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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 27th,
2007 - U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad |
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U.S. Security
Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad Blackwater Employees Were Involved in Two Shooting Incidents in Past
Week By Steve Fainaru & Saad al-Izzi Washington Post May 27, 2007 Employees of Blackwater USA,
a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire
on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and one of the
incidents provoked a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi
forces, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. A Blackwater guard shot and
killed an Iraqi driver Thursday near the Interior Ministry, according to
three U.S. officials and one Iraqi official who were briefed on the incident
but spoke on condition of anonymity because of a pending investigation. On Wednesday,
a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a
furious battle in which the security contractors, U.S. and Iraqi troops and
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were firing in a congested area. Blackwater confirmed that its
employees were involved in two shootings but could neither confirm nor deny
that there had been any casualties, according to a company official who
declined to be identified because of the firm's policy of not addressing
incidents publicly. Blackwater's security
consulting division holds at least $109 million worth of State Department
contracts in Iraq, and its employees operate in a perilous environment that
sometimes requires the use of deadly force. But last week's incidents
underscored how deeply these hired guns have been drawn into the war, their
murky legal status and the grave consequences that can ensue when they take
aggressive action. Matthew Degn, a senior
American civilian adviser to the Interior Ministry's intelligence
directorate, described the ministry as "a powder keg" after the
Iraqi driver was shot Thursday, with anger at Blackwater spilling over to
other Americans working in the building. Degn said he was concerned
the incident "could undermine a lot of the cordial relationships that
have been built up over the past four years. There's a lot of angry people up
here right now." Details about that incident
remained sketchy. The Blackwater guards said the victim drove too close to
their convoy and drew fire, according to the three American officials.
Concerned about a possible car bomb or other threat, the guards said they
tried to wave off the vehicle, shouted, fired a warning shot into the
radiator, then shot into the windshield when the driver failed to pull back,
the officials said. Such steps are recommended under the rules for the use of
force by contractors in Iraq specified in Memorandum 17, a set of guidelines
adopted in 2004 by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led
occupation government, and still in effect. The Iraqi official said the
driver encountered the Blackwater convoy after leaving a gas station just
outside the Interior Ministry. Some witnesses said the shooting was
unprovoked, the official said. He said the driver had wounds in his shoulder,
chest and head. The Blackwater employees
refused to divulge their names or details of the incident to Iraqi
authorities, according to two of the U.S. officials and the Iraqi official.
The officials described a tense standoff that ensued between the Blackwater guards
and Interior Ministry forces - both sides armed with assault rifles - until a
passing U.S. military convoy intervened. Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater
spokeswoman, said the company did not discuss specific incidents. In a
statement via e-mail, she wrote: "Blackwater investigates any reports of
hostile action in Iraq. Per the terms of our US Government contracts, as a
matter of routine, Blackwater is required to file after action reports on any
such incidents." Dan Sreebny, a U.S. Embassy
spokesman in Baghdad, said: "The security contractors are an important
part of our embassy here. We expect all people within the mission to conform
to the rules and procedures of professional behavior. We take allegations of
misbehavior very seriously, and when there are such allegations we
investigate thoroughly." Blackwater, which is
headquartered in Moyock, N.C., gained national attention in March 2004, when
a mob killed four of its employees in the city of Fallujah and hung their
charred corpses from a bridge. Blackwater is now the most prominent of dozens
of security companies working in Iraq, with hundreds of guards and a fleet of
armored vehicles and helicopters. The Interior Ministry, which
regulates security companies for the Iraqi government, has received four previous
complaints of shooting incidents involving Blackwater in the past two years,
according to Hussein Kamal, undersecretary for intelligence affairs. But in
an interview before last week's shootings, Kamal said Iraqi authorities have
been hampered by a Coalition Provisional Authority order granting contractors
immunity from the Iraqi legal process. Interior Ministry officials
said Blackwater has not applied to operate as a private security company in
Iraq. That process has been completed by several security firms with U.S.
government contracts, including ArmorGroup International and Aegis Defense
Services, two British companies. Tyrrell wrote that
Blackwater is "working lawfully in Iraq," adding, "We comply
with all contractual obligations, including obtaining all appropriate
registrations in the very dynamic environment in Iraq whose requirements for
registration and licensing are always evolving." The Pentagon and company
representatives estimate that 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors
work in Iraq, although there are no official figures and some estimates run
much higher. Security contractors are not counted as part of the coalition
forces and are prohibited from taking part in offensive operations. But their
convoys are often attacked, drawing guards into firefights and ground combat. The Blackwater convoy
involved in the Wednesday incident was ambushed at 11 a.m., according to the
U.S. military, while escorting State Department employees participating in
the reconstruction effort. U.S. officials and bystanders said the Blackwater
vehicles were struck by a well-coordinated attack, with insurgents unleashing
a barrage of small-arms fire from surrounding rooftops. A statement released by the
military said that the "security unit" requested assistance and
that Apache helicopters attached to the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry
Division, arrived before ground forces. Mohammed Mahdi, 37, an
employee at a veterinary drugstore, said the combined American forces
unleashed a fury of gunfire near the Amanat, the municipal headquarters
located in the heart of downtown Baghdad. Before taking cover in his store,
Mahdi said, he saw two people killed and one wounded near the city's legal
registry. A U.S. Embassy official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said Blackwater contractors "did
their job," enabling the State Department employees to be extracted
without injuries. The U.S. military said no American soldiers were killed or
wounded during the attack. Mahdi said that the battle
lasted for nearly an hour and that when he emerged he saw four mini-buses, a
taxi and an Opel sedan containing dead and wounded. He said that he saw
"at least four or five" people "who were certainly dead"
but that he did not know how the people were killed, who killed them or
whether they were civilians or combatants. "There were people
yelling: 'There's someone dead over here! Come!'" he said. "And
another saying: 'There's someone wounded over here. Come and get them.'" Izzi reported from Baghdad. Correspondent
John Ward Anderson in Baghdad and staff researcher Julie Tate in Washington
contributed to this report. External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/26/AR2007052601394.html |