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September 22nd,
2007 - Iraq: Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked 1st news article by
the Associated Press |
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Iraq:
Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked By Robert H. Reid Associated Press September 22, 2007 Baghdad - Iraqi
investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire
against civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11
people died, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case had been
referred to the Iraqi judiciary. Iraq's president, meanwhile,
demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion
of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to
U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Interior Ministry spokesman
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an
investigation into the Sept. 20 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad
and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. He told The Associated Press
that the conclusion was based on witness statements as well as videotape shot
by cameras at the nearby headquarters of the national police command. He said
eight people were killed at the scene and three of the 15 wounded died in
hospitals. Blackwater, which provides
most of the security for U.S. diplomats and civilian officials in Iraq, has
insisted that its guards came under fire from armed insurgents and shot back
only to defend themselves. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne
Tyrrell said Saturday that she knew nothing about the videotape and was
contractually prohibited from discussing any details of the shooting. Khalaf also said the
ministry was looking into six other fatal shootings involving the Moyock,
N.C.-based company, including a Feb. 7 incident outside Iraqi state
television in Baghdad in which three building guards were fatally shot. "These six cases will
support the case against Blackwater, because they show that it has a criminal
record," Khalaf said. Khalaf said the report had
been "sent to the judiciary" although he would not specify whether
that amounted to filing of criminal charges. Under Iraqi law, an
investigating judge reviews criminal complaints and decides whether there is
enough evidence for a trial. Government spokesman Ali
al-Dabbagh said Saturday that no decision had been taken whether to seek
punishment for any Blackwater employees. "The necessary measures
will be taken that will preserve the honor of the Iraqi people," he said
in New York, where al-Maliki arrived Friday for the U.N. General Assembly
session. "We have ongoing high-level meetings with the U.S. side about
this issue." Al-Maliki is expected to
raise the issue with Bush during a meeting Monday in New York. It is doubtful that foreign
security contractors could be prosecuted under Iraqi law. A directive issued
by U.S. occupation authorities in 2004 granted contractors, U.S. troops and
many other foreign officials immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. Security contractors are
also not subject to U.S. military law under which U.S. troopers face
prosecution for killing or abusing Iraqis. Iraqi officials have said in
the wake of the Nisoor Square shooting that they will press for amendments to
the 2004 directive. A senior aide to al-Maliki
said Friday that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be
subject to prosecution. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of the case. Shortly after the Sept. 20
shooting, U.S. officials said they "understood" that a videotape
had recorded the incident in Nisoor Square but refused to give more details.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to
release information to the media. Following the Nisoor Square
shooting, the Interior Ministry banned Blackwater from operating in Iraq but
rolled back after the U.S. agreed to a joint investigation. The company
resumed guarding a reduced number of U.S. convoys on Friday. The al-Maliki aide said
Friday that the Iraqis were pushing for an apology, compensation for victims
or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held
"accountable." Hadi al-Amri, a prominent
Shiite lawmaker and al-Maliki ally, also said an admission of wrongdoing, an
apology and compensation offered a way out of the dilemma. "They are always
frightened and that's why they shoot at civilians," al-Amri said.
"If Blackwater gets to stay in Iraq, it will have to give guarantees
about its conduct." Allegations against
Blackwater have clouded relations between Iraq and the Americans at a time
when the U.S. administration is seeking to contain calls in Congress for
sharp reductions in the 160,000-strong U.S. military force. Adding to those strains, President
Jalal Talabani demanded the immediate release of an Iranian official detained
Thursday by U.S. forces in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. The U.S. military said the
unidentified Iranian was a member of the Quds force - an elite unit of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards accused of arming and training Shiite militias in Iraq. A statement issued Saturday
by Talabani's office said the arrest was carried out without the prior
knowledge or the cooperation of the Kurdish regional government. "This amounts to an
insult and a violation of its rights and authority," said the statement,
quoting a letter Talabani sent to Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador
Ryan Crocker. Talabani, a Kurd, is one of Washington's most reliable partners
in Iraq. Talabani said Iran had
threatened to close the border with the Kurdish region if the official were
not freed - a serious blow to the economy in the president's political
stronghold. "I want to express to
you our dismay over the arrest by American forces of this official civilian
Iranian guest," Talabani wrote to Petraeus and Crocker. Five Iranians said to be
linked to the Quds force were arrested in the Kurdish city of Irbil and
remain in U.S. custody. Also Saturday, the U.S.
military announced the death of two more U.S. soldiers - one of an
unspecified non-combat related injury and another in a vehicle accident in
Diyala province. The deaths raised to at least 3,795 members of the U.S.
military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to
an Associated Press count. The U.S. said seven
insurgents were killed and 12 were captured in a raid in Musayyib, 40 miles
south of Baghdad. A U.S. statement said one of those captured is believed to
know the whereabouts of senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders. Associated Press reporters
Bushra Juhi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Tom Foreman Jr. in Raleigh,
N.C. contributed to this report. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/22/ap/headlines/d8rqnbt80.txt Rising tensions as Rice,
al-Maliki meet By Matthew Lee Associated Press September 22, 2007 United Nations - Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice met Saturday with Iraq's prime minister in their
first face-to-face talks since a Baghdad shootout involving guards from a
U.S. company protecting American diplomats. Rice and Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki were among numerous top diplomats and officials from Iraq's
neighbors, including Iran and Syria, which the United States accuses of
destabilizing Iraq, gathering at the United Nations with U.N. chief Ban
Ki-moon to discuss Iraq's future. Neither spoke to reporters
as they entered the room for the meeting, which came as Iraq's Interior
Ministry said it had expanded its investigation of the shooting last Sunday
to include six other incidents over the past seven months involving
Blackwater USA security guards. That announcement added to
rising U.S.-Iraqi tensions following the shooting Sept. 16 that killed at
least 11 Iraqis, including civilians. The talks are the
highest-level encounter between the governments since the incident and since
Rice on Friday announced a full review of State Department security in Iraq.
They precede a meeting on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly
session where al-Maliki will see President Bush. Rice's review will examine
the rules of engagement followed by security contractors as well as rules and
regulations that govern their operations. That includes the jurisdiction in
which contractors should be covered and the immunity from prosecution by
Iraqi and U.S. military courts that they now enjoy. A joint U.S.-Iraqi
commission is also beginning to look at widely conflicting accounts of last
weekend's incident; the first session was planned for Sunday. American witnesses have said
the security guards were responding to an attack. Many Iraqi witnesses have
told investigators the shooting was unprovoked. The prime minister has called
the incident a "crime" and his government has suggested that the
U.S. no longer use Blackwater for security. But the State Department
relies heavily on private contractors to protect U.S. diplomats and other
civilian U.S. government personnel in Iraq because it lacks the means to do
so itself. Blackwater has said its
guards, protecting a U.S. diplomatic convoy, were returning fire from
insurgents and acted appropriately. Rice spoke to al-Maliki by
telephone Monday to express regret for the deaths. At that time, she asked
that he hold off from any action against Blackwater until all the facts were
known. Iraqi officials, who
initially said they would ban the company, have shown no sign of easing their
criticism. The killings have outraged many Iraqis, who long have resented the
presence of armed Western security contractors, considering them an arrogant mercenary
force that abuses Iraqis in their own country. Iraq's Interior Ministry now
is looking at other incidents involving Blackwater employees. Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf
said the Moyock, N.C.-based company has been implicated in six other
incidents over the past seven months, including a Feb. 7 shooting outside
Iraqi state television in Baghdad in which three building guards were fatally
shot. Blackwater USA spokeswoman
Anne Tyrrell had no comment when reached by telephone Saturday morning. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/5156870.html |