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all Baloch in North America, to expose the Occupation of our land (Balochistan) and exploitations of
our resources by Pakistani and Iranian Governments, and to bring their Human Rights Violations in
Balochistan into the world’s Notice.
Iraq expels American security firm
By ROBERT H. REID,
Mon Sept. 17, 2007
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government announced Monday it was ordering Blackwater USA, the security firm that
protects U.S. diplomats, to leave the country after what it said was the fatal shooting of eight Iraqi civilians following
a car bomb attack against a State Department convoy.
The order by the Interior Ministry, if carried out, would deal a severe blow to U.S. government operations in Iraq by
stripping diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others of their security protection.
The presence of so many visible, aggressive Western security contractors has angered many Iraqis, who consider
them a mercenary force that runs roughshod over people in their own country.
Sunday's shooting was the latest in a series of incidents in which Blackwater and other foreign contractors have
been accused of shooting to death Iraqi citizens. None has faced charges or prosecution.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Monday and the two agreed to
conduct a "fair and transparent investigation" and hold any wrongdoers accountable, said Yassin Majid, an adviser
to the prime minister. Rice was expected to visit the Mideast on Tuesday.
Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Rice "told the prime minister that we were investigating this
incident and wanted to gain a full understanding of what happened."
"She reiterated that the United States does everything it can to avoid such loss of life, in contrast to the enemies of
the Iraqi people who deliberately target civilians," Casey said.
Majid made no mention of the order to expel Blackwater, and it was unlikely the United States would agree to
abandon a security company that plays such a critical role in American operations in Iraq.
The U.S. clearly hoped the Iraqis would be satisfied with an investigation, a finding of responsibility and
compensation to the victims' families — and not insist on expelling a company that the Americans cannot operate
here without.
Details of Sunday's incident were unclear.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when
contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire on civilians in the predominantly Sunni
neighborhood of Mansour in western Baghdad.
"We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also
refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Khalaf said.
He said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but added that the shooting was still under
investigation. One witness, Hussein Abdul-Abbas, said the explosion was followed by about 20 minutes of heavy
gunfire and "everybody in the street started to flee immediately."
U.S. officials said the motorcade was traveling through Nisoor Square on the way back to the Green Zone when the
car bomb exploded, followed by volleys of small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles but caused no American
casualties.
Blackwater said the company had not been formally notified of any expulsion.
"Blackwater's independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad
on Sunday," spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said in a statement late Monday.
"The `civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies and Blackwater
personnel returned defensive fire," she said. "Blackwater regrets any loss of life but this convoy was violently
attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life."
American officials refused to explain the legal authority under which Blackwater operates in Iraq or say whether the
company was complying with the order. It also was unclear whether the contractors involved in the shooting were
still in Iraq.
The incident drew attention to one of the controversial American practices of the war — the use of heavily armed
private security contractors who Iraqis complain operate beyond the control of U.S. military and Iraqi law.
The events in Mansour also illustrate the challenge of trying to protect U.S. officials in a city where car bombs can
explode at any time, and where gunmen blend in with the civilian population.
"The Blackwater guys are not fools. If they were gunning down people, it was because they felt it was the beginning
of an ambush," said Robert Young Pelton, an independent military analyst and author of the book "Licensed to Kill."
"They're famous for being very aggressive. They use their machine guns like car horns. But it's not the goal to kill
people."
In one of the most horrific attacks of the war, four Blackwater employees were ambushed and killed in Fallujah in
2004 and their charred bodies hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.
But Iraqis have long complained about high-profile, heavily armed security vehicles careering through the streets,
with guards pointing weapons at civilians and sometimes firing warning shots at anyone deemed too close. And
Iraqi officials were quick to condemn the foreign guards.
Al-Maliki late Sunday condemned the shooting by a "foreign security company" and called it a "crime."
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani described the shooting as "a crime about which we cannot be silent."
"Everyone should understand that whoever wants good relations with Iraq should respect Iraqis," al-Bolani told Al-
Arabiya television. "We are implementing the law and abide by laws, and others should respect these laws and
respect the sovereignty and independence of Iraqis in their country."
Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obaidi told Iraqi television that "those criminals" responsible for deaths "should be
punished" and that the government would demand compensation for the victims' families.
Despite threats of prosecution, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Alhurra television that contractors
cannot be prosecuted by Iraqi courts because "some of them have immunity."
In April, the Defense Department said about 129,000 contractors of many nationalities were operating in Iraq —
nearly as many as the entire U.S. military force before this year's troop buildup.
About 4,600 contractors are in combat roles, such as protecting supply convoys along Iraq's dangerous, bomb-
laden highways.
Blackwater, a secretive North Carolina-based company run by a former Navy SEAL, is among the biggest and best
known security firms, with an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq and at least $800 million in government contracts.
In May 2007, a Blackwater employee shot and killed a civilian who was thought to be driving too close to a company
security detail.
Last Christmas Eve, an inebriated Blackwater employee shot and killed a security guard for an Iraqi vice president,
according to Iraqi and U.S. officials. The contractor made his way to the U.S. Embassy where Blackwater officials
arranged to have him flown home to the United States, according U.S. officials who spoke only on the condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The contractor has been fired and Blackwater is cooperating with federal investigators, company spokeswoman
Anne Tyrrell has said.
___
AP correspondents Deborah Hastings in New York, Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., and Matthew Lee in Washington
contributed to this report.
Photo A private security contractor sits in the door of a helicopter as it patrols the skies over Baghdad in a February
6, 2005 file photo. Iraq pledged on Monday to punish foreign security contractors involved in an incident in western
Baghdad in which 11 people were killed.
US investigates into Blackwater incident
Photo: US private security officer with his face
covered against dust, sits in a Chinook helicopter
as they accompany Iraq's US civilian administrator
L. Paul Bremer on a visit to the southern marsh
areas of Iraq in this Thursday, Sept 18, 2003 file
photo near the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The
Iraqi Interior Ministry said Monday Sept. 17,
2007that it was pulling the license of an American
security firm allegedly involved in the fatal
shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S.
State Department motorcade in Baghdad. Interior
Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight
people were killed and 13 were wounded when
security contractors working for Blackwater USA
opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood
of western Baghdad. The spokesman said witness
reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said
the incident was still under investigation.
By MATTHEW LEE,
Mon Sep 17, 6:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON -The State Department moved quickly Monday to tamp down anger and possible repercussions after
the alleged killing of eight Iraqi civilians by a private security firm hired to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to express regret at the loss of life
and promise that the results of an internal investigation into Sunday's incident would be shared with the government
in Baghdad.
"She told the Prime Minister that we were investigating this incident and wanted to gain a full understanding of what
happened," said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey. "She reiterated that the United States does
everything it can to avoid such loss of life, in contrast to the enemies of the Iraqi people who deliberately target
civilians."
Rice and al-Maliki "agreed on the importance of working closely together in the time ahead on a transparent
investigation," Casey added.
The 15-minute call came after Iraq's Interior Ministry said it had revoked the license of the firm, Blackwater USA, to
work in the country, a move that could severely curtail the ability of U.S. diplomats to operate outside the heavily
fortified "Green Zone."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington had not been informed of the cancellation of the
license after the latest in a series of incidents in which private contractors working for the United States have been
accused of misdeeds.
There were conflicting accounts of the incident, in which, according to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a diplomatic
convoy was attacked in Baghdad, causing security guards to open fire.
McCormack had no information about any Iraqi laws Blackwater or its employees might be subject to, the chain of
command its employees answer to, or details of the company's contract with the State Department.
He said the probe is being conducted by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security with assistance from
the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., is one of three private security firms employed by the department to protect its
personnel in Iraq. The two others, both of which are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp,
based in Falls Church, Va., and Triple Canopy, based in Herndon, Va.
The moves by the Bush administration appeared unlikely to forestall a congressional inquiry into not just Sunday's
events but the government's increasing reliance on the use of contractors in Iraq.
"The controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security
contractors," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee. He said his committee
would hold hearings to determine "what has happened and the extent of the damage to U.S. security interests."
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who has long questioned Blackwater's role in Iraq, said the shootings will likely hurt the
U.S. mission to rebuild Iraq and said Congress should consider regulating the industry.
"Under what law are these individuals operating, and do the Iraqis have the authority to prosecute people for the
crimes they're accused of committing? It's a very murky area," said Schakowsky. "It's still not really clear whether they
are eligible for prosecution from the Iraqi government.
"These are the kinds of things that are very provocative that do impact our mission. It's unclear what exactly they're
allowed to do. It's a very dangerous and explosive situation that's created by these armed private security contractors
— and particularly Blackwater."
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, struck a less contentious
tone, noting the Iraqi government relies heavily on contractors to provide services.
"Having visited now 10 times in Iraq, most recently just two or three weeks ago, I know full well the dependence of that
nation upon contractors — contractors who are trying to refurbish their seriously deteriorated oil production facilities,
their power lines, their fresh water," Warner said.
"Any number of activities today in Iraq are performed by rather a courageous band of civilians who have gone over
there and assumed the same extraordinary risks that men and women in the armed forces are experiencing every
day," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Williamsburg, Va.
___
Associated Press writers Sonja Barisic in Williamsburg, Va., and Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report
