Blackwater security firm banned from Iraq

[WhiteFeather]

Found this story interesting considering that blackwater were deployed to Katrina during gun confiscations as private army.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/...ain/index.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."

In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, an Iraqi official said.

Sunday's firefight took place near Nusoor Square, an area that straddles the predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Mansour and Yarmouk.

The ministry said the incident began around midday, when a convoy of sport utility vehicles came under fire from unidentified gunmen in the square and the men in the SUVs, described by witnesses as Westerners, returned fire.

One witness told The Associated Press that he heard an explosion before the gunfire began.

"We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby," Hussein Abdul-Abbas, owner of a mobile phone store in the area, told the AP. "One minute later, we heard the sound of a bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately."

A team from another security company passed through the area a few minutes afterward.

"Our people saw a couple of cars destroyed," Carter Andress, CEO of American-Iraqi Solutions Groups, told CNN on Monday. "Dead bodies, wounded people being evacuated. The U.S. military had moved in and secured the area. It was not a good scene."

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, said, "We have revoked Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq. As of now they are not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq. The investigation is ongoing, and all those responsible for Sunday's killing will be referred to Iraqi justice."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to call Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday to discuss the matter, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The Diplomatic Security Service has launched an official investigation, a review that will be supported by the Multi-National Forces-Iraq, he said.

McCormack said from early reports it appears to be a "terrible incident" with innocent loss of lives.

"The secretary wants to make sure we do everything we possibly can to avoid innocent loss of life," he said.

McCormack said that while the United States tries to avoid innocent casualties, "we are fighting people who don't play by any rules" and have no problem killing innocent civilians.

There has been no official notice from the Iraqi government on revoking Blackwater's license, McCormack said, so he couldn't confirm it and declined to speculate on how it would affect protection of U.S. personnel.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad confirmed a State Department convoy was in the area.

"We are taking it very seriously. We are cooperating with the Iraqi government on several different levels and will continue this cooperation with Iraqi officials," the embassy official said.

Founded in 1997 and based in Moyock, North Carolina, Blackwater is one of many security firms contracted by the U.S. government during the Iraq war. An estimated 25,000-plus employees of private security firms are working in Iraq, guarding diplomats, reconstruction workers and government officials. As many as 200 are believed to have been killed on the job, according to U.S. congressional reports.

Some Blackwater personnel died in a grisly incident in Iraq more than three years ago that sparked shock and outrage in the United States.

Four Americans working as private security personnel for Blackwater, all of whom were military veterans, were ambushed, killed and mutilated in March 2004 in Falluja, west of Baghdad.

People close to the company estimate it has lost about 30 employees during the war.

Iraqi authorities have issued previous complaints about shootings by private military contractors, according to a July report from the Congressional Research Service.

"Most recently, a news article discussing an incident in which a Blackwater guard shot dead an Iraqi driver in May 2007 quoted an Iraqi official's statement that the Iraqi Interior Ministry had received four previous complaints of shootings involving Blackwater employees," the congressional service report said.

The Congressional Research Service report cited other concerns, such as "the apparent lack of a practical means to hold contractors accountable under U.S. law for abuses and other transgressions and the possibility that they could be prosecuted by foreign courts."

The reported added, "Iraqi courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute contractors without the permission of the relevant member country of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq."

Contractors fall under Justice Department and FBI jurisdiction for alleged crimes, said a Pentagon official, who confirmed the accuracy of the congressional report.


here is blackwater in action in US sept 2005
New Orleans Begins Confiscating Firearms as Water Recedes
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/na...erland&emc=rss

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 2005 - Waters were receding across this flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating weapons, including legally registered firearms, from civilians in preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still living here.

No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.

But that order apparently does not apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property. The guards, employees of private security companies like Blackwater, openly carry M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said that he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.

ETC

[RocketFoot]

I don't support Blackwater, but if someone opened fire on me, I sure as hell would return fire!

This was a key quote for me...

McCormack said that while the United States tries to avoid innocent casualties, "we are fighting people who don't play by any rules" and have no problem killing innocent civilians.

[dnar]

I am scheduled for a 5-day pistol/carbine training course with Blackwater in mid November, and this recent news is definitely not going to stop me from going!

My friend talked to someone at Blackwater today and they said don't believe everything you read. My friend also said Prime Minister Maliki is just setting himself up to have a leadership position when Iran invades and takes over Iraq when we leave.

Here's another news link:

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/0...kwater_070917/


rand


P.S. I am focusing on the extra training that I'm going to get from them and that's all that matters to me right now!

[D-FENS]

No doubt some of you guys have seen their Glory Videos. Contractors can be seen riding around, shooting randomly at civilian vehicles.

http://digg.com/lbv.php?id=2525861&ord=1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...100655_pf.html

There's got to be some accountability, somewhere.

/Glad they're getting the boot. Just skeptical about it.

[NineseveN]

IIRC, there's no license to revoke, BW is contracted through us, not the Iraqi govt...must be some details missing.

[dnar]

IIRC, there's no license to revoke, BW is contracted through us, not the Iraqi govt...must be some details missing.

Amen, NineseveN!


+1


rand

[itstock]

Their convoy was under attack. They responded with cover fire. Innocent people were unfortunately, and I'm sure accidentally killed. It's part of war. When you factor in the elements of Iraq, such as militia dressing as civilians, it makes it even more complicated to identify the enemy.

I support private security firms such as Blackwater as much as I do the US military, and that's a lot. These contractors have extremely high risk jobs, and high risk means high tension, reward, and casualty rates. How can you hold a convoy accountable for doing whatever means possible to protect themselves, and possibly other diplomats or VIP's? That's just insane, it's just as insane as holding a soldier responsible for the same accident. The LAST thing that we need over there is any soldier and/or contractor/security worrying about returning fire during an attack, because as we all know, 9 out of 10 times, if you freeze up, you lose.

As to shooting at random civilians for "fun", of course some people are going to believe the news (washington post, LMFAO, they don't stretch the truth). If you see a car, identified as possible IED car bomb, driving suspicously, trying to get next to a convoy, you fire a couple of warning shots. If they still keep coming, who the hell would take the chance over there? Don't believe everything you read, and certainly don't believe clips of video's.

[dnar]

Their convoy was under attack. They responded with cover fire. Innocent people were unfortunately, and I'm sure accidentally killed. It's part of war. When you factor in the elements of Iraq, such as militia dressing as civilians, it makes it even more complicated to identify the enemy.

I support private security firms such as Blackwater as much as I do the US military, and that's a lot. These contractors have extremely high risk jobs, and high risk means high tension, reward, and casualty rates. How can you hold a convoy accountable for doing whatever means possible to protect themselves, and possibly other diplomats or VIP's? That's just insane, it's just as insane as holding a soldier responsible for the same accident. The LAST thing that we need over there is any soldier and/or contractor/security worrying about returning fire during an attack, because as we all know, 9 out of 10 times, if you freeze up, you lose.

Excellent post, itstock!

+1


rand





The Blackwater official declared that, contrary to some reports from Iraq, "the convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job, they fired back to defend human life." The official said that "Blackwater is contracted to work in a war zone, its personnel are under frequent fire, and all the rules of engagement permit them to defend themselves."

Blackwater, a security company based in Moyock, North Carolina, has more than 1,000 personnel in Iraq, most protecting senior State Department personnel and others carrying out sensitive work in the country. Founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, the firm is privately held and secretive. Last week U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker testified to the Senate that the State Department is overwhelmingly dependent on contractors like Blackwater for its security. As he put it, "There is simply no way at all that the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security could ever have enough full-time personnel to staff the security function in Iraq. There is no alternative except through contracts."

Crocker added, "The capability and courage of the individuals who provide security under contract is worthy of respect of all Americans."

[PhillyGunOwner]

What's bothering me about the news reporting about Blackwater is that the random shooting spree that took place in Iraq from a moving car is being associated with them, but was actually reported as being done by rogue employees of a company called Triple Canopy. The radical Left has a virulent hatred of Black Water and has been trying to bring the company down for years. I’m sure they are working hard to shine a bad light on them and splash it all over the news. From what I’ve read about the Blackwater convoy incident, they were lucky to get away with their lives. They were attacked by a roadside bomb and machine gun fire. The media would be happier if they were dragged out of their cars and burned like the previous Blackwater incident in Fallujah.

Just my 2 cents.

[dnar]

What's bothering me about the news reporting about Blackwater is that the random shooting spree that took place in Iraq from a moving car is being associated with them, but was actually reported as being done by rogue employees of a company called Triple Canopy. The radical Left has a virulent hatred of Black Water and has been trying to bring the company down for years. I’m sure they are working hard to shine a bad light on them and splash it all over the news. From what I’ve read about the Blackwater convoy incident, they were lucky to get away with their lives. They were attacked by a roadside bomb and machine gun fire. The media would be happier if they were dragged out of their cars and burned like the previous Blackwater incident in Fallujah.

Just my 2 cents.

Great post, PhillyGunOwner!

+1

rand