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| Iraq |
| Blackwater license being revoked in Iraq |
| 2007-09-17 |
| By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer I'll bold the AP spin to make it easy for everybody... BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm accused of involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade. The Interior Ministry said it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force in the Sunday shooting. It was latest accusation against the U.S.-contracted firms that operate with little or no supervision and are widely disliked by Iraqis who resent their speeding motorcades and forceful behavior. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad. "We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Khalaf said. The spokesman said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said the shooting was still under investigation. It was not immediately clear if the measure against Blackwater was intended to be temporary or permanent. Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., provides security for many U.S. civilian operations in the country. The U.S. Embassy said a State Department motorcade came under small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles, which had to be towed from the scene near Nisoor Square in the Mansour district. "There was a convoy of State Department personnel and a car bomb went off in proximity to them and there was an exchange of fire as the personnel were returning to the International Zone," embassy spokesman Johann Schmonsees said, referring to the heavily fortified U.S.-protected area in central Baghdad also known as the Green Zone. Officials provided no information about Iraqi casualties but said no State Department personnel were wounded or killed. The embassy also refused to answer any questions on Blackwater's status or legal issues, saying it was seeking clarification on the issue as part of the investigation, which was being carried out by the State Department's diplomatic security service and law enforcement officials working with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Sunday condemned the shooting by a "foreign security company" and called it a "crime." Tens of thousands of foreign private security contractors work in Iraq — some with automatic weapons, body armor, helicopters and bulletproof vehicles — to provide protection for Westerners and dignitaries in Iraq as the country has plummeted toward anarchy and civil war. Monday's action against Blackwater was likely to give the unpopular government a boost, given Iraqis' dislike of the contractors. Many of the contractors have been accused of indiscriminately firing at American and Iraqi troops, and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys, but none has faced charges or prosecution. "There have been so many innocent people they've killed over there, and they just keep doing it," said Katy Helvenston, the mother of late Blackwater contractor Steve Helvenston, who died in 2004 during the ambush in Fallujah. "They have just a callous disregard for life." Helvenston is now part of a lawsuit that accuses Blackwater of cutting corners that ultimately led to the death of her son and three others. The question of whether they could face prosecution is legally murky. Unlike soldiers, the contrators are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Under a special provision secured by American-occupying forces, they are exempt from prosecution by Iraqis for crimes committed there. Khalaf, however, denied that the exemption applied to private security companies. Iraqi police said the contractors were in a convoy of six sport utility vehicles and left after the shooting. "We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby. One minute later, we heard the sound of a bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately," said Hussein Abdul-Abbas, who owns a mobile phone store in the area. So it sounds like an ambush The wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented — as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and diplomats and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad. They also protect journalists, visiting foreign officials and thousands of construction projects. Blackwater has an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq, and at least $800 million in government contracts. It is one of the most high-profile security firms in Iraq, with its fleet of "Little Bird" helicopters and armed door gunners swarming Baghdad and beyond. The secretive company, run by a former Navy SEAL, is based at a massive, swampland complex. Until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, it had few security contracts. Since then, Blackwater profits have soared. And it has become the focus of numerous controversies in Iraq, including the May 30 shooting death of an Iraqi deemed to be driving too close to a Blackwater security detail. In violence Monday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near a busy market in Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10 in an attack that apparently targeted a police patrol, said a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release the information. Hamid Ghassan, a 20-year-old juice vendor, who described hearing the blast, said he was dismayed that al-Maliki's government is "sitting safe, making agreements and lying to people while masses ... are being killed." Geez, there was even more then usual... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #14 Seems like a good way to keep US bureaucrats from leaving the Green Zone and sniffing around Iraq's wimmen (Sorry Fred). |
| Posted by: ed 2007-09-17 23:04 |
| #13 I hope Maliki likes eating IEDs. I hope Maliki eats an IED. Him and his wannabe warlord pals represent a large part of the internal causes that prolong this war. All of them need to kack and be replaced with younger and more Westernized individuals who genuinely desire democracy. Maliki has no such desire. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-17 22:27 |
| #12 Maybe we should have pulled Blackwater a LONG time ago. It's about time we stopped having one ROE for the people guarding the diplomats and politicians and another for the regular army. (Nothing personal about Blackwater, really. More about their employers, who want to use them to escape the bad consequences of their actions). Unfortunately Maliki will probably be fine; the Iranians will find some rent-a-bodyguards for him. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2007-09-17 21:09 |
| #11 I know and prefer EODT (better compnay IMHO). But if they want to pull Blackwater, they are going to lost all of their trustworthy security detail people. I hope Maliki likes eating IEDs. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2007-09-17 19:54 |
| #10 no State Department personnel were wounded or killed. mission accomplished by Blackwater. BASSEM's Gauloises stained brain compliments his Hate America and Jews bad breath... APs kind of guy or gal or it, you decide. *** False comparative argument. The private tools/entities in some instances have a greater potential to augment Gubmint assets and react faster than Gubmit. The Critics: One set are the vocal and political anti-war Hate America Groupies who are using Blackwater/ and Private Security as their anti-war pony to ride. Another set are the World Wide competitors that lost most of the juicy contracts to Blackwater! Legit shortcomings.. I'm sure there are short comings, I means except for me everyone else falls just a little bit short right! >:) Finally what if you were a Nobel Peace Prize winner who's politics ran left of Jimmuh Carter. ~:) Mkay, what would you do if you needed to hire a pilot and plane to fly your wife out of a NO Go Commercial flight area before she wound up becoming part of the SOUP? Call al-Aska Paul!! /lesson, think what you will abstractly..but when the shit hits the fan who ya goina call.. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-17 18:03 |
| #9 I googled our boy Bassem. Lebanese. Not too crazy about Jooos from the looks of it... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-09-17 14:59 |
| #8 No Blackwater - no more journalists leaving the Green Zone. Need to order up a few extra cases of Boodles and Martinia and Rossi, in that case. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-09-17 13:51 |
| #7 Helvenston is now part of a lawsuit that accuses Blackwater of cutting corners that ultimately led to the death of her son and three others. Mother Cha-Ching more likely... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-09-17 13:49 |
| #6 "There have been so many innocent people they've killed over there, and they just keep doing it," said Katy Helvenston, the mother of late Blackwater contractor Steve Helvenston, who died in 2004 during the ambush in Fallujah. "They have just a callous disregard for life." "Mother" Sheehan redux? |
| Posted by: OyVey1 2007-09-17 13:48 |
| #5 Diyya. Money will change hands, all be back to normal. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-09-17 12:41 |
| #4 Bassem Mroue? Certainly an unbiased reporting source! I wish there was as much concern on the part of the Maliki government over AQ and other terrorists groups and Iran meddling. I also wish they would do more of the heavy lifting. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-09-17 12:01 |
| #3 When I hear Blackwater, I think of the 4 employees murdered by thugs in Fallujah. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-09-17 11:55 |
| #2 So Iraq wants to basically ban security for diplomatic convoys? I bet Rove put them up to this. My advice to the 'innocent' civilians caught in crossfire/wildfire surrounding ambushes - when you see an ambush being set up, get far away very fast and report it to authorities. If you don't, then expect the consequences to further cleanse the gene pool. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-09-17 11:08 |
| #1 BASSEM MROUE Where's ol' Bassem from, anyway? And what might be his/her interest in an Iraq in a state of "anarchy and civil war"? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-09-17 11:02 |