Daniel Akaka: “I rise today, to discuss a matter of serious concern. On December 9, The Washington Post reported that the Department of…”

“I rise today, to discuss a matter of serious concern. On December 9, The Washington Post reported that the Department of Defense is investigating a video posted on an Aegis- employee affiliated Web site which contains scenes of violence and shooting against Iraqi civilians. An estimated 25,000 private security contractors are currently working in Iraq, earning anywhere from $550 to $1,500 a day. Many of them are doing their best to help maintain security for the reconstruction of Iraq. However, if the events displayed in the video are accurate, the actions of these few contractors put our troops at tremendous risk. The video depicts the back window of a PSD, personal security detail, vehicle. In the video you can hear a machine gun being fired at cars which are clearly more than 50 meters behind the vehicle. The cars drift off the road after many shots, leaving one to assume the driver has been shot dead. During the entire video, the Elvis Presley song ``Mystery Train'' plays in the background. This behavior is offensive. The actions of the individuals in the video put our troops at risk because such incendiary behavior only increases hatred towards Americans. Whether or not we agree with the troops' presence in Iraq, we all agree that the safety of our troops is paramount. Our troops in Iraq who wear uniforms are instant targets for retaliatory violence. The U.S. service men and women who deploy to Iraq serve because of a sense of selfless service and duty.…”