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The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
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September 21st,
2007 - Survivor Recalls Blackwater Shootings 1st news article by the
Associated Press News article by the Los Angeles Times |
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Survivor Recalls Blackwater
Shootings By Bushra Juhi Associated Press September 21, 2007 Baghdad - Lawyer Hassan Jabir
was stuck in traffic when he heard Blackwater USA security contractors shout
"Go, Go, Go." Moments later bullets pierced his back, he said
Thursday from his hospital bed. Jabir was among about a
dozen people wounded Sunday during the shooting in west Baghdad's Mansour
neighborhood. Iraqi police say at least 11 people were killed. Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki described the shooting as a "crime" by Blackwater, a
N.C.-based company that guards American diplomats and civilian officials in
Iraq. "No one fired at
them," Jabir said of the Blackwater guards. "No one attacked them
but they randomly fired at people. So many people died in the street." Blackwater's operations have
been suspended pending completion of a joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation. In the
meantime, most U.S. diplomats and civilian officials are confined to the
Green Zone or U.S. military bases unless they can travel by helicopter. As Jabir posed for
photographers in Yarmouk Hospital, an Interior Ministry official came by to
register his name as a victim in connection with the investigation. Jabir's account is among
several versions which the investigators hope to reconcile. Blackwater
insists that its employees came under fire from armed insurgents and shot
back to protect State Department employees. The New York Times reported
in its Friday editions that the Iraqi government has concluded the Blackwater
guards weren't fired upon and that the shooting was unprovoked. An Iraqi Interior Ministry
report stated that "the Blackwater company is considered 100 percent
guilty through this investigation," according to the Times. The document
also recommends the dozens of foreign security companies in the country be
replaced by Iraqi companies, their immunity lifted, and that Blackwater pay
compensation to the families of the victims. A U.S. official in
Washington who's familiar with information collected by investigators said
the accounts given by witnesses are widely different. He spoke on condition
of anonymity because the investigation is not over. Jabir, whose left arm and
chest were bandaged, said he was driving toward the Ministry of Justice when
he found the road clogged with traffic. He saw several armored vehicles with
armed guards on the roofs parked ahead of the traffic jam. Three black SUVs
were behind them. "After 20 minutes, the
Americans told us to turn back," he said. "They shouted 'Go' 'Go'
'Go.'... When we started turning back, the Americans began shooting heavily
at us. The traffic policeman was the first person killed." The shooting set off a
panic, Jabir said, with men, women and children diving from their vehicles,
trying desperately to crawl to safety. "But many of them were
killed," he said. "I saw a 10-year-old boy jump in fear from one of
the minibuses. He was shot in his head. His mother jumped after him and was
also killed." Suddenly, Jabir felt two
bullets strike his back - one pierced his left lung and the other lodged in
his intestines. "I kept on driving my
car because if I left it, I would die," he said. "Then I was hit
with two other bullets, one in my right hand and the second in my right
shoulder just under the neck. ... I was rescued by Iraqi special forces"
who rushed to the area. "I swear to God that
they were not exposed to any fire," Jabir said of the Blackwater guards.
"They are criminals and thirst for blood." U.S. officials have refused
to discuss details of the shooting pending completion of the investigation. President Bush told
reporters in Washington that he expects to discuss the incident with
al-Maliki during a meeting in New York next week on the sidelines of the U.N.
General Assembly session. "Folks like Blackwater
who provide security for the State Department are under rules of
engagement," Bush said. "They have certain rules. And this
commission will determine whether they violated those rules." According to the official in
Washington, most of the Iraqi witnesses say Blackwater guards fired on a car
which had acted suspiciously. The car then burst into flames and exploded,
according to the Iraqi witnesses. American witnesses maintain
they were taking fire before the car approached, and fired back. Some insist
the car exploded without being hit, the official said. That version suggests
it was a car bomb. Some Iraqis didn't seem to
care which version was correct. For them, the real problem is that their
country is occupied by foreigners - whether soldiers or civilians. "Our problem is rooted
in the occupation, regardless of whether it's by security firms or foreign
troops," a Baghdad resident, who have his name only as Abu Ahmed, told
Associated Press Television News. "This is one of the grave consequences
of the occupation." Associated Press
correspondent Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/5153561.html Blackwater under scrutiny in
Iraq The U.S. Embassy and the group protect each other, says a diplomat, as
Iraqis doubt an inquiry will yield any results. By Ned Parker and Raheem Salman Los Angeles Times September 21, 2007 Baghdad - Habib Sadr was
sitting at his desk when the shots rang out. A sniper had just shot three
security guards outside his office at the government-run Iraqi Media Network. With the fatally wounded
guards lying by their checkpoint, a security convoy rolled into the
neighboring Justice Ministry compound. Sadr believed the sniper was with them.
The incident, he said, was a brutal introduction into the world of private
security contractors. An internal investigation by
Sadr's department found that Blackwater USA was responsible. But seven months
after the Feb. 7 shootings no one has been charged. "We discovered it was
Blackwater who did this thing. They fired at our martyrs without any reason.
They didn't do anything. They were just standing at their checkpoint.
Everyone knows this is the site of the Iraqi Media Network," said Sadr,
who is head of Iraqi state media. "It's a strange thing.
Animals get killed and gain more attention. Here we have human lives lost. We
respect the laws, we filed the case, I was keen to take the thing through the
official channels." A U.S. diplomat confirmed that
Blackwater guards carried out the shooting, but said he did not know the
results of the State Department security office's inquiry. He raised concerns
that the investigation into the North Carolina-based firm was being conducted
in too secretive a manner. "Because they are
security, everything was a big secret," the official said, on condition
of anonymity, referring to the relationship between the U.S. Embassy's
security office and Blackwater. "They draw the wagon circle. They
protect each other. They look out for each other. I don't know if that's a
good thing, that wall of silence. When it protects the guilty, that is
definitely not a good thing." The death of the media
network guards was one of several shootings that have damaged the
contractor's reputation among Iraqis and some U.S. diplomats. The latest
incident, Sunday's fatal shooting of 11 Iraqis by a Blackwater security
detail in west Baghdad, has forced the U.S. Embassy to agree to an
unprecedented review of private security companies and the embassy's
oversight of such contractors. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
Maliki on Wednesday blamed Blackwater for six other shootings since the firm
was hired in 2003, and demanded that the security firm be replaced. The U.S.
Embassy has said it will await the outcome of an investigation. Blackwater and American
officials have disputed the Iraqi findings on Sunday's shooting, saying
Blackwater guards came under fire as they were protecting State Department
officials. "The [guards'] convoy
came under attack, and there was defensive fire as a result of that,"
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Wednesday. Blackwater has not
responded to Maliki's allegations about the six other shootings. One contentious item to be
studied is the immunity shielding security contractors and U.S. employees
from Iraqi courts, which was granted by this nation's former U.S.
administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, in June 2004, the day before Iraq regained
its sovereignty. "It is a good time now
to look at the whole concept of the ... personal security details' operations
here, the whole framework, what are the expectations, what are the standards.
These are issues we are going to be looking at closely in the coming
weeks," said Mirembe Nantongo, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy. Blackwater has long operated
off the U.S. military's radar, answering instead to the embassy's security
staff. Military officials express resentment at what they view as renegade
behavior by private security contractors, including running Iraqis off the road,
throwing water bottles and a quick trigger finger. "We pay for their
indiscretions every day," one U.S. officer said on condition of
anonymity. The view from the Iraqi
police is no better. "They don't have car licenses. They don't have any
names. Nobody knows who they are. If they are asked, anyway, they bully
people," said Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem
Khalaf. In July, a Blackwater convoy
traded fire with guards at the Interior Ministry, killing five policemen and wounding
eight others, a ministry official told The Times on condition of anonymity. Hassan Jabbar Salman, 45,
was driving his car by Nisoor Square in the Mansour district Sunday when the
Blackwater convoy opened fire. Trapped at the traffic circle, Salman sat
helplessly as bullets flew. Four of them entered his back, one piercing his
left lung above his heart. "I knew that those were
Blackwater's vehicles. I know them very well. They shot my son ... on July
17, 2005, and I have a court case against them since then," Salman said
by telephone from his hospital bed. The case has languished, and
his son still has not completely recovered, he said. "I now have two
experiences with this company," he said. "I think all members of
this company are criminals who were taken from American prisons." The Salmans were lucky in
some respects. They survived to ask questions. On Feb. 4, 2007, days before
the Interior Ministry guards were killed, Suhad Shakir, 37, employed by the
U.S. military, was driving toward the Green Zone at 9 p.m. "There was
... a convoy of SUVs, I think of U.S. contractors. They were driving in the
main road. The girl drove her car behind them but very close, so one car in
the convoy shot at her six times and left," said Abu Haidar, a witness
who owns a kiosk in the area. Suhad's father, Shakir
Ismail, a retired psychologist, is still devastated. Suhad Shakir had worked
as an anchor on an English-language news program before she took a job with
the Iraqi Assistance Center, which helps the U.S. military coordinate medical
services, track detainees and provide compensation for Iraqis. Ismail said he
spoke with her American boss, whom he identified as Col. Karl, after her
death. He said the American told him the shooting was a mistake. " 'We
know Suhad very well, she was our friend, she was killed in the wrong place,
in the wrong way! We feel very sorry for her,' " Ismail recalled Karl
saying. Ismail can't be certain
Blackwater was behind his daughter's death, but in his mind it remains the
likely culprit. Recently weakened by a heart
attack, Ismail remains at home, grieving his loss. "I encouraged her
since her childhood to choose the way she likes to live, to choose what kind
of personality she wants, what kind of education. She loved all people in the
whole world. She loved peace. She was sympathizing ... with the American
soldiers." Ismail had encouraged his
children to learn English, but wants nothing to do with the United States.
"They said first they came to establish democracy in the country, but
instead we are see the killing of innocents and we have to keep silent,"
he said. "This is not acceptable. Such acts must not be done." Some wonder whether any
investigation will resolve Sunday's shooting or the other cases allegedly
involving Blackwater. The embassy's security staff
will participate with Iraqis in a review of the incident. Although it is
standard procedure for the security staff to investigate such cases, a U.S.
diplomat suggested that the staff's close relationship with Blackwater gave
the appearance of a conflict of interest. "We are at cross
purposes, saying, 'We want to rebuild your country.' On the other hand, you
have this thing going on," the diplomat said. "At some point you
ask, 'Why am I here?' For every step forward, there is two steps back." External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-shootings21sep21,1,3416281.story Rice Orders Probe of Security
in Baghdad By Matthew Lee Associated Press September 21, 2007 Washington - Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she had ordered a "full and complete
review" of security practices for U.S. diplomats in Iraq following a
deadly weekend incident involving private guards protecting an embassy
convoy. Rice's announcement came as
the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad resumed limited diplomatic convoys under the
protection of Blackwater USA outside the heavily fortified Green Zone after a
two-day suspension because of the weekend incident in that city. Rice said she had directed
the State Department to examine "how we are providing security to our
diplomats." The review will include all
aspects of protection, including the rules of engagement for security guards
and under what jurisidiction they should be covered, department spokesman
Sean McCormack said. While on a plane returning
from the Middle East to Washington, Rice ordered the review on Thursday in a
phone call to the veteran diplomat who will lead it, Patrick Kennedy, a
senior management official, according to McCormack. He said the review would
be conducted as quickly as possible and might bring in outside experts. U.S. diplomatic travel had
been halted following Sunday's incident in which guards employed by
Blackwater, a private security firm, opened fire in response to an alleged
attack on a convoy. At least 11 people,
including Iraqi civilians, were killed in the firefight. Iraqi officials have
called the incident a "crime" and initially called for Blackwater
to be expelled from the country. Rice and other U.S. officials have urged the
Iraqis to wait until investigations are complete before taking any permanent
steps. "We take very seriously
what happened," Rice said, noting she had called Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki on Monday to express regret at the loss of innocent life. Rice declined to comment on
Friday's resumption of Blackwater-protected convoys but paid tribute to the guards
from the firm, one of three that provide security for U.S. diplomats and
other civilian government officials in Iraq. "We have needed and
received the protection of Blackwater for a number of years now and they have
lost their own people in protecting our people in extremely dangerous
circumstances," she said. The United States and Iraq
have agreed to form a joint commission to look into Sunday's incident and
make recommendations to clarify confusing rules and regulations that govern
the conduct of private security contractors in Iraq. A senior official on
al-Maliki's staff said the Iraqi government realizes that it may not be able
to push through a ban on Blackwater USA because the Americans rely so heavily
on security firms. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the
issue is politically charged. Iraqi and U.S. witnesses
have offered widely divergent accounts of what happened: Iraqis say the
Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and the Americans say the
security detail was responding to an attack. Blackwater has not made any
comment about the incident since releasing a statement on Monday that said
its employees acted properly in responding to an attack. McCormack said the
Blackwater guards who fired weapons in Sunday's incident, about a third of
the 15-20 strong-team protecting the convoy, are "standing down"
from their jobs at least temporarily. He did not say whether they would
return to duty. The al-Maliki aide said some
of the Blackwater guards believed to have been involved in the shooting were
Iraqis and could face prosecution in Iraqi courts. Blackwater had conducted
about 1,800 security details for diplomatic visits outside the Green Zone
since January and that there had been very few incidents in which weapons
were discharged, he said. The joint U.S-Iraqi
commission is charged with going over separate U.S. and Iraqi investigations
of Sunday's incident, establishing a common set of facts and then suggesting
how to proceed. It will be headed on the U.S. side by Patricia Butenis, the
No. 2 at the embassy in Baghdad, and on the Iraqi side by a senior official
from the Defense Ministry. It is expected to soon
convene for the first time, according to State Department officials who say
it will likely propose changes to the existing rules that date from the
U.S.-led occupation government and give private contractors immunity from
Iraqi laws. Security contractors are
also not subject to U.S. military law under which U.S. troop face prosecution
for killing or abusing Iraqis. The al-Maliki aide said the
several options were under study, including a new set of regulations and
rules of engagement for security convoys. He gave no details but said
security companies would have to "accept Iraqi law," and Blackwater
would likely have to pay compensation to the victims or their survivors. Sunday's killings have
outraged many Iraqis, who have long resented the presence of armed Western
security contractors, considering them an arrogant mercenary force that
abuses Iraqis in their own country. But the United States relies
heavily on Blackwater and the two security companies, Dyncorp and Triple
Canopy, to protect American diplomats and civilian officials since the 160,000-strong
American military force is already stretched thin trying to subdue Sunni and
Shiite extremists. Blackwater protects U.S.
diplomats in Baghdad and Hilla, while Dyncorp works in the northern Kurdish
areas of Iraq and Triple Canopy operates in the predominantly Shia south,
according to McCormack. Associated Press Writer
Robert Reid in Baghdad contributed to this story. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1kARbhZk34azpH_jyu34m3YUDpw |