沒(méi)有任何問(wèn)題，在關(guān)押過(guò)程中，公司官員通過(guò)手機(jī)與雇員們保持聯(lián)系，并給他們送去食物、毯子、衣物、藥品和手機(jī)電池。所有人員在十二月二十七日安全獲釋。

The detention drew the ire of Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican who heads the House Homeland Security Committee. His office was contacted by Mr. Antiohos’s wife on Dec. 19 seeking help to get the employees released. Mr. King criticized the United States Embassy in Baghdad for failing to help release the contractors caught in a drama that he said might have resulted in part from rival Iraqi ministries’ battling for political primacy.

這次拘捕讓紐約共和黨人、眾議員Peter T. King極為光火，他掌管著眾議院國(guó)土安全委員會(huì)。十二月十九日，Antiohos的妻子向King的辦公室求救。King批評(píng)美國(guó)駐伊使館未能解救被捕承包商，他說(shuō)這些雇員被圈入了一場(chǎng)或由伊拉克國(guó)內(nèi)政治斗爭(zhēng)引發(fā)的鬧劇。

“They could have been held as power plays by one Iraq department against another, but what adds to the problem is that it does not appear that the State Department is doing anything near what they could be doing,” Mr. King said in a telephone interview.

King在電話采訪中稱：＂他們或許是作為伊拉克部門內(nèi)斗的籌碼而被捕，但美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院根本沒(méi)有盡力而為。＂

The United States Embassy in Baghdad, as well as senior State Department and military officials, say that no Americans are currently being detained, and they insist the detentions and visa delays are more the result of bureaucratic inexperience than malevolent intentions.

美國(guó)駐伊使館及國(guó)務(wù)院與軍方高級(jí)官員指出，目前沒(méi)有美國(guó)人被扣押，他們堅(jiān)稱拘捕與簽證延誤大多出于官員缺乏經(jīng)驗(yàn)，而非不良意圖。

“The embassy has pushed for consistency and transparency in the government of Iraq’s immigration and customs procedures and urged American citizens to review their travel documents to ensure that they comply with Iraqi requirements to help avoid such incidents,” an Embassy spokesman said in a statement.

使館發(fā)言人在一份聲明中指出：＂使館已敦促伊拉克政府在入境與海關(guān)手續(xù)上保持一致與透明；并呼吁美國(guó)公民檢查旅行證件，確保它們符合伊拉克的要求，以避免此類事件。＂

One senior American military official said that the current disconnect between the Iraqis and the contractors was “primarily an adjustment of our standard operating procedures as we adapt our people and they adapt their security forces to the new situation.”

美國(guó)軍方一位高級(jí)官員表示，當(dāng)前伊拉克人與承包商之間的失調(diào)主要是一個(gè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)行動(dòng)程序的調(diào)整過(guò)程，雙方都在適應(yīng)新的局勢(shì)。＂