BAGHDAD, Oct. 18, 2007
Blackwater May Be Relieved Of Duty In Iraq
Officials: Security Company Won't Be Fired, But Unlikely To Keep U.S. Embassy Role Past May
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Blackwater employs more people and has more equipment than its two competitors in Iraq. Any outside company that might replace Blackwater would have to provide trained U.S. citizens, with security clearances. That may mean that if Blackwater leaves, competitors hired some of its workers. (AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez)
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Turkish army commandos patrol on foot during their routine duty near Uludere in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, October 17, 2007. (Getty Images/Burak Kara)
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Turkish soldiers in armored vehicles pause as they patrol on a road in the province of Sirnak, on the Turkish-Iraqi border, southeastern Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Kadir Konuksever)
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Turkish President Abdullah Gul, second left, and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad, front right, inspect a military guard of honour during a welcome ceremony at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
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Play CBS Video Video Iraq Denounces Blackwater USA Following an investigation into a recent shootout that left 17 civilians dead in Baghdad, the Iraqi government is demanding compensation from security firm Blackwater USA. Liz Palmer reports.
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Video Insider's View Of Blackwater "Only On The Web": Kelly Capeheart is a former employee of Blackwater, a private security firm in Iraq. Capeheart says he's standing by the firm, because it has been unfairly portrayed in the media.
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In The Spotlight Under Fire A look at Blackwater USA, the State Department's top private security contractor.
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Photo Essay Turkey-Iraq Tensions Nation mulls cross-border military incursion into northern Iraq to chase Kurdish rebels.
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Interactive The Kurds And Northern Iraq Learn about the Kurdish people and their leaders, key cities in Northern Iraq and the potential for conflict with Turkey.
Blackwater's work escorting U.S. diplomats outside the protected Green Zone in Baghdad expires in May, one official said Wednesday, and other officials told The Associated Press they expect the North Carolina company will not continue to work for the embassy after that.
It is likely that Blackwater will not compete to keep the job, one official said. Blackwater probably will not be fired outright or even "eased out," the official added, but there is a mutual feeling that the Sept. 16 shooting deaths mean the company cannot continue in its current role.
State Department officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has not yet considered results of an internal review of Blackwater and the other two companies that protect diplomats in Iraq.
Department officials said no decisions have been made and that Rice has the final say.
They gave admiring appraisals of Blackwater's work overall, noting that no diplomats have died while riding in Blackwater's heavily armed convoys.
President George W. Bush did not directly answer a question Wednesday about whether he was satisfied with the performance of security contractors.
"I will be anxious to see the analysis of their performance," Mr. Bush said at a news conference. "There's a lot of studying going on, both inside Iraq and out, as to whether or not people violated rules of engagement. I will tell you, though, that a firm like Blackwater provides a valuable service. They protect people's lives, and I appreciate the sacrifice and the service that the Blackwater employees have made."
A panel that Rice appointed to review the contractors will report to her as soon as Friday, and Rice's announcement of what to do next probably will follow quickly, one department official said.
A transition from Blackwater would take time.
The company employs more people and has more equipment than its two competitors in Iraq. Any outside company that might replace Blackwater would have to provide trained U.S. citizens, with security clearances. That may mean that if Blackwater leaves, competitors hired some of its workers.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said, "We will follow the lead of our client. If they want us to stay we will stay. If they want us to leave we will do so."
The team of State Department management experts and outside specialists is expected to recommend greater oversight of security contractors and better coordination of their work with military forces, two officials said.
It is practically impossible to eliminate private security contractors altogether in Iraq because there are not enough department security agents to fill the gap, officials said.
Blackwater and two other contractors share a $571 million annual contract to protect diplomats and others in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and other countries. The Iraq share of the contract accounts for about $520 million, although not all goes to Blackwater.
The review also looked at the rules of engagement for department escorts and whether there is anything unique to Blackwater's training, operations and corporate culture that made mistakes in judgment or civilian deaths more likely.
It is not clear whether the review will extend to consideration of an idea floated by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to consolidate management of security contractors that work in Iraq for numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Pentagon and State Department.
Gates discussed the idea with Rice during a joint meeting last week in Moscow, a State Department official said.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates thinks "it is worth exploring" whether one chain of command should oversee all private security contractors in Iraq. Morrell said it would be going too far to say that Gates is advocating this approach.
In the Sept. 16 incident, Iraqi officials say Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation in Baghdad's Nisoor Square and killed 17 Iraqi citizens.
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We will follow the lead of our client. If they want us to stay we will stay. If they want us to leave we will do so.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne TyrrellIraq's government is demanding $8 million compensation for each
of the 17 people reportedly killed.
The Iraqi government is demanding that Blackwater be expelled from the country within six months.
In other developments:
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 226 Comments
- COMING TO AMERICA,,, COMING TO AMERICA,,, COMING TO AMERICA,,,
NEVER FORGET THE RAPES OF BESLAN GIRLS!
Terror at Beslan
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1316935651894423094
RAPES IN BESLAN: IN MUHAMMAD%u2019S FOOTSTEPS
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic04/NewsST091304.html
Forget Not the Children of Beslan
http://kenlydell.typepad.com/islamic_evil/forget_not_the_children_of_beslan/index.html
Religion of Peace??? More like a cult of death.
http://www.terrorists-suck.org/why_suck/beslan.html
Radical Islamists must be stopped:
comments on the Beslan child slaughter.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/list.htm - Reply to this comment
- "Is it because Blackwater is a nonunion shop the reason most liberals don"t like them?"
- Posted by badaxmofo at 09:29 PM : Oct 18, 2007
They"re nonunion ?
Just like al Qaeda.
If al Qaeda were a union shop, there"d be some accountability. - Reply to this comment
- Is it because Blackwater is a nonunion shop the reason most liberals don''''t like them?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by badaxmofo at 09:29 PM : Oct 18, 2007
Ahahahahaha good one. - Reply to this comment
- jowand,,,, If you ask me --- I can safeguard my family better than Blackwater without scaring the hell out of my neighbors.. So can most Americans..
.. But that isn''''t what your GOP or Bush wants you to believe, is it ??
Posted by j-whitman at 08:35 PM : Oct 18, 2007
Get in a car by yourself in the green zone and try and drive across the Tigris without getting you *** shot off. - Reply to this comment
- jowand,,,, Actually, the Secret Service during Kennedy''''s time wasn''''t that well funded, trained, organized or equipped as Blackwater.
Posted by j-whitman at 08:32 PM : Oct 18, 2007
You mean they didn''t know how to ut the top down on JFKs convertable? - Reply to this comment
- jowand,,,, If you ask me --- I can safeguard my family better than Blackwater without scaring the hell out of my neighbors.. So can most Americans..
.. But that isn''t what your GOP or Bush wants you to believe, is it ?? - Reply to this comment
- jowand,,,, Actually, the Secret Service during Kennedy''s time wasn''t that well funded, trained, organized or equipped as Blackwater.
- Reply to this comment
- I believe there is a significant potential for individuals (or groups) involved with these companies to engage in organized crime activities or even false flag terrorism in the US.
This is similar to demobilizing a paramilitary force (in fact, that is exactly what it is).
Watch out for ''Contractor Blowback'' (Mercenary Blowback).
Through out history Mercenaries have always turned on their patrons. - Reply to this comment
- I''''d like to "relieve myself" on Blackwater
Posted by tejasdemo at 06:07 PM : Oct 18, 2007
You''re too spineless to do that - Reply to this comment
- understand these guys never lost a life they were protecting. Thats a pretty good record considering the countries they have to protect diplomats and government leaders in.
The Secret Service could not even protect John Kennedy in the city of Dallas USA. FCOL.
Honest question, who would you want protecting you or your family??
Posted by thgdriver at 06:13 PM : Oct 18, 2007
Kennedy was advised to leave the top on his car by the secret service, you can''t protect someone who doesn''t want protecting - Reply to this comment
- I LOVE IT !!! Check out the caption on the 2nd pic on this article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/18/politics/washingtonpost/main3381946.shtml#ccmm
"Mark Penn, Hillary''s chief strategist says Republicans could be in for a ''nasty surprise'' if Clinton is the nominee"
Well Mark, I would say you''ve made the understatement of the year. Hillary is about as nasty as they come!!! - Reply to this comment
- j-whitman Hi!
Nobody convinced me of anything, or talked me into anything. I think for myself after looking at the record and facts on most subjects. I hardly put myself up to importance as a diplomat or a head of state. When these folks visit war areas or even peaceful Cities like Dallas they become targets. All I am saying is the secret service let John Down and the world too! Blackwater on the other hand has a perfect record. - Reply to this comment
- I remember oliver north testifying all those years ago.Same haircut, same gentleman''s manners. Same killer type. Anyone else see the parallels here. Maybe prince will become a mouthpiece for FOX as well.
- Reply to this comment
Re: "Blackwater May Be Relieved Of Duty In Iraq"
Since when was being a murderous and cowardly terrorist-for-rent, considered a "duty"?- Reply to this comment
- thgdriver,,,,, I certainly don''t want Blackwater protecting my family, I can do it just fine... So can most Americans --- But, this GOP relies on Fear to convince you otherwise solely for political gainsmanship.
- Reply to this comment
- I understand these guys never lost a life they were protecting. Thats a pretty good record considering the countries they have to protect diplomats and government leaders in.
The Secret Service could not even protect John Kennedy in the city of Dallas USA. FCOL.
Honest question, who would you want protecting you or your family?? - Reply to this comment
- I''d like to "relieve myself" on Blackwater
- Reply to this comment
- Every Backwater Employee -
Should have all their - Security Clearances made to read - High Security Risk
To ensure they Never again work for the Federal Government or any
Federal Government Subcontractor
Every Backwater Employee -
If they have ever been in the US Military - Their Military Discharges changed
to read - Dishonorable. To ensure they never receive any type of
Veterans Benefits or Veterans Rights
Every Blackwater Employee -
Should lose their - American Citizenship
Since they Like being outside the United States
They can - D*a*m*n - Well stay outside ! ! !
Lastdance - Reply to this comment
- superdem,,,, I wonder how Isreal''s IDF will like Blackwater moving there after they are thrown out of Iraq
- Reply to this comment
- Last night I was at a bar in Union Station, Washington D.C. and I noticed a roped off section where a private reception was in progress. Among the tuxedos and little black dresses I recognized Erik Prince, President of Blackwater. He was shaking hands and taking backslaps like a celebrity. I saw an older man I thought resembled Senator Joe Lieberman but I wasn''t sure. There was an easle with a poster on it, with a photo but I couldn''t read it so I walked over to investigate. The poster read "2007 Keeper of the Flame - Senator Joseph Lieberman." So the Blackwater Iraq War supporters were honoring Senator Joe Lieberman. Keeper of the Flame ! They are flamers, all right.
- Reply to this comment
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