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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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April 5th,
2008 - State Department to Renew Deal With Blackwater for Iraq Security |
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State Department to Renew
Deal With Blackwater for Iraq Security By Dana Hedgpeth Washington Post April 5, 2008 The State Department said
yesterday that it would renew its contract with Blackwater Worldwide, the
controversial private security contractor, to provide security for U.S.
diplomats in Baghdad for another year, but said it could cancel it at any
time. Blackwater has a five-year
contract with the State Department to provide diplomatic security. The
contract, which has one base year plus four option years, is entering its
fourth year, an official at the State Department said. The company, based in
Moyock, N.C., is under investigation by the FBI in connection with a Sept. 16
incident in which its security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians
in Baghdad. Questions have been raised about whether the shootings were
justified and if they violated the rules under which contractors may use
deadly force in Iraq. Blackwater has received more
than $1 billion in federal business since 2000, according to Eagle Eye, a
research company that monitors contract spending. Its agreement to provide
security for U.S. diplomats, and bodyguards and armed drivers to escort
government officials outside Baghdad's Green Zone, was set to expire next
month. Gregory B. Starr, the acting
assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, said the pending
investigation could change the deal with Blackwater. "We can terminate
contracts for the convenience of the government if we have to," he said.
"If that was the decision, we could terminate the contract. The results
of that will come, and then we will make a decision of how to proceed." Iraqi officials have called
for the ouster of Blackwater. The State and Defense departments have put in
place more stringent oversight of private security contractors, such as
coordinating their movement with the military and making sure they know the
rules of engagement, an official with the State Department said. External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403449.html Iraqis angered
by Blackwater contract renewal By Khalid Al-Ansary Reuters April 5, 2008 Baghdad - Iraqis expressed
anger on Saturday at news the United States had renewed the contract of
Blackwater, a private security firm blamed for killing up to 17 people in a
shooting incident last year. "Renewing this contract
means we will see this sort of thing again in the streets," Abbas
Hasoun, a grocer, said. "I wish we could turn the page on this, but
keeping this company here means bloodshed will continue." A traffic policeman who said
he was questioned in Turkey by the FBI about the shooting was patrolling on
Saturday the same busy traffic circle where the incident took place. "I went to Turkey and
testified about what I saw, but all my efforts were in vain when I heard the
news," said the policeman who asked that his name not be published for
security reasons. The FBI is investigating
whether Blackwater employees broke the law during the shooting last September
when Blackwater staff, apparently believing they were under attack, fired
into cars in heavy traffic, killing civilians. In spite of the criminal
probe, the State Department announced on Friday the firm's contract to
protect U.S. personnel in Baghdad would be renewed. The State Department says
Blackwater's tactics have been changed to prevent further incidents like last
year's shooting. Iraqi government spokesman
Ali al-Dabbagh said the government believed its requests for tighter controls
over Blackwater's activities had been met. "The demands of the
Iraqi government have been taken into consideration and Blackwater will
follow the Iraqi government's laws. We were never against Blackwater's work
in Iraq, but the company has committed a mistake," he said. Ordinary Iraqis were less
tolerant. "These companies should
be removed from the country. They don't deserve to stay here a moment. They
committed massacres and killed innocent people," said Naseer Kahdim, a
soldier checking cars a few hundred metres from the site of the shooting. The government's political
opponents accused it of failing to enact measures that would control foreign
security firms. "So far we haven't
passed laws governing the work of foreign companies. The government should
have shown its influence and authority by taking the initiative," said
Saleem al-Jubouri, spokesman for the mainly Sunni Arab Accordance Front bloc. "But the Americans want
to show that Iraq is under their control. It's a violation of the Iraqi
judicial system." (Additional reporting by
Wisam Mohammed; Editing by Robert Woodward) © Reuters 2007. All rights
reserved. External link: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0559760920080405 |