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WORLD / Middle East
Iraq to review security contracts
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-19 06:39
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi Cabinet decided Tuesday to review the status of all
foreign security companies amid mounting public outrage over the alleged
killing of civilians by the US Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.
A?woman grieves at the scene of a car bomb attack in Baghdad September
18, 2007. A car bomb killed seven people and wounded 23 in a parking lot
near the Health Ministry in central Baghdad, police said. [Reuters]
Exploiting that anger, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded the
government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors, whom Iraqis have
long viewed as mercenaries.
The Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it
had revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to
leave the country?-depriving American diplomats of security protection
essential to operating in Baghdad.
"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely
but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq,"
government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.
Still, it was unclear how the dispute would play out, given the
government's need to appear resolute in defending national sovereignty
while maintaining its relationship with Washington at a time when US
public support for the mission is faltering.
Polls show Gen. David Petraeus' report to Congress and President Bush's
nationally televised address have had little impact on Americans'
distaste for the Iraq war and their desire to withdraw US troops.
Petraeus, America's top commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the top US
diplomat here, briefed the British government Tuesday on their
recommendations to keep troop levels high.
Also Tuesday, three US soldiers were killed following an explosion near
their patrol northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was
killed in a vehicle accident in the northern province of Ninevah, the
military said.
Al-Sadr's office in Najaf said the government should nullify contracts of
all foreign security companies, branding them "criminal and intelligence
firms."
"This aggression would not have happened had it not been for the presence
of the occupiers who brought these companies, most of whose members are
criminals and ex-convicts in American and Western prisons," the firebrand
cleric said in a statement.
Al-Sadr insisted that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
prosecute those involved and ensure that families of the victims receive
compensation.
There was no threat by al-Sadr to unleash his Mahdi Army militia in
retaliation for the killings.
However, his statement was significant because it signaled al-Sadr's
intention to stir up anti-American sentiment in the wake of the weekend
shootings and further undermine al-Maliki's U.S.-backed government.
Many Iraqis dismissed Blackwater's contention that its guards were
attacked by armed insurgents and returned fire only to protect State
Department personnel.
"We see the security firms ... doing whatever they want in the streets.
They beat citizens and scorn them," Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told
AP Television News. "If such a thing happened in America or Britain,
would the American president or American citizens accept it?"
Blackwater is among three private security firms employed by the State
Department to protect employees in Iraq, and expelling it would create
huge problems for USgovernment operations in this country.
Private security officials said Blackwater had suspended all but
essential movements in the capital, a move that would severely curtail
travel by US diplomats outside the Green Zone. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they are not supposed to talk to media.
The two other firms, both of which are headquartered in the Washington,
D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp, based in Falls Church, Va., and Triple
Canopy, based in Herndon, Va. Neither has the resources of Blackwater,
which includes a fleet of helicopters that provide added security for
State Department personnel traveling through Baghdad's dangerous streets.
In London, Crocker told reporters that "an investigation of that incident
is under way and it would be premature to comment until the investigation
is finished."
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, who announced
the Blackwater ban, said Tuesday the most important issue now is "to find
the best ways to put new regulations and conditions by the Interior
Ministry on the work of security companies."
A 2004 regulation issued by the USoccupation authority granted security
contractors full immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. Unlike
American military personnel, the civilian contractors are also not
subject to USmilitary law either.
Hassan al-Rubaie, a member of the parliament's Security and Defense
Committee, said an investigative committee has been formed to consider
lifting the contractors' immunity.
"There are reports that (Blackwater guards) were subjected to gunfire,
but this does not give them the right to kill innocent civilians," he
said.
Some private security officials have also blamed much of the confusion
surrounding the work of the contractors on inefficiency and corruption
within the Iraqi government?- especially the Ministry of the Interior.
Many security companies have tried to obtain weapons permits from the
ministry, only to find the rules constantly changing. That forces
security guards to choose between venturing into the streets without
protection or running the risk that their weapons might be confiscated at
a checkpoint.
US officials arranged an extension of the deadline for weapons permits
until the end of the year, although procedures for obtaining them remain
unclear.
Blackwater and other foreign contractors accused of killing Iraqi
citizens have gone without facing charges or prosecution in the past. But
the latest incident drew a much stronger reaction by the Iraqi government.
Unlike many deaths blamed on foreign contractors, Sunday's shootings took
place in a crowded area in downtown Baghdad with dozens of witnesses.
Details of the incident remain unclear.
Blackwater says State Department personnel came under attack from
insurgents and that its guards returned fire. Iraqi police say a car bomb
exploded near a State Department convoy and that Blackwater guards opened
fire. Khalaf said 11 people were killed.
Yassin Majid, an adviser to al-Maliki, said the killings had deeply
embarrassed the Iraqi government and forced it to act against
Blackwater?- even before a full investigation had been completed.
"They were not subjected to the kind of attack or shooting ... that
required a response of this intensity that led to the death of
civilians," Majid said. "This incident embarrassed the government and
also embarrassed the American government."
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