CEO's of Blackwater, DynCorp, Triple Canopy and Aegis are scheduled to meet with Bush admin today

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152ap_us_iraq_contractors.html

WASHINGTON -- Under continued pressure to exercise greater control over private security contractors in Iraq, Bush administration officials will outline stricter rules for these armed guards during a three-hour meeting Wednesday afternoon at the Pentagon.

The top executives from the largest security companies working in Iraq are scheduled to attend the meeting, which is being hosted by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Deputy Secretary State John Negroponte.

The session comes nearly four months after a shooting incident involving Blackwater Worldwide that left 17 Iraqi citizens dead. The incident, which created a worldwide furor and put the White House on the defensive, led to a December agreement between the Defense and State Departments that gave U.S. military commanders a stronger hand in managing security workers.

Senior representatives from Blackwater, DynCorp, Triple Canopy and Aegis Defence are scheduled to attend the meeting.

Peter Singer, a national security expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said government officials need to deliver a clear and firm message to the security companies.

"These 'summits' are great for talking," Singer said, "but it can't just be, 'Hey, CEOs, this is what we would like you to do.' It's got to be, 'Here are the policies. Here are the laws that we've developed.'"