After a car bombing, which set off a firefight in Baghdad, which apparently involved Blackwater security agents, and the deaths of eight Iraqi civilians, Iraq has banned Blackwater from operating in Iraq.
Blackwater has thousands of workers in Iraq, providing security for American diplomats, companies, oil sites. If the ban has any teeth, this could force the US to INCREASE troop levels in Baghdad. Or, it could force a confrontation between the Bush administration, the US military and the Iraqi Government.
Sunday's firefight took place near Nusoor Square, an area that straddles the predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Mansour and Yarmouk.
In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, the official said.
The ministry said the incident began around midday, when a convoy of sport utility vehicles came under fire from unidentified gunmen in the square.
The men in the SUVs, described by witnesses as Westerners, returned fire, and the witnesses said the vehicles are the kind used by Western security firms.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad confirmed a State Department convoy was in the area.
"We have revoked Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq. As of now they are not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq," Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said Monday. "The investigation is ongoing, and all those responsible for Sunday's killing will be referred to Iraqi justice."
It's a move clearly meant to boost popular support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but it's not clear what exactly are the ramifications of the license revocation, or how that will affect Blackwater's security contract with the State Department.
And Wired added, as a follow-up,
Is there even a license to revoke? Buzz on the contractor street is that it isn't clear how this development will affect Blackwater. Allegedly, Blackwater doesn't have a "license" to revoke, and its contracts with the State Department and CIA may not be immediately affected. This could play out in an interesting (albeit depressing) powerplay between the al-Maliki, Iraq's Ministry of Interior, and the U.S. Government.
If the ban does have an effect, the loss of potentially thousands of the security personnel Blackwater provides could force the pentagon to station MORE troops in Baghdad. Who knows what effect this will have on General Petraeus's plans to reduce troop levels?
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
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Wired reports: "It's a move clearly meant to boost popular support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but it's not clear what exactly are the ramifications of the license revocation, or how that will affect Blackwater's security contract with the State Department."
This is rather poorly worded. Given the history of Blackwater's crimes in Iraq, the fact that this move may have the effect of boosting popular support for al-Maliki is, I think, incidental. Rather, I would suggest that this latest Blackwater incident was the last straw for the Iraqi leadership: they must be awfully fed up with these gangs of mercinaries that are accountable to no one.
by
delia (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 112 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 12:19:18 PM
Considering all the reports of these Blackwater paid mercenaries abusing their authority, firing indiscriminately upon unarmed civilians, assisting the CIA in the torture of prisoners and the like I think it about time they were thrown out of the country.
My real worry is where these thousands of trained and armed Mercs will surface.......
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 12:23:44 PM
An Iraqi calling the shots? Is that laughter I hear?
This may just look like good news at first blush.
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It will be interesting to observe what Bushco's reaction will be, and what it will visit upon the Iraqi spokesman.
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The thought of America using mercenaries anywhere should highly disturb and involve our majority-Democrat congress -- Anyone care to make a bet on that one?
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Point of fact: There's an armed force called Blackwater that exists. If not to be used in Iraq, then where? It will not just disappear from the face of the earth just because some Iraqi plant says he wants it gone from Baghdad and environs.
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Will we next see it "protecting" the Mall?
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....Scared but staying tuned, Rafe Pilgrim
by
Rafe Pilgrim (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 36 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 1:00:26 PM
Ardee they will surface where they belong back in the good old U.S. of A. They are now your problem, why not send them to New Orleans? They did a good job there last time killing people so they are a proven entity in the U.S. as well as in Iraq. Since Americans love to kill people all over the world they shouldn't mind a few killings in the U.S. as well. It's only fair after all.
by
Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1130 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 1:03:20 PM
I have lived in these United States my entire life, though Ive been a frequent visitor to other climes. I find my fellow Americans far more diverse than your almost childish commentary would portray us all.
Accuse us of naivete, accuse us of sloth and lack of diligence in being good stewards of our democratic mechanisms. Accuse us of rampant materialism if you must but when you call us all murderers you fail abysmally to show any understanding of the 280 million plus that inhabit this nation.
The government of this nation is certainly open to your critique and it has murdered around the world for two hundred fifty years and counting. So has England, so has France, so has Germany ( a bit more there than here to be sure), sadly so has every single industrialised nation engaged in such atrocities. To the extent that a citizenry is responsible for the acts of its government we are all of us guilty, you included my friend.
But I have found the American people themselves to be warm hearted, charitable, open and friendly, as i have found the peoples of most nations I have visited. There are exceptions of course, and you may very well be one of those.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 4:40:50 PM
When Bush went to Anbar he was protected by blackwaters.My question is why we need any private security when we already pay 400/500/600 billion per year for defense.My understanding is they are outside the chain of command and receive no support when they return to the states.Do they pledge alligence to the president?
by
tjb (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 214 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 1:29:19 PM
Naw, they pledge allegience only to their direct boss within Blackwater and to their CEO. The US Constitution, Bill of Rights, or any International Law are not even worthy of wiping their butts with.
These are the most evil, moral-free, and dangerous people on earth, and the fact that they don't have sufficient benefits or healthcare when they get home is worthy only of a hearty laugh. These people are, by and large, war criminals that would be tried and jailed for life in any civilized world.
But yes, expect to see them roaming the streets of the USA some time soon, answering only to the corporate bosses who have paid them, and killing, raping, stealing and destroying with impunity. Though, not to worry, because they are supposedly all very religious, and when the Rapture comes, all that will be left will be their H2's and their semi's.
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 676 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 2:39:04 PM
Frankly, we've had blackwater legal people contact us several times. They usually ask us to correct a minor sentence or statement. That said, I do like, in all cases, to get the facts straight.
When you say they are war criminals, what do you base that on?
by
Rob Kall (808 articles, 3922 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1703 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 3:42:21 PM
"Will Iraq's Blackwater Ban Raise Troop Levels in Baghdad?"
Dear Rob,
Only a very few Arabs know what Catch 22 stands for. Instead they have a subsitute which is more descriptive of the situation that the so-called 'freely elected' Iraqi parliament and Govt are in these days. It goes as "Tintin Aw Tintin". The first 'tintin' alludes to 'tintaher' which translates as 'commit suicide' and the second 'tintin' alludes to 'tintaak' which translates as 'get buggered' or the 4 letter "f" word in past tense .
What the 'powerless' Minister has ordered or ordained is not for him to order or ordain without the written consent of the American 'satraps' in Iraq, Gen. Petreaus, Crocker and Co OR by the Emperor, the one and only you know who! AND, this is not forthcoming any time sooner than Jan 2009!
Any way, it will be fun watching which 'tintin', Al Maliki, his ministers and the Iraqi parliamentarians will opt for!
Blackwater has much to answer for within the United States and in Iraq. I cannot predict how it will play out in both countries but it is the timing of the Iraqi Minister(?) of Interior's order which should be analyzed in depth within the United States and not superficially, as is being done at this time. Simply as a hint to the American anti-war liberals, this order is coming only after Blackwater started targeting Shiites and not any time before, when Blackwater was massacring Sunnis in the Sunni majority areas across the board, as well as targeting Sunnis selectively in the Shiite majority areas and helping the Shiites cleanse the latter areas of all Sunnis and/or 'imprisoning' those who refused to move out, in Israeli type Bantustans, concrete walls and Blackwater manned checkpoints included for conformity.
The American Hordes like the Mongol and British Hordes of yesteryears will be leaving Iraq sooner than expected. The Blackwater mercenaries would be well advised to get the hell out of Iraq before the US abandons Iraq. Likewise, the so called 'freely elected' Iraqi Parliamentarians and members of all the Iraqi 'governments' ever since the American Occupation because upto 25,000 'lamp posts' have already been earmarked for their necks to hang from. I believe, the wiser amongst this 'motley crowd, have already shifted their families to Jordan, Syria and of course Iran! They should have, by right, gone to the US, UK and Australia but Vichies and Quislings are never held in any regard by anyone and definitely not by those who 'sucker' them in the first place. The "Last Flight Out of Baghdad" would carry only so many.
Good riddance! Empires never learn!
by
syed mahdi (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 125 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 4:55:16 PM
George Bush get's what he deserves. dum shit should never have went to war in Iraq. now dum ass dont have a clue how to get out of his scew up. Black water is a bunch of thug's. they operate in Iraq with no reguards to the law's. they set there own ruthless laws.they are paid very good by there companies. some get over $5000.00 dollars a week. they are mostly ex-military. paid to guard and kill. (I WONDER WHAT WE WILL HAVE NEXT?) maybe no military to defend america? only highley paid for people to go to war and kill the enemy? what's america coming to?will there be any america if it keep's going like it is?
by
vincent passiatore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 168 comments)
on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 10:33:40 PM
It troubles me that Blackwater “legal” people are contacting you in any respect, lest you feel compelled to somehow mitigate your own criticism or the comments of Op-Ed News participants that otherwise would surely follow. As I read the Constitution, private mercenaries (euphemistically called “security” forces in neo conservative circles) have no protection against committing murder or conspiring to commit murder. Congress needs to investigate what has happened here, and it needs to make laws that ensure that private mercenary corporations are disbanded, and that corporations have no role whatsoever in government affairs. Protection for State Department employees and congressional members should be entirely provided by the US military (as provided for in the Constitution) and the Secret Service (a federal law enforcement agency).
by
Mark Whittington (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 22 comments)
on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 4:34:12 AM
The two times they've contacted us, they have corrected statements made by writers who did not do their homework, and they were justified in their requests for revisions. These requests come in from varying orgs and individuals abotu once a month. Generally, we refer the complaint to the writer first, to respect the writer's take on the issue. The last two though, that has not been necessary. I wrote back, asking for more specifics and, in one case, I found the response unsatisfactory and left the article (on a drug) as it was written. In the other case, a person mentioned in the article demanded that the whole article be pulled. I researched him on the web, learned he had a pattern of threatening people writing on the subject of the article. So I asked him, explaining that our policy is to ask for the specific words that are inaccurate, and asked him which words he found to be inaccurate. I haven't heard back.
We have to take these contacts as we get them. So far, we've gotten these when writers have made statements that were not accurate. The one person who demanded we pull the article was the one case that looked like an effort to intimidate us, and we responded in a way to neutralize it, without changing a word.
by
Rob Kall (808 articles, 3922 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1703 comments)
on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 8:03:40 AM
Sometimes I come across a post on these boards that brings a smile to my face and on occasion, even a laugh, and I confess, this post has done BOTH.
I'm not Einstien, nor am I Nostradamus, but listen up folks, I'f you intend to hold your breath until Blackwater leave Iraq, you better make sure your arrangements for your funeral are up to date, cause youre gonna be DEAD before that happens. LOL. Ban Blackwater ? DUH, guess people do still believe in fairies too.
by
Eddy Schmid (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 202 comments)
on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 5:38:12 AM
It'll be a miracle if they actually leave. The Bush admin will be using all their diplomatic clout to resolve this one. It started already with an apology by Condi Rice. If they DO leave, it will be clear, huge embarassment to Bush and his people.
by
Rob Kall (808 articles, 3922 quicklinks, 332 diaries, 1703 comments)
on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 8:06:17 AM
Blackwater has only got about 1000 people in Iraq (they say).
If they were smart, they would have pulled out of Iraq after Fallujah.
But your larger question holds: if they review all the private companies involved in the shadow war of unaccountability, it would mean we get out or we send a lot more troops.
by
Heidi L. Nordberg (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments)
on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 9:57:12 AM
15 comments
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