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| Iraq |
| How could it be? Blackwater Iraq contract to be renewed |
| 2008-04-05 |
| The State Department will renew its contract with Blackwater to provide security in Iraq, Greg Starr, acting assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, said Friday. No provisions have been added to the contract, Starr said, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered several changes to procedure after a September incident in which Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 people, including women and children. The incident placed the operations of Blackwater and other security firms under scrutiny in Iraq, where an estimated 25,000 private contractors protect diplomats, reconstruction workers and government officials. Under a provision instituted in the early days of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, security contractors have immunity from Iraqi law. The five-year State Department contract, which began in 2006, must be renewed every year and is up for renewal next month. Starr said, in effect, Blackwater's contract will roll over for another year. Blackwater is one of three contractors working under a "task order" to provide security services in Iraq. The other two are Triple Canopy and DynCorp. An agreement, or memorandum of understanding, between the State Department and U.S. military calls for a higher level of coordination and supervision of contractors, Starr said. Blackwater still has to work under the rules of the Iraqi government, he said. The FBI is in charge of the U.S. investigation of the September incident, in which survivors and victims' family members said Blackwater guards started shooting unprovoked. Blackwater said its employees were returning fire after coming under attack from armed insurgents, but an Iraqi investigation called the killings "premeditated murder." Starr said the U.S. government, in particular U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, will take a close look at the FBI's investigation report and then "decide whether it is consistent with U.S. goals and policies to continue the contract." He said it will be important to see whether the FBI finds Blackwater itself criminally responsible, or merely a few of its employees. "We can terminate contracts for the convenience of the government if we have to," he said. "I am not going to prejudge what the FBI is going to find in its investigation. It's complex. I think the U.S. government needs protective services." Starr said he did have some concern about the reaction of the Iraqi government and people. But he noted that there have been only three additional "escalation of forces" incidents since the new rules of engagement. "I am up to this point very satisfied with the changes we have seen," he said. "Essentially I think they do a very good job. The September 16 incident was a tragedy, it needs to be investigated carefully. The results of that will come out of that eventually and we will decide how we will proceed." Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell declined to comment, referring all questions to the State Department. IOW: "Bite me." |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #5 Thrinesing Peacock8884: Mercenaries can only operate in places under the auspices and protection of governments. Otherwise they are open to all sorts of problems, and not just legal ones. For example, they have no Geneva Convention protections, and can be killed at will by any other nation. Blackwater would probably not work outside of the US government, EU or NATO protections, and they are free to reach any contractual agreement they want to. If they don't like the deal, they are under no obligation to stay. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-04-05 19:46 |
| #4 Blackwater Iraq Contract to be Renewed Boy, howdy! First, Randi Rhodes gets canned from Airhead America and now this? Wait til the libs get a hold of the news that Halliburton's taking over military recruitment station in Berkley! Their heads will explode! |
| Posted by: BA 2008-04-05 17:03 |
| #3 #2 Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-04-05 12:10 I hope that Blackwater protects itself by establishing a headquarters outside of the US. And where is this island paradise that the ICC would not harass them? After all, to paraphrase Orwell: " |
| Posted by: Thrinesing Peacock8884 2008-04-05 15:02 |
| #2 I hope that Blackwater protects itself by establishing a headquarters outside of the US. Sooner or later, there is going to be a US government that will either be outright hostile to mercenary corporations in general or to them in particular, or who will try to take them over. It is just a matter of time. Advantages of doing so include being able to recruit non-American specialists, like Ghurkas, yet continue to keep a high level of professionalism, which is a problem for most mercenary companies. Optimally, Blackwater is big enough so that it could have a private island base in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and possibly in the Aleutians and one in Africa, as well as a US office and training facility for when the government is reasonable. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-04-05 12:10 |
| #1 what makes ppl think any other private security firm "mercenaries" is gonna be any different, and how many of these firms could there be out there that has 25,000 troops on hand for the job |
| Posted by: sinse 2008-04-05 11:11 |