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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 28th,
2008 - Iraqi Father Seeks Blackwater Apology |
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Iraqi Father Seeks
Blackwater Apology By Mike Lanchin & Mona Mahmoud BBC News May 28, 2008 Eight months after his
nine-year-old son died in a shooting incident involving private security
guards from the US firm Blackwater, the boy's father has called for an
official apology and admission of guilt from the company, rather than
compensation. "I am ready to sign a
deal [with Blackwater] in exchange for an admission of the crime and an
apology," Mohammed Hafidh Abdul-Razzaq, a car spare-parts dealer from
Baghdad, told the BBC. "This is important for
me, morally, for my family and my tribe." He said he had conveyed the
message to one of the company's officials when they met in the Iraqi capital;
but, he said, he was told that an admission would not be possible "for
legal reasons". On Tuesday, Mr Abdul-Razzaq
was one of three Iraqis to give evidence to a closed-door session of a
federal grand jury in Washington investigating the shooting on 16 September,
2007, in which 17 Iraqi civilians died, including Mr Abdul-Razzaq's son Ali. It was one of the most
serious incidents involving private security firms in Iraq. According to Blackwater
Worldwide, its guards were responding to an attack on the convoy they were
assigned to protect. The company's owner, Eric
Prince, told a congressional hearing last year into the shooting that Nisoor
Square was a "terrorist crime scene". A spokesperson for
Blackwater declined a BBC invitation for an interview, citing the ongoing
investigations. ‘Ali’s dead’ Speaking to the BBC before
he travelled, Mr Abdul-Razzaq said that he was not aware of any threat to the
Blackwater convoy in Nisoor Square. Mr Abdul-Razzaq had been
driving home with his sister, her three children and Ali. He said that
"everything was quiet, nothing was happening" when the security
guards began to open fire on civilian vehicles, including his own. "They just kept
shooting, although no-one was moving, they were just combing the whole road,
tat tat tat, like that, there was nothing in the road." He said that he and his
sister huddled together, each trying to protect the other, while the four
children tried to find protection under cushions in the back of the car. He said the shooting lasted
"10, perhaps 15 minutes" and that when he climbed out of the
bullet-ridden car, shaken but unharmed, one of his nephews called out to him
from the back seat: "Uncle, Ali's dead." Sobbing, he described
opening the car door to a scene of horror. His son had been shot in the head.
"I pushed him back inside and I began to shout down the road, 'They've
killed my son, they've killed my son'." ‘New procedures’ Following the shooting, Mr
Abdul-Razzaq said that on at least two occasions he had been offered
compensation by Blackwater and US government officials in Baghdad. On each occasion, he said he
had turned down the offers - one of which was for US$12,500. "Other
people who have relatives who were victims took the money, but I
refused," he said. Patrick Kennedy, under
secretary of state for management, confirmed that it was US policy to offer
compensation to Iraqi civilians "in circumstances where it was evident
that [they] were not engaged in an attack on the United States". Mr Kennedy said that the US
government had established new procedures for its security contractors -
including Blackwater - following the shooting last year. Each convoy was now required
to be accompanied by a US state department official, and to install cameras
and recording equipment on their vehicles. "I know of no other
country in Iraq that employs these measures," Mr Kennedy said. John Holmes, a retired major
general and director of the British security firm Erinys International, which
has been offering protection services in Iraq since August 2003, said there
was now a "closer relationship" between the American military and
all the private security convoys. Companies were now required
to give at least 72 hours notice to the military of all movements - something
lacking in the past, he said. But, he added: "There
will always be some difference between companies, depending on their previous
military experience and nationality, the same as the difference between units
in a multi-national force, which have a different interpretation of the rules
and regulations." External link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7423638.stm Grand Jury Probes Blackwater
Shootings Iraqis Testify About Incident By Karen DeYoung & Del Quentin Wilber Washington Post May 28, 2008 At least three Iraqis
appeared yesterday before a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the
September shootings in Baghdad by Blackwater Worldwide security guards that
left 17 Iraqis dead. After an FBI investigation
last year, federal prosecutors have been seeking to determine whether the
contractors, who are immune from Iraqi law under a 2003 U.S. occupation
decree, can be charged with any crime in the United States. The Iraqi
government alleged that the Sept. 16 shootings in Baghdad's Nissor Square
were an unprovoked attack on civilians. Virginia-based Blackwater,
whose personnel said they were responding to a threat against a U.S.
diplomatic convoy, insisted they had acted in self-defense after being fired
upon. A preliminary U.S. military inquiry shortly after the incident
concluded that only the contractors had fired. The Iraqis testifying
yesterday did not respond to reporters' questions as they entered the grand
jury room at the U.S. District Court building in Washington. When they left
three hours later, they were escorted by two prosecutors and trailed for
blocks by a platoon of television cameramen and photographers. One of the
witnesses clutched what appeared to be a family photograph. The witnesses were flanked
by federal prosecutors Kenneth Kohl and Stephen Ponticiello, who also
declined to comment. Kohl carried a large rolled-up street map. 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 and would remain here for two
weeks. The grand jury has also heard testimony from Blackwater personnel and
U.S. officials. The Sept. 16 shootings
caused a rift between the U.S. and Iraqi governments and exposed Pentagon
dissatisfaction with civilian security guards under contract with the State
Department. U.S. military officials said that the contractors were
"cowboys" whose actions put others at risk and interfered with
ongoing military operations. State Department officials responded that the
contractors were necessary because the military did not have the resources to
protect U.S. civilian officials in Iraq. Nevertheless, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice imposed new rules on the contractors after the
incident, placing video cameras in their vehicles and ordering that State
Department Diplomatic Security Service agents accompany all contractor
security convoys. State and the Defense Department negotiated a memorandum of
understanding requiring civilian contractors to coordinate their activities
with the military and firming up regulations on the use of force. Blackwater is one of three
private U.S. security companies under contract with the State Department in
Iraq. The other two are Triple Canopy and DynCorp. The five-year contract for
the three firms, signed in 2006, is rolled over on an annual basis and was
renewed for a third year early this month. Officials said at the time that
there had been no significant problems with the contractors since the
September shootings, and that there was no reason not to renew the contract
in the absence of any charges in the case. External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052702637.html |