[dinopello]

License Revoked
Blackwater security banned from Iraq
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')raq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater Security Consulting, an American firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead.

[emailking]

I am not in favor of killing all contractors, because that would mean that I would die.

[mamoselle]

I thought that they were hired so to kill civilians? Are they not doing their jobs well enough to satisfaction?

[jboogy]

Paul Bremer exempted all U.S. military and foriegn contractors from civil or criminal penalties by Iraqi government before he left . U.S. could possibly bring charges but unlikely, they're murdering bastards , but by GOD they're OUR murdering bastards!!!!This could be an interesting test case though. Iraq supposedly has a sovereign government and we're there at their invitation. Sooo....lets see if Shrub pulls them out or if they stay.I'm betting Blackwater laughs and shoots a couple Iraqi diplomats just for shits and giggles.

[Offshore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mamoselle', 'I') thought that they were hired so to kill civilians? Are they not doing their jobs well enough to satisfaction?

[jboogy]

Alot of you christian types better hope there isn't a GAWD , I think he might be a little extra pissed at those that pretend to follow his teachings yet endorse this . That old hypocrisy thing again .
http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Pla ... s-PSD.wmv/

[seldom_seen]

Something tells me there's a little more to this story than this one gunbattle.

[jboogy]

It's not one gunbattle , it's a compilation by Aegis security contractors . This is actually SOP for all military and civilian contractors in Iraq . You get too close to their vehicles at certain times or certain locations you get fired-up. Usually warnings into the radiator but sometimes the muzzle climbs a little. Who knew? Go to www.crooksandliars.com for the story

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'S')omething tells me there's a little more to this story than this one gunbattle.

[Micki]

The Iraqi government seems to be a disappointment to the Whitehouse.
Causing fuss with the oil law, suggesting timeline for foreign troop withdrawal and now they take a minor shooting incident with a few "innocent" sand niggers (note sarcasm) accidentaly shot by Blackwater guards as an excuse to shut down their operation in Iraq.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')AGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq on Monday ordered the cancellation of US security firm Blackwater's operating licence after it was involved in a shootout in Baghdad that killed eight people and wounded 13, a senior official told AFP.

[SinisterBlueCat]

oh yay! now they can come back and find work here in the us!

[Zardoz]

This is actually a pretty significant turn of events. Will the Iraqis be able to get Blackwater out, or will BushCo be able to apply sufficient pressure to keep them in business?

This could turn into a really fascinating story.

[jboogy]

Considering there are more contractors than military I don't see how Shrub can start pulling them out. It would be a slippery slope ,he pulls blackwater then the next thing you know they want the rest of the mercenaries out. Bush won't pull them just to show the Iraqi government he's still boss.Still , it is interesting since the administration line has been ; we're here at the Iraqi governments invitation , if they want us to leave we will . Everyone knows it's bullshit but this should expose it as bullshit .

[lateralus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'T')his is actually a pretty significant turn of events. Will the Iraqis be able to get Blackwater out, or will BushCo be able to apply sufficient pressure to keep them in business?

This could turn into a really fascinating story.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jboogy', 'S')till, it is interesting since the administration line has been: we're here at the Iraqi governments invitation, if they want us to leave we will. Everyone knows it's bullshit but this should expose it as bullshit.

[jboogy]

I could be wrong but I think Blackwater numbers around 30,000 heavily armed , highly trained former specialforces types with bad attitudes. They leave and our guys are in even worse shape , I don't think Bush can let them leave without throwing in the towel completely , they supply a lot of close combat support , (on the sly of course)if they leave our guys have to take over their duties plus their normal patrols. We're too thin already.

[Zardoz]

Washington Post story:

Iraq Bans Security Contractor - Blackwater Faulted In Baghdad Killings

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Iraqi government on Monday said it had revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security company involved in a shootout in Baghdad that killed at least nine people, raising questions over which nation should regulate tens of thousands of civilian hired guns operating in Iraq.

The Iraqi government's announcement was its most public assertion to date of its right to take action against foreign security companies when a suspected crime has been committed.

Several violent episodes involving Blackwater have infuriated Iraqi officials. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, said the decision meant Blackwater "cannot work in Iraq any longer."

"Blackwater has made many mistakes resulting in other deaths, but this is the last and the biggest mistake. This is unjustified," Khalaf said. "Security contracts do not allow them to shoot people randomly. They are here to protect personnel, not shoot people without reason."

...Blackwater, based in North Carolina, has an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq...

"We were shocked when we saw these fighters getting out of their SUVs and shooting randomly at people," said Sgt. Mohammed Juwad Hussein, an Iraqi army soldier who said he was manning a checkpoint in Baghdad near the scene of the fighting. "We didn't know who they were targeting or who they wanted to shoot."

The incident highlighted the murky legal space that private foreign security contractors occupy in Iraq. Some security experts said it is unlikely that the Iraqi government could expel Blackwater because its contract is through the State Department.

A regulation known as Order 17, which was established under the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority headed by L. Paul Bremer and is still in effect, granted American private security contractors immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts...

...Before Sunday's shootings, Interior Ministry officials said they had received reports of at least a half-dozen incidents in which Blackwater guards allegedly shot civilians, far more than any other company. But the officials said they were hamstrung by the immunity granted under Order 17.

"I would say that Iraqi officials are no different than other Iraqi citizens: They can't stand the Western security companies which are really aggressive, which would include Blackwater," said a second Western official knowledgeable about the Interior Ministry and who also insisted on anonymity. "Blackwater is particularly egregious, but I guess they've been told to use those procedures by the U.S. Embassy. They're not rogue elements."

[Zardoz]

Iraq contradicts U.S. on Blackwater shootings

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government said today that its initial investigation had found that guards with the private security company Blackwater USA had fired without provocation on a Baghdad traffic circle, killing eight people and wounding 13.

The findings contradicted statements by the company and the U.S. State Department that the guards had come under small-arms fire during the incident Sunday.

[Zardoz]

How inconvenient:

US diplomats grounded in Iraq row

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he US has suspended all road journeys by its diplomats in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

This follows an incident in which at least eight Iraqis died when security guards from the US firm Blackwater opened fire in a busy Baghdad square.

Blackwater has a contract to guard all US State Department employees in Iraq.