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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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October 13th,
2007 - Blackwater Chief: FBI Probe ‘Welcome’ News article by the Associated Press |
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Blackwater Chief: FBI Probe ‘Welcome’ By David Scott Associated Press October 13, 2007 Raleigh, N.C. - The chief
executive of Blackwater USA, whose guards are accused of killing 17 Iraqis in
Baghdad last month, says he welcomes the FBI investigation into the shooting
and supports the prosecution of any bad acts. "I'm glad they can be a
neutral party," Blackwater founder Erik Prince said in an interview to
be broadcast Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes." "And if there's
further investigation or prosecution even needed, if someone really did wrong
and meant badly, I'm all supportive." Prince also was to appear in
an interview to air Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf
Blitzer"; was interviewed by Newsweek for an article posted Friday
night; and will appear Monday night on PBS' "The Charlie Rose
Show." "These are guys that
are prior military. They're prior law enforcement. They're used to that kind
of accountability. ... This is not an unusual thing to hold them accountable
again," Prince told Rose. "They want that. ... And they want clear
names for those that didn't do anything wrong. They want justice to be done,
just like we do." Iraqi authorities have asked
the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater within six
months and hand over the contractors involved in the Sept. 16 shootings in
Baghdad's Nisoor Square to face possible trial in Iraqi courts. They have also demanded that
North Carolina-based Blackwater pay $8 million in compensation to each of the
families of those killed. An Iraqi investigation into
the shooting charges that four Blackwater vehicles called to the square began
shooting without provocation. In the interviews, Prince
said he has evidence the Blackwater guards were fired on. "The fact is three of
our vehicles had pock marks in them from incident reports that I saw,"
Prince said. "So, clearly, our guys were not shooting at each
other." Prince also said one of the
Blackwater vehicles was shot through the radiator and had to be towed from
the scene. "It wasn't deliberate;
it wasn't murder," Prince told Rose. "I believe - wait until the
investigation comes out, but in looking at the past performance of the guys,
the previous military experience, the good judgment they've shown for the
last 15 or 20 years serving in the U.S. military and law enforcement - I believe
they used good judgment that day." Blackwater's spokeswoman did
not return messages left by The Associated Press on Saturday seeking comment
from Prince, a 38-year-old former Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater in 1997
using millions of dollars he inherited from his family's auto-parts fortune. The company, headquartered
in Moyock, N.C., in the state's northeastern swamplands, is the largest of
the State Department's three private security contractors. Two senior officials have
told The Associated Press the State Department may phase out or limit the use
of private security guards in Iraq, which could mean canceling Blackwater's
contract or awarding it to another company. They spoke on condition of
anonymity because the review is still under way. Should that happen, Prince
said, "We'll do what we're told and, you know, make the transition as
smooth as possible." Prince told Rose that
Blackwater welcomes additional measures imposed by Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, including having federal agents accompany convoys and
installing video cameras in their vehicles. Families of Iraqis killed in
the Sept. 16 attack have sued Blackwater, charging that the firm violated
U.S. law and fostered a culture of lawlessness among its employees. Prince this month told a
House committee that while the company supports legislation that would place
private security companies working for the State Department under the
jurisdiction of U.S. courts, the FBI's investigation is proof that oversight
and accountability already exists. The legislation has since
passed, and Prince told "60 Minutes" he welcomes additional
oversight. "We welcome the
accountability," Prince said. "We want a good name for this
industry." Associated Press writer
Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hv6uIDiyl9iQFehKbYkDpHUv15YQD8S8M9GO0 Survivors of Blackwater
shooting in Iraq tell FBI their stories By Jomana Karadsheh CNN October 13, 2007 Baghdad, Iraq - Survivors of
a September 16 incident in which the Iraqi government accuses Blackwater USA
security guards of fatally shooting 17 Iraqi civilians without provocation
have told FBI investigators harrowing stories of their ordeals. Hassan Jabbar, who was
injured in the Blackwater shooting, is comforted by his wife at a Baghdad
hospital. Iraqis have said 27 Iraqis
were wounded in the shooting, which has sparked an international controversy
over the conduct of private U.S. contractors in Iraq. The guards were
protecting a State Department convoy. An FBI team arrived in
Baghdad on October 4 to investigate. CNN has spoken by telephone
with three of the survivors who were interviewed by the agents. Abdul Wahab Abdul Razzaq,
who works at a bank, said he was driving toward Nusoor Square when he saw a
traffic jam. He turned his car around to avoid it. In his rearview mirror, he
saw a private security convoy coming up behind him. One of the convoy
vehicles hit his car, and someone inside threw water bottles and flares
toward him. They started shooting when cars could not move, he said. Abdul
Razzaq said he was shot at three times, and two of the bullets hit him. One bullet hit Abdul Razzaq
in the hand, which he said broke a bone, and a second bullet ricocheted,
wounding him in the leg. Worried about getting shot in the head, he opened
the door and jumped from his car, diving on the ground. "I wanted to save what
was left of me," he said. His car, which was left in
"drive," kept moving and slammed into a wall, Abdul Razzaq said. He
said he was screaming for help when two policemen showed up after the
Blackwater convoy left. The police took him to Yarmouk Hospital. Meanwhile, he saw a man get
shot in the abdomen, he said. "It was awful." He said he met Saturday with
two FBI agents, an Iraqi National Police team and a Lebanese interpreter for
about 45 minutes. They asked him detailed questions, some of them twice, to
test him, he said. He provided them with pictures of his car. Abdul Razzaq described the
investigators as very understanding, and said they expressed their regrets
over what had happened. The first U.S. soldiers to
arrive on the scene of the shootings have told investigators they found no
evidence the Blackwater contractors were fired upon, a source familiar with a
preliminary U.S. military report told CNN on Friday. The soldiers also found
evidence suggesting the guards fired on cars that were trying to leave the
scene, the military source said. Blackwater has no comment on
the report, spokeswoman Anne Tyrell said. The company has said its
contractors "acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile
attack," and "the 'civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater
professionals were in fact armed enemies, and Blackwater personnel returned
defensive fire." The U.S. State Department
has said that "innocent life was lost." Another survivor, Haider
Ahmed Rabe'e, a taxi driver who normally operates in the Nusoor Square area,
said Saturday that when he drove in from Yarmouk that day, he heard shooting
and a woman screaming for help. Rabe'e said he tried to flee
the area, but was stuck in traffic. The scene was chaotic, with bullets
flying everywhere, he said. Rabe'e said he is used to private security
convoys in the area and never imagined anything like the incident that
unfolded because "people understand procedure around these convoys now
and usually stop their cars." Rabe'e said he panicked, and
jumped from the passenger side of his vehicle. As he hit the ground, he was
hit four times in the legs. He said all he was thinking
was "I wish I could dig into the ground and hide. I made my last prayer.
I looked up to the sky to ask God to protect us. I saw two small
helicopters." Rabe'e said he saw other
people getting shot - some wounded, others killed. He also met Saturday with
FBI investigators. They took his statement, asked him questions and showed
him a diagram, so he could pinpoint his location, he said. He described the investigators
as "nice and understanding; they offered me water and Pepsi and did not
pressure me in any way." Rabe'e said he has
disturbing flashbacks of the incident. He said no one has talked to him about
compensation; he is still recovering at home and can't yet work. Businessman Mohammed Hafez,
a third survivor, also met with two FBI investigators and a translator
Saturday. His 9-year-old son, Ali, was killed. Hafez said there were a
number of FBI teams split up into different rooms so they could meet with as
many people as possible. According to Hafez, many of
the witnesses and the wounded were present. They went to the National Police
headquarters around 9 a.m. local time and were finished by 5 p.m. He said they took his
details and said they will be in touch with him again because they want to
see his car. Their questioning was very detailed, he said. He described them
as "professionals seeking the truth." Hafez said they used
diagrams, asked questions about bullets and where they hit, sought a
description of those who shot at them and asked if he would recognize the
shooters if he saw them again. He said he sat with them for about 90 minutes. Investigators also met with
his sister, who was in Hafez's vehicle with her children. They were uninjured. External link: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/13/blackwater.witnesses/ |