[NYTr] Blackwater Mercs in at Least 195 Shootings: Report

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Reuters - Oct 1, 2007 8:26 pm ET
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2739989220071002?sp=true

Blackwater involved in 195 shootings: report

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. security contractor Blackwater was involved
in at least 195 shooting incidents in Iraq since 2005, said a
congressional report on Monday that also panned the State Department's
oversight of the company.

State Department contractor Blackwater, under investigation for the
shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis on September 16, will answer questions
about that incident and others at what is expected to be a testy
congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Senior State Department officials will also be grilled by the House of
Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform examining
whether the growing use of military contractors undermines U.S. efforts
in Iraq.

In another development, the FBI said it had been asked by the State
Department to send a team of investigators to Iraq to look into the
September 16 shootings. No criminal charges have been filed yet against
Blackwater over that incident.

A report prepared by the staff of committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman,
released details from Blackwater's own reports of multiple incidents
involving Iraqi casualties and said in most instances Blackwater fired
first.

The memorandum also slammed the State Department's oversight of
Blackwater and said it was often more interested in getting the company
to pay off victims' families and "put the matter behind us" than in
investigating what happened.

It listed 195 shooting incidents from the start of 2005 until September
12 of this year, an average of 1.4 per week. Of those, there were 16
Iraqi casualties and 162 cases with property damage, the California
Democrat said. He did not specify if there were fatalities.

"In 32 of those incidents, Blackwater were returning fire after an
attack while on 163 occasions (84 percent of the shooting incidents),
Blackwater personnel were the first to fire," Waxman, a vocal critic of
the Iraq war, said.

State Department rules say Blackwater's actions should be defensive
rather than offensive.

Blackwater, which has been paid a little over $1 billion by the U.S.
government since 2001, declined comment.

"We look forward to setting the record straight on this and other
issues" when Erik Prince, Blackwater's chief, testifies before the
committee, spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said.

DISMISSALS

The report said Blackwater had fired 122 of its staff in Iraq over the
past three years for a number of infractions, including 28
weapons-related incidents and 25 cases involving drugs and alcohol
violations.

Waxman criticized the State Department's handling of several incidents
involving Blackwater.

"It appears that the State Department's primary response was to ask
Blackwater to make monetary payments to put the 'matter behind us'
rather than to insist upon accountability or to investigate Blackwater
personnel for potential criminal liability," said the memorandum.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey declined to comment on specifics
listed by Waxman but said the department was "scrupulous" in its
oversight of all contractors.

"These are tough jobs and these people often perform heroically in very
difficult circumstances," Casey said. "But at the same time they have
to be held accountable for their actions."

In a shooting incident on December 24, 2006, a security guard for Iraqi
Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi was killed by an allegedly drunken
Blackwater contractor, who was then flown out of the country and faced
no charges, the memorandum said.

E-mail traffic from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad back to Washington
described Iraq concerns over the incident.

"Iraqis would not understand how a foreigner could kill an Iraqi and
return a free man to his own country," it said.

The State Department's charge d'affaires recommended Blackwater pay
$250,000 and give an "apology." Waxman noted the State Department's
diplomatic security said that was too much and would cause Iraqis to
"try to get killed." Eventually Blackwater agreed on a $15,000 payment.

In another incident where Blackwater shooters killed an "innocent
Iraqi," Waxman said the State Department requested only a $5,000
payment to "put this unfortunate matter behind us quickly."

(Additional reporting by Randall Mikkelsen)

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