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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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November 12th,
2009 - Iraq Probes ‘Blackwater Bribes’ |
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Iraq Probes ‘Blackwater Bribes’ From BBC News November 12, 2009 Iraq has ordered an
investigation into whether the US security firm Blackwater paid bribes to
officials following the fatal shootings of 17 people in 2007. Interior Minister Jawad
al-Bolani told CNN that he had asked the appropriate commanders to look into
the matter. The decision came after
former top Blackwater executives told the New York Times they had sent $1m to
its office in Iraq in a bid to silence criticism. But the executives said they
did not know if any payments had been made. At the time of the incident,
which occurred in Baghdad's Nisoor Square, Blackwater provided diplomatic
security for the US embassy and needed a licence from the interior ministry
to continue doing so. The Iraqi government pressed
Washington to withdraw Blackwater from the country, but the security firm's
US contract was renewed in 2008. Despite being denied a new operating licence
earlier this year, a subsidiary continues to provide air support for US
diplomats in Iraq. ‘Baseless allegations’ The former executives of Blackwater
Worldwide, now renamed Xe, told the New York Times that the payments to
interior ministry officials in an attempt to assuage their anger were
approved by senior executives at the company in December 2007. Two of the executives said
they were directly involved in discussions about the bribes, while the other
two said they were only told about them. Talk of the payments, which
would have been illegal under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, caused a
deep rift within the company, they added. They said that when
vice-chairman Cofer Black, a former top CIA and State Department official,
learned of the plan from another Blackwater manager he confronted Erik
Prince, the company's chairman and founder, who allegedly did not deny it. Mr
Black resigned the following year. Mr Black has denied that he
had confronted Mr Prince "or any other Blackwater official regarding any
allegations of bribing Iraqi officials and was unaware of any plot or guidance
for Blackwater to bribe Iraqi officials". Mr Jackson, who resigned as
president earlier this year, criticised the newspaper when contacted and
said: "I don't care what you write." A spokesman for the company
said it disputed the "baseless allegations" and would not comment
on former employees. Senior State Department
officials have said diplomats were not aware of any bribes for Iraqi
officials, but that they did support compensation payments to victims'
families and survivors. ‘Indiscriminate’ Speaking after the
allegations were published, Mr Bolani said he had ordered senior interior
ministry officials to look into them. "My door is open to
anyone with any complaints or information about this and I hope they provide
me with any information that may help with the investigation," he told
CNN. "Blackwater is company
which caused a major national tragedy. The Nisoor incident was a very
difficult one and no-one can ever forget it. But the Iraqi government was
committed and acted responsibly for the sake of the Iraqi people and for the
reputation of Iraq," he added. Five Blackwater guards
involved in the Nisoor Square shootings are due to face trial on federal
manslaughter charges in February in Washington. A sixth guard pleaded guilty
in December. Donald Ball, Dustin Heard,
Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough - all of whom are decorated
military veterans - say they were acting in self-defence, but witnesses and
family members of those killed maintain that the shooting on 16 September
2007 was unprovoked. Iraqi investigators said the
guards had fired their automatic weapons indiscriminately, and even launched
grenades at a nearby school. Afterwards, the Iraqi
government described the guards as "criminals", and declared that
Blackwater was a challenge to its sovereignty. External link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8356734.stm |