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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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September 2nd,
2009 - US Extends Iraq Contract for Blackwater Firm |
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US Extends
Iraq Contract for Blackwater Firm By Matthew Lee Associated Press September 2, 2009 Washington - The State
Department said Wednesday it has extended a contract for protecting U.S,
diplomats in Iraq with a subsidiary of the security firm once known as
Blackwater USA even though the company doesn't have a license to operate in
the country. Spokesman Ian Kelly said the
contract with Presidential Airways to provide air support for U.S. diplomats
had been temporarily extended because the firm chosen to replace it is not
yet ready to take over. The contract had been due to expire on Sept. 3 and be
taken over a day later by DynCorp International, he said. "DynCorp came to us and
asked for additional time," Kelly told reporters. DynCorp's request for
additional time was made last week, he said, adding that the Iraqi government
had been informed of the decision and had not registered objections. Iraqi officials in Baghdad
could not immediately be reached for comment. Presidential is the air wing
of Xe Services, which used to be known as Blackwater. The Iraqi government
refused to grant the company an operating license earlier this year amid
continued outrage over a 2007 lethal firefight involving some of its
employees in Baghdad. One senior State Department
official said that providing helicopter air support for American diplomats in
Iraq - transporting them and overflying their convoys - is a "complex
challenge" and that a slower transition to DynCorp taking over ... is in
the best interest of the government. "We unilaterally
extended the current task order ... to ensure the continued security and
safety of U.S.personnel in Iraq," the official said. Kelly said DynCorp needed
the extra time to get more equipment on the ground in Iraq but could not say
how long the extension, which was first reported by ABC News on its Web site,
would last. Other officials said they
did not expect it to go beyond six months. Those officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the contract
publicly. The State Department
informed Blackwater in January that it would not renew its contracts to
provide security for U.S. diplomats in Iraq because of the Iraqi government's
refusal to grant it an operating license. The Presidential Airways
contract was the last of those contracts to expire. Blackwater guards stopped
protecting American diplomats in al Hillah, Najaf and Karbala, all south of
Baghdad, in August. Iraqis had long complained
about incidents involving Blackwater's ground operations. Then a shooting by
Blackwater guards in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17
civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and
led U.S. prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater contractors
involved. The incident prompted a
wide-ranging review of the State Department's security practices in Iraq and
its dependence on contractors like Blackwater, which was most recently in the
news last month when it was revealed that the CIA had turned to the firm when
it revived a now-defunct plan to kill or capture terrorists in 2004. Once the extended Presidential
Airways contract expires, the company will no longer be used in Iraq by the
department, which has turned to DynCorp and another private security firm,
Triple Canopy, to handle diplomatic protective services in the country. But Xe continues to provide
security for diplomats in other nations, most notably in Afghanistan. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4OiK8Bkks3epqQ-eXeiSGX6cu7gD9AFCMEG1 |