Iraqis kicking blackwater out of Iraq, the privitization of our military going great.
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Bryan Pearson
AFP
September 17, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Armed contractors, employed by private US security firm Blackwater USA, gained a reputation of shooting first and not bothering to ask questions later, as they charged through Iraq protecting US personnel and property.
The North Carolina firm, whose license was canceled by the Iraqi government Monday after its personnel were involved in a deadly shootout in Baghdad, has never been far from controversy in war-ravaged Iraq.
Nor have its estimated 1,000-or-so contractors in Iraq, who have been drawn increasingly into the war, been far from death.
Established 10 years ago by Erik Prince, right-wing son of a multi-millionaire and a former Navy SEAL, the security consulting firm has grown into what US investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill describes as the "world's most powerful mercenary army."
According to Scahill, Blackwater has "more-than-2,300 private soldiers deployed in nine countries, including the United States."
Its "private soldiers" arrived in Iraq, soon after the US-led invasion of March 2003, being employed by then US pro-consul Paul Bremer to provide protection for US officials.
Blackwater's presence has, however, been a bone of contention for Iraqi officials, as it has never been clear whether they are immune from prosecution.
Blackwater's security consulting division holds at least $109-million worth of State Department contracts in Iraq, and is authorized to use deadly force, according to a Washington Post report in June.
Armed contractors are deployed to protect US officials and convoys transporting reconstruction material, including vehicles, weapons, and ammunition for the Iraqi army and police.
But, the report said, they are becoming increasingly involved in military action, fighting insurgents, enduring attacks, and taking hundreds of casualties that have been, sometimes, concealed.
Armed contractors can make up to $20,000 a month in Iraq, but the risks are high.
Blackwater lost four employees in Fallujah in March 2004, when a mob brutally mutiliated their bodies and hanged them from a bridge. The slaughter sparked the first major US assault on Fallujah.
In April 2005, Blackwater contractors were, again, in the line of fire, when six were killed after insurgents downed a Bulgarian helicopter with a missile strike near the northern city of Tikrit.
A seventh Blackwater employee was killed, at the same time, near Ramadi, when a roadside bomb blew up near his vehicle.
Blackwater is by no means the only private security company operating in Iraq - or losing personnel.
Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, head of a United Nations workgroup on the use of mercenaries in Iraq, estimates that at least 160 companies are in the country, employing between them 35,000 to 40,000 people.
Gomez del Prado also estimated in January that more-than-400 private employees have died in Iraq since 2003, putting their casualties below the number suffered by US armed forces, but ahead of British military deaths.
For Iraqis, Blackwater contractors were known for their propensity to open fire indiscriminately when they felt they were under threat.
Riding machine-gun-mounted utility vehicles, while providing security escorts to, among others, US ambassador Ryan Crocker, residents of Baghdad preferred to get off the roads when their convoys approached.
In May, according to the Washington Post, a guard working for Blackwater shot and killed an Iraqi driver near the interior ministry.
The Blackwater guards said the victim drove too close to their convoy, and drew fire, the report said.
Also in May, a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a furious battle, in which the security contractors, US, and Iraqi troops, and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters opened fire in a crowded area.
A similar incident occurred Sunday, when Blackwater guards were escorting a US diplomatic convoy through the Yarmukh neighborhood of west Baghdad.
According to Iraqi and US officials, they came under small-arms attack and returned fire.
Witnesses and victims lying in hospital suffering from gunshot wounds said the Blackwater guards had opened indiscriminate fire into the crowded streets and at cars trapped behind the convoy.
When the pandemonium had died down, at least eight people were dead and 13 wounded.
The incident was just one too many for the Iraqi authorities, who, Monday, issued orders to revoke Blackwater's license.
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Bryan Pearson
AFP
September 17, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Armed contractors, employed by private US security firm Blackwater USA, gained a reputation of shooting first and not bothering to ask questions later, as they charged through Iraq protecting US personnel and property.
The North Carolina firm, whose license was canceled by the Iraqi government Monday after its personnel were involved in a deadly shootout in Baghdad, has never been far from controversy in war-ravaged Iraq.
Nor have its estimated 1,000-or-so contractors in Iraq, who have been drawn increasingly into the war, been far from death.
Established 10 years ago by Erik Prince, right-wing son of a multi-millionaire and a former Navy SEAL, the security consulting firm has grown into what US investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill describes as the "world's most powerful mercenary army."
According to Scahill, Blackwater has "more-than-2,300 private soldiers deployed in nine countries, including the United States."
Its "private soldiers" arrived in Iraq, soon after the US-led invasion of March 2003, being employed by then US pro-consul Paul Bremer to provide protection for US officials.
Blackwater's presence has, however, been a bone of contention for Iraqi officials, as it has never been clear whether they are immune from prosecution.
Blackwater's security consulting division holds at least $109-million worth of State Department contracts in Iraq, and is authorized to use deadly force, according to a Washington Post report in June.
Armed contractors are deployed to protect US officials and convoys transporting reconstruction material, including vehicles, weapons, and ammunition for the Iraqi army and police.
But, the report said, they are becoming increasingly involved in military action, fighting insurgents, enduring attacks, and taking hundreds of casualties that have been, sometimes, concealed.
Armed contractors can make up to $20,000 a month in Iraq, but the risks are high.
Blackwater lost four employees in Fallujah in March 2004, when a mob brutally mutiliated their bodies and hanged them from a bridge. The slaughter sparked the first major US assault on Fallujah.
In April 2005, Blackwater contractors were, again, in the line of fire, when six were killed after insurgents downed a Bulgarian helicopter with a missile strike near the northern city of Tikrit.
A seventh Blackwater employee was killed, at the same time, near Ramadi, when a roadside bomb blew up near his vehicle.
Blackwater is by no means the only private security company operating in Iraq - or losing personnel.
Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, head of a United Nations workgroup on the use of mercenaries in Iraq, estimates that at least 160 companies are in the country, employing between them 35,000 to 40,000 people.
Gomez del Prado also estimated in January that more-than-400 private employees have died in Iraq since 2003, putting their casualties below the number suffered by US armed forces, but ahead of British military deaths.
For Iraqis, Blackwater contractors were known for their propensity to open fire indiscriminately when they felt they were under threat.
Riding machine-gun-mounted utility vehicles, while providing security escorts to, among others, US ambassador Ryan Crocker, residents of Baghdad preferred to get off the roads when their convoys approached.
In May, according to the Washington Post, a guard working for Blackwater shot and killed an Iraqi driver near the interior ministry.
The Blackwater guards said the victim drove too close to their convoy, and drew fire, the report said.
Also in May, a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a furious battle, in which the security contractors, US, and Iraqi troops, and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters opened fire in a crowded area.
A similar incident occurred Sunday, when Blackwater guards were escorting a US diplomatic convoy through the Yarmukh neighborhood of west Baghdad.
According to Iraqi and US officials, they came under small-arms attack and returned fire.
Witnesses and victims lying in hospital suffering from gunshot wounds said the Blackwater guards had opened indiscriminate fire into the crowded streets and at cars trapped behind the convoy.
When the pandemonium had died down, at least eight people were dead and 13 wounded.
The incident was just one too many for the Iraqi authorities, who, Monday, issued orders to revoke Blackwater's license.
