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Iraq's government wants Blackwater USA out of thecountry within six months. Officials released a report on Oct. 7, 2007, blaming the security firm for the deaths of 17 civilians killed in a shooting on Sept. 16, 2007.(Initial reports put the death toll at 11.) The report calls for Blackwater to pay $136 million to victims' families. The investigative committee set up by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sept. 22, had found no evidence that the Blackwater contractors had come under fire during the incident. On Monday, Oct. 1, 2007, the FBI opened an investigation into the role Blackwater played in the Sept. 16, 2007, shoot-out in Baghdad that killed 11 Iraqis.At the time, Blackwater contractors were protecting a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad. Blackwater says its guards acted in self-defense after its convoy came under attack. Iraqi witnesses have said the shooting was unprovoked and Iraqi officials vowed to ban Blackwater from working in the country. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent a five-person team to Iraq on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, to "talk to all the key players," including Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno — the top two U.S. commanders there — and obtain additional details. The incident is the latest fatal shootings in Iraq involving Blackwater guards. Blackwater has had more shooting incidents than the two other top private security contractors combined, according to a 15-page report written by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ahead of a Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007, hearing. The report says Blackwater has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005.
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