Two previous PeacePundit posts concerned the U.S. security firm Blackwater U.S.A.’s involvement in an incident in which Iraqi civilians were killed. Iraqi sources claim Blackwater guards shot at cars in Nisoor Square although the cars contained only civilians — in some cases civilians who were trying to escape the square. Blackwater claims that its guards fired in response to an attack.
Investigations of the incident by U.S. military and Iraqi government are producing more and more evidence that Blackwater’s version of the story is false. Articles in three publications support this:
- Blackwater Guards Fired at Fleeing Cars, Soldiers Say: A Washington Post article (11 Oct 2007) reported: “Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the scene, where they found no evidence that Iraqis had fired weapons. ‘It appeared to me they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. It had every indication of an excessive shooting,’ said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square about 20 – 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided.”
- New evidence emerges that Blackwater guards took no fire: An article in the International Herald Tribute (13 Oct 2007) reported: “Fresh accounts of the Blackwater shooting last month, given by three rooftop witnesses and by American soldiers who arrived shortly after the gunfire ended, cast new doubt Friday on statements by Blackwater guards that they were responding to armed insurgents when Iraqi investigators say 17 Iraqis were killed at a Baghdad intersection. The three witnesses, Kurds on a rooftop overlooking the scene, said they had observed no gunfire that could have provoked the shooting by Blackwater guards. American soldiers who arrived minutes later found shell casings from guns used normally by American contractors, as well as by the American military.”
- Iraqi official says video shows Blackwater guards shooting civilians: CNN.com reported (22 Sep 2007): “Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11 people died, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case had been referred to the Iraqi judiciary.”
Nonetheless, according to an article in Fortune Magazine (3 Oct 2007), Blackwater USA is too important to be put out of business or even badly damaged by the Nisoor Square incident:
- Iraqi civilian deaths unlikely to hurt Blackwater: “In Baghdad, you can always pick out the Blackwater security guys. They’re the burly Americans wearing dark green fatigues, wrap-around Oakleys and enough weaponry to take over a small country. They keep to themselves, throw big parties and are universally despised – and sometimes genuinely feared – by their rival security contractors. So it didn’t surprise many in Baghdad yesterday when Blackwater guards were accused of shooting to death at least eight Iraqi civilians Sunday while protecting a U.S. State Department motorcade. ‘It’s just business as usual for them,’ says one rival security contractor. ‘They always shoot first and ask questions later. When we’re out in country, we often fear Blackwater more than the Iraqis.’ That’s why the Iraqi government has moved so quickly to condemn the attacks and cancel Blackwater’s license, as well as announce a review of all local and foreign security firms. ‘They’ve made many mistakes resulting in other deaths, but this is the last and the biggest mistake,’ says Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry. ‘Security contracts do not allow them to shoot people randomly. They are here to protect personnel, not shoot people without reason.’ But few believe much will happen to them – or rival private security companies – as they are so ingrained into the U.S. mission in Iraq that it’s difficult to imagine operating without them. The war effort in Iraq relies heavily on private security companies; at least 28 U.S. firms have received government contracts to work in the region, worth a total of at least $4 billion.
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