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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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January 7th,
2010 - Blackwater Settles Civil Lawsuits Over Iraq Deaths |
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Blackwater Settles
Civil Lawsuits Over Iraq Deaths By Mike Baker Associated Press January 7, 2010 Raleigh, N.C. - The security
firm formerly known as Blackwater has reached a settlement in a series of
federal lawsuits in which dozens of Iraqis accused the company of cultivating
a reckless culture that allowed innocent civilians to be killed. Plaintiffs' attorney Susan
Burke filed a motion in federal court late Wednesday requesting the cases be
dismissed. The seven lawsuits cited a pattern of illegal activity, including
several killings such as the 2007 shooting in Iraq's capital that left 17 Iraqis
dead and strained relationships between Washington and Baghdad. Burke didn't immediately
return a call seeking comment Thursday. Blackwater, now known as Xe, released
a statement saying the company was "pleased" that the settlement,
in the works for months, had been affirmed. "This enables Xe's new
management to move the company forward free of the costs and distraction of
ongoing litigation, and provides some compensation to Iraqi families,"
the company said. Hassan Jabir, a lawyer who
was wounded in the 2007 shooting, said that all of the victims' families and
people who were injured agreed to the settlement and met with lawyers at a
Baghdad hotel about a week ago. He hailed the settlement as a win for the
plaintiffs. "I feel like I achieved
victory against the Blackwater firm," Jabir said. Not all the plaintiffs
appeared happy with the decision. Sami Hawas Hamoud Abu al-Iz also was
wounded during the 2007 Nisoor Square incident along with his son. His mother
was killed. He said the agreement came after the plaintiffs were told by
their lawyers that there was a risk that they might not receive anything. "All the victims'
families signed the settlement papers under pressure, after we were informed
that the Blackwater firm is broke and if you don't sign, you will get
nothing," he said. He said the firm offered
$30,000 for each person who was wounded and $100,000 to the families of
people who died. The lawsuits sought
compensation for deaths and injuries. Unlike federal probes that have
specifically targeted company contractors for their actions, the civil
lawsuits accused the Moyock, N.C.-based company - and founder Erik Prince -
of producing a climate in which it was acceptable for innocent Iraqis to die. "Mr. Prince personally
directed and permitted a heavily-armed private army ... to roam the streets
of Baghdad killing innocent civilians," one of the lawsuits said. The full terms of the
settlement were not released, and Blackwater declined to discuss them. Relief from the lawsuits was
a second major legal development for a company that has been beleaguered by
federal, congressional and civil scrutiny. A federal judge last week
dismissed charges against the Blackwater contractors that were involved in
the Nisoor Square shooting. That decision enraged many
Iraqis, who saw it as proof of what they long suspected - that security
contractors were above the law. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on
Monday vowed to seek punishment of the Blackwater guards, saying that Iraq
would not "abandon our right to punish this firm." The lawsuits covered that
shooting and more, including the 2006 killing of an Iraqi guard, the February
2007 killings of three people guarding the Iraqi Media Network and another
shooting that attorneys said left three people dead a week before the
killings at Nisoor Square. Blackwater changed its name
to Xe last year, saying its brand had been tarnished by its work in Iraq. The
company had contracts with the U.S. government to provide security for
diplomats and other figures in Iraq, though executives have said the company
is shifting its focus away from that type of work. Iraqi leaders last year
refused to provide Blackwater a license to operate there. Associated Press Writer Saad
Abdul-Kadir contributed to this report from Baghdad. © 2010 The Associated Press. External link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BLACKWATER_SETTLEMENT U.N. Experts Urge
Iraq, U.S. to Pursue Blackwater Case By Stephanie Nebehay Reuters January 7, 2010 Geneva - U.N. human rights
experts called on Iraq and the United States on Thursday to ensure that the
2007 killing of at least 14 Iraqi civilians, which has been blamed on
Blackwater security guards, be prosecuted. Iraq said on Monday it would
launch lawsuits in U.S. and Iraqi courts against the U.S. security firm for
the Baghdad killings, rejecting a U.S. judge's decision last week to throw
out the charges. In a statement, the United
Nations working group on the use of mercenaries said the case underscored the
need for "credible oversight" of private security companies working
for the United States and other governments in war zones. Baghdad and Washington must
cooperate to resolve the killings committed at a Baghdad traffic circle in
September 2007, with "those responsible fully held accountable," it
said. The Blackwater incident
highlighted the Pentagon's growing use of private forces in war zones and,
for Iraqis, came to symbolize what they saw as a disregard for their lives on
the part of foreign forces in the country. Private guards protecting
U.S. personnel were given immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts following
the 2003 U.S. invasion. "We respect the
independence of the United States judiciary and the requirements for due
process, but are very concerned that the recent decision to dismiss the case
against Blackwater guards may lead to a situation where no one would be
accountable for grave human rights violations," said Shaista Shameem,
who chairs the U.N. group of independent experts. The Iraqi government and
victims' families felt that they had no recourse to justice, she added. U.S. District Judge Ricardo
Urbina said prosecutors had wrongly used statements the guards made to State
Department investigators under threat of job loss - thereby violating their
constitutional rights. The five guards were charged
a year ago with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted
manslaughter and one weapons violation count. The U.N. working group said 17
people had been killed and a further 20 injured. The guards from Blackwater,
which has renamed itself Xe Services, say they fired in self-defense in the
incident. But witnesses and victims say the guards, escorting a heavily armed
convoy of U.S. diplomats through Baghdad traffic, shot indiscriminately. "Credible oversight and
accountability of private security companies working on the behalf of the
United States and other governments remain essential to avoid these alleged
violations to be unpunished in future," Shameem said. The 47-member-state U.N.
Human Rights Council has asked the experts to report by September on a
possible international treaty to regulate private military and security
companies. A treaty would "provide
an avenue of redress to victims," Shameem said. Editing by Jonathan Lynn and
Noah Barkin. © Copyright 2010 Thomson
Reuters External link: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6063LS20100107 |