Blackwater Security Banned From Iraq

[ayabe]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead.

U.S. soldiers talk with Iraqi shopkeepers while patrolling Sunday in Baghdad.

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.

An official with the U.S. Embassy told The Associated Press that a State Department motorcade came under small-arms fire near Nusoor Square, and one of the vehicles was disabled.

The official said no State Department officials were injured but provided no information on Iraqi casualties, the AP reported.

"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."

article contiued here: CNN
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This is a surprising development, I would have thought if they were going to ban them it would have been a while ago. I have read several reports over the years where their operators were accused of indiscriminately firing at civilians after coming under attack.

In the short term this could cause a shortage in manpower that might need to be filled by US military personnel but I'm sure one of more of the other security companies will ramp up to fill the void.

To say their presence in Iraq and the details surrounding their foundation and continued funding by the US government has been controversial is an understatement.

 

[manowar821]

Get those idiots out of there. I have no respect for mercenaries or their supporters.

Especially when it comes to controversial and questionable "wars".

Yee-haw, am I right?

 

[Sinsear]

Do you really think they are going to leave?

 

[Phokus]

Blackwater is basically the military minus the oversight and any public scrutiny. A dangerous combination for sure.

 

[jackschmittusa]

They should have been accountable for their actions long ago. No country will ever be "stable" until until its citizens have respect for the rule of law, and expect punishment for breaking it. This is but a single aspect of many groups that regularly disregard the law over there, and while there is much more to do, it is a start. It is also a highly visible start because it is an American firm.

 

[Mean MrMustard]

I like how this war isn't about oil and we have a security firm called 'Blackwater'.

 

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: Donny Baker
I like how this war isn't about oil and we have a security firm called 'Blackwater'.

:laugh:

 

[jpeyton]

Bravo.

They should boot out the US military next.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: Sinsear
Do you really think they are going to leave?

They will the "sovereign" Iraqi government has revoked their permit. If we try to override this it's going to cause a huge backlash and at this juncture we can't afford that.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Sinsear
Do you really think they are going to leave?

yes

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Donny Baker
I like how this war isn't about oil and we have a security firm called 'Blackwater'.

The firm was founded next to a swamp, thus it's called Blackwater.

Personally, I am very happy about this. However, this is only a band-aid. What needs to happen is the Iraqis need to remove Bremer's little law *AND* Congress has to ensure that the PMCs are under the CMJ.

 

[BeauJangles]

I think this development is also good news for the US public. Although there are other private security firms (hopefully on their way out), blackwater is the largest. Private security firms enable the government to inaccurately report wounded, dead, disabled, mia soldiers from the war. Without them there people will get a much better idea of the number of people who have really been killed in Iraq.

 

[Corn]

Originally posted by: Sinsear
Do you really think they are going to leave?

I would imagine as soon as the checks stop rolling in, Blackwarter will roll out.....

 

[Drakkon]

This is jut one of the 100's of security firms in Iraq though, mostly all operated under the same mantle of Halliburton funding. They were probably the largest but theres no doubt that the guys there will be picked up by any one of the other firms there and the cycle will continue.

 

[palehorse]

I sincerely doubt their banishment will last more than a week.

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.

Also, what exactly did they do wrong in THIS SPECIFIC incident? They were attacked in a populated area and then returned fire to defend the lives of US State Dept. officials.

While they may or may not have done some stupid things in the past, how exactly should they have reacted differently in THIS situation?

 

[bdude]

Originally posted by: palehorse74
I sincerely doubt their banishment will last more than a week.

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.

Also, what exactly did they do wrong in THIS SPECIFIC incident? They were attacked in a populated area and then returned fire to defend the lives of US State Dept. officials.

While they may or may not have done some stupid things in the past, how exactly should they have reacted differently in THIS situation?

Point is that this is the first time they are actually held accountable. They should be so lucky that this is merely a slap on the wrist. Get out.

 

[Lemon law]

Basically I think they will just change names and things will go back to business as usual.

Which is simply what other posters have said already. Blackwater, whitewash, or hogwash, whats the difference? The USA should have nothing to do with mercenary armies in the first place. They are simply a pack of out of control pitt bulls the American people are funding.

We shouldn't be waiting for the Iraqi government to control them, the USA must either put them under rigid control or expect the consequences.

 

[tomywishbone]

There's still stuff to steal... Blackwater ain't going anywhere.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: Sinsear
Do you really think they are going to leave?

They will the "sovereign" Iraqi government has revoked their permit. If we try to override this it's going to cause a huge backlash and at this juncture we can't afford that.

Yeah, with support for the war high all around, we don't want to soil it with even a tiny criticism

I think this development is also good news for the US public. Although there are other private security firms (hopefully on their way out), blackwater is the largest. Private security firms enable the government to inaccurately report wounded, dead, disabled, mia soldiers from the war. Without them there people will get a much better idea of the number of people who have really been killed in Iraq.

Yeah, but essentially these are free lives, because they are 100% in it for the money; there is no arguing morality or for the better good or anything. They know what they're doing and unlike an enlistee can leave at any time without fear of AWOL. Further, PMCs offer above-average experience, since most of their people are vets and offer other benefits consultants do across the world, including buy what you need, stop buying when you don't need it. They are effective and this is why their use is growing.

Also, what exactly did they do wrong in THIS SPECIFIC incident?

Who knows. We know nothing about the incident beyond a couple hundred words on CNN, so we can't really judge!

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: palehorse74
I sincerely doubt their banishment will last more than a week.

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.

Also, what exactly did they do wrong in THIS SPECIFIC incident? They were attacked in a populated area and then returned fire to defend the lives of US State Dept. officials.

While they may or may not have done some stupid things in the past, how exactly should they have reacted differently in THIS situation?

I don't blame the Blackwater operatives, as they are usually ex-military and finely trained.

I do blame the politicians and the murky rules that have been set in place. With Blackwater, we spend a small fortune maintaining a group that can operate outside of normal military procedures, and accountability is near-zero. This is a recipe for disaster, particularly in such a sensitive area. It's a tough problem, because Iraq is so damned dangerous (to deny this is folly of the purest kind), and the demand for expert protection is so high.

The answer to the causes of all of these problems is money in the end. Why is Blackwater there? Money. Why did we invade Iraq? Money. Why are we still there? Money. Hundreds of billions of dollars are changing hands, pouring into the coffers of the selected elite. War is spectacularly profitable to a choice few, and sadly, most of these are silver-spoon civilians who have never worn a uniform, or even if they have, never set foot in a combat zone. Would it change if Hillary was president? No. Money/Power/Corruption are impossible to separate.

We'll eventually leave Iraq, but it will be no better than it is now. The *best* we can realistically hope for is another Saddam, unless the country is partitioned to each group. The maps arbitrarily drawn for that "country" will never satisfy anyone in the end.

 

[Craig234]

This is great news - I didn't realize the Iraqi government actually had any specific authorization for individual mercenary firms. For a rare occassion, I may agree with Jaskalas that I've yet to see what Blackwater did wrong from his quoted text - but I object to the very idea of this approach of private mercenary firms with virtually no oversight and accountability being in nations like that.

These ideologues who are privatizing what should not be privatized - and the threat of political corruption that goes along with it, where government officials can 'retire' to well paid gigs with the firms they betrayed the public interest to help benefit, are wrong.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Sinsear
Do you really think they are going to leave?

Not a chance in hell. Blackwater wields significantly more military might, and political influence than the Iraqi government.

 

[Arkaign]

Yeah, and come to think of it : what if :

A private security firm protecting a US government group of personnel was fired on by (X), and while returning fire, killed several US citizen bystanders. What would the fallout from that look like?

Truly, Iraqi civilian lives are < US civilian lives.

 

[Lemon law]

The other point to note is that blackwater will increasingly get its funds from corporations and inevitably conflict with the USA. We have created a monster and the sooner its killed
the easier the job will be.

Blackwater is motivated by money and power. The notion its going to be the USA's servile pet monster is absurd. But we are feeding its growth.

Kill it before it multiplies is a compelling argument and more than a mere bad monster movie staple script line.

 

[Fern]

Since it was apparently our State Dept, I'd much prefer taht our military provided their security instead of some private contractor.

We had a rather extensive post sometime ago about the rules under which these contractors operate.

They could criminally prosecuted here. They can be sued in civil courts here for wrongful deaths, etc.

Iraq can expell whom they like. Iraq can nulify the provision exempting such contractors from Iraqi law any time they choose.

Any comments like "they operate above the law" are, at the very least, technically incorrect.

Fern