Blackwater Contracts Mostly Blank

December 8, 2007
Blackwater Contracts Mostly Blank

The State Department has released copies of its contracts for private security services with Blackwater Lodge and Training Center and Blackwater Security Consulting. It's a hefty 323-page stack, and it comes with a catch:

About 169 of the pages are blank or mostly blank.

Released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the contracts -- worth up to $1.2 billion -- have been heavily redacted by the government. A State Department spokesman said the officials responsible for the cuts are simply trying to protect sensitive information that might put individuals at risk. He declined to say what kind of information was cut.

FBI report: Blackwater killed 14 Iraqis without cause

November 14, 2007
FBI report: Blackwater killed 14 Iraqis without cause

WASHINGTON (AFP) - FBI investigators have found that Blackwater guards shot 14 people with no justification in the controversial September 16 incident in Baghdad, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Seventeen people were killed when Blackwater private security guards opened fire in a crowded
Baghdad neighborhood as they protected a State Department convoy. Blackwater said the guards came under attack.

At least 14 of the shootings broke rules for private security guards in Iraq regarding the use
of deadly force, the Times reported, citing unnamed civilian and military officials briefed on the
case.

US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

October 13, 2007
US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

The Blackwater security forces that opened fire on a public square in Baghdad last month,
leaving 17 dead, attacked fleeing Iraqi civilians in a "criminal event," according to American
soldiers on the scene just minutes after the incident. News of the Army report comes just a day
after the families of three Iraqis killed in the September 16 incident, along with another Iraqi
man who was injured, filed a lawsuit against Blackwater in US federal court. The fallout over the
incident has made it increasingly difficult for contractors to operate in Iraq, and also
Afghanistan.

The Washington Post says that according to their report, the US soldiers – after
investigations at the square and interviews with witnesses and Iraqi police – found no
evidence that any Iraqis had fired weapons and concluded that there was "no enemy activity
involved." They did find evidence, however, that indicated Blackwater contractors fired on
civilian vehicles fleeing the square.

US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

October 13, 2007
US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

The Blackwater security forces that opened fire on a public square in Baghdad last month,
leaving 17 dead, attacked fleeing Iraqi civilians in a "criminal event," according to American
soldiers on the scene just minutes after the incident. News of the Army report comes just a day
after the families of three Iraqis killed in the September 16 incident, along with another Iraqi
man who was injured, filed a lawsuit against Blackwater in US federal court. The fallout over the
incident has made it increasingly difficult for contractors to operate in Iraq, and also
Afghanistan.

The Washington Post says that according to their report, the US soldiers – after
investigations at the square and interviews with witnesses and Iraqi police – found no
evidence that any Iraqis had fired weapons and concluded that there was "no enemy activity
involved." They did find evidence, however, that indicated Blackwater contractors fired on
civilian vehicles fleeing the square.

Immunity deal hampers Blackwater inquiry

October 29, 2007
Immunity deal hampers Blackwater inquiry

WASHINGTON - The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

As a result, it will likely be months before the United States can — if ever — bring criminal charges in the case that has infuriated the Iraqi government.

"Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

October 13, 2007
US soldiers: Blackwater attacked fleeing Iraqi civilian

The Washington Post says that according to their report, the US soldiers – after investigations at the square and interviews with witnesses and Iraqi police – found no evidence that any Iraqis had fired weapons and concluded that there was "no enemy activity involved." They did find evidence, however, that indicated Blackwater contractors fired on civilian vehicles fleeing the square.

"It appeared to me they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. It had every indication of an excessive shooting," said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square 20 to 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided.

Blackwater Withdraws from "The International Peace Operations Association"

October 12, 2007
Blackwater Withdraws from "The International Peace Operations Association"

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blackwater USA has ended an inquiry into the private security contractor's performance by withdrawing from an industry group that initiated the review after the company's guards were accused of killing 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last month.

The International Peace Operations Association said in a statement Friday that Blackwater withdrew its membership two days after the group decided to examine whether the contractor's "processes and procedures" complied with the group's code of conduct.

Blackwater Sued in US Courts

October 11, 2007
Blackwater Sued in US Courts

WASHINGTON - Families of Iraqis who died in a shooting involving Blackwater USA contractors in Baghdad sued the company Thursday, saying the firm violated U.S. law and fostered a culture of lawlessness among its employees.

The suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., says the contractor has been paid more than $1 billion by the U.S. government since 2001 and that the company violated the federal laws in the Sept. 16 killings.

UN: Prosecute Iraq's 'rogue' security guards

October 11, 2007
UN: Prosecute Iraq's 'rogue' security guards

BAGHDAD (AFP) — The UN called Thursday for rogue security guards in Iraq to be prosecuted for possible war crimes as Blackwater was handed a lawsuit in the US on behalf of victims of a deadly Baghdad shootout.

The legal position of private contractors, especially protective security details often used by foreign diplomats, is a hot-button issue in Iraq after two high-profile shooting incidents in the capital within a month.

UN Accuses US Contactors of War Crimes

October 13, 2007
UN Accuses US Contactors of War Crimes

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.N. officials in Iraq stepped up pressure on the United States on Thursday to prosecute any unjustified killings of Iraqi civilians by private security contractors, saying such killings could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity if "done in cold blood."

While Americans are unlikely to face such charges, the words served as a harsh rebuke as outrage spreads over what many Iraqis perceive as overly aggressive behavior of the heavily armed foreigners protecting U.S. government-funded work.

State Dept. may phase out Blackwater

October 11, 2007
State Dept. may phase out Blackwater

WASHINGTON - The State Department may phase out or limit the use of private security guards in Iraq, which could mean canceling Blackwater USA's contract or awarding it to another company in line with an Iraqi government demand, The Associated Press has learned.

Such steps would be difficult given U.S. reliance on Blackwater and other contractors, but they are among options being studied during a comprehensive review of security in Iraq, two senior officials said.

The review was ordered after a Sept. 16 incident in which Blackwater guards protecting a U.S. Embassy convoy in Baghdad are accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

Blackwater Offical: We're creating terrorists

October 6, 2007
Blackwater Offical: We're creating terrorists

"Where do you all expect them to go?" I shrieked. "It was an old guy and a family, for goodness' sake. Was it necessary for them to destroy their poor old car?"

My driver responded impassively: "Ma'am, we've been trained to view anyone as a potential threat. You don't know who they might use as decoys or what the risks are. Terrorists could be disguised as anyone."

"Well, if they weren't terrorists before, they certainly are now!" I retorted. Sulking in my seat, I was stunned by the driver's indifference.

Iraqi probe implicates Blackwater

October 4, 2007
Iraqi probe implicates Blackwater

BAGHDAD - The official Iraqi investigation into the Blackwater shooting last month recommends that the security guards face trial in Iraqi courts and that the company compensate the victims, an Iraqi government minister told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The three-member panel, led by Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, determined that Blackwater guards sprayed western Baghdad's Nisoor Square with gunfire Sept. 16 without provocation, Minister of State for National Security Sherwan al-Waili told AP.

Blackwater to guard FBI team probing it

October 3, 2007
Blackwater to guard FBI team probing it

WASHINGTON - When a team of FBI agents lands in Baghdad this week to probe Blackwater security contractors for murder, it will be protected by bodyguards from the very same firm, the Daily News has learned.

Half a dozen FBI criminal investigators based in Washington are scheduled to travel to Iraq to gather evidence and interview witnesses about a Sept. 16 shooting spree that left at least 11 Iraqi civilians dead.

The agents plan to interview witnesses within the relative safety of the fortified Green Zone, but they will be transported outside the compound by Blackwater armored convoys, a source briefed on the FBI mission said.

"What happens when the FBI team decides to go visit the crime scene? Blackwater is going to have to take them there," the senior U.S. official told The News.

Blackwater contractor wrote government report on incident

October 2, 2007
Blackwater contractor wrote government report on incident

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The State Department's initial report of last month's incident in which Blackwater guards were accused of killing Iraqi civilians was written by a Blackwater contractor working in the embassy security detail, according to government and industry sources.

The deadly incident produced an outcry in Iraq and raised questions about the accountability of foreign security contractors in Iraq, who, under an order laid down by the U.S.-led occupation government, are not subject to Iraqi law for actions taken within their contracts.

Blackwater Has GOP, Christian Group Ties

September 25, 2007
Blackwater Has GOP, Christian Group Ties

September 25, 2007 · With more than $800 million in contracts, Blackwater USA, led by Erik Prince, is among the biggest companies providing armed guards for U.S. officials and government contractors in Iraq.

Prince grew up in Holland, Mich., where his father, Edgar Prince, built Prince Corporation, an auto-parts company that based its success on novel products, such as the lighted vanity mirror for car window visors. The elder Prince was a close friend and supporter of Christian evangelists, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family, as well as a contributor to the Republican Party. He was an early benefactor of the Family Research Council.

Video shows Blackwater guards firing on civilians

September 22, 2007
Video shows Blackwater guards firing on civilians

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11 people died, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case had been referred to the Iraqi judiciary.

Family visits Hassan Jabir at a Baghdad, Iraq, hospital Saturday. He says guards in a U.S. convoy shot him.