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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 27th,
2008 - Blackwater Grand Jury Hears from Iraqi Witnesses |
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Blackwater Grand
Jury Hears from Iraqi Witnesses By Matt Apuzzo Associated Press May 27, 2008 Washington - Three Iraqis
appeared Tuesday before a federal grand jury investigating a deadly Sept. 16
shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater Worldwide contractors. The Iraqis were escorted to
the closed-door session by federal prosecutors who are overseeing the U.S.
investigation into whether Blackwater security guards illegally fired into a
crowded Baghdad intersection, resulting in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians. An Iraqi police major told
The Associated Press in Baghdad that two of his officers were flown to the
United States several days ago to testify. The major, who asked to remain
anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said they were
expected to remain in the United States for two weeks. It was not known whether the
officers, whose names were not provided by the police major, were among the
three men meeting Tuesday with grand jurors at the federal courthouse in
Washington. After about three hours behind closed doors, the men left the courthouse
without talking to reporters. One of them held a painting that appeared to be
a family portrait. Grand jury testimony is
secret but Iraqi witnesses to the shooting have described the shooting
publicly as an unprovoked attack in which the U.S. contractors killed
motorists, bystanders and children. Blackwater, hired by the
State Department to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq, says its contractors were
responding to a Baghdad car bombing when they were ambushed by insurgents,
touching off a firefight. The company is not a target
of the investigation. The case has focused on as few as three or four guards
and whether they acted illegally. Over the past seven months,
the grand jury has heard from Blackwater security guards, company managers
and U.S. military officials. The shooting enraged the
Iraqi government, which originally sought to expel Blackwater and its 1,000
employees from the country, and strained diplomatic relations between
Washington and Baghdad. The shooting also raised
questions at home and abroad about the U.S. reliance on heavily armed private
contractors in war zones. Associated Press writer
Sameer Yacoub in Baghdad contributed to this report. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8j2u56IMqRcZhCnXxakvpIEJ3-QD90U7JFG0 |