Blackwater era ending in Iraq

[Warped]

Blackwater/Xe's contract was not renewed after a 2007 shooting in which Iraqi civilians were killed.

# Story Highlights
*The firm's contract was not renewed because of a September 2007 shooting
*The Iraqi government says 17 civilians were killed without provocation
*The company does not face any charges

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The troubled Blackwater era ends in Iraq on Thursday as another firm takes over the once-dominant company's security services contract in Baghdad.

Triple Canopy, a Herndon, Virginia-based company, picks up the expiring contract of Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe a few months ago. The State Department decided in January to not renew Blackwater/Xe's contract.

That followed a refusal by the Iraqi government to renew the firm's operating license because of a September 2007 shooting in which the Iraqi government says security guards -- then employed by Blackwater -- killed 17 Iraqi civilians.

As part of a contract to protect American diplomats and other employees around the world, the State Department hired Blackwater for a multi-year assignment in Iraq, renewable once a year. Blackwater/Xe, one of three security firms working for the United States, had one of the biggest security contracts in Iraq, providing security for the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Triple Canopy already had a State Department contract in Iraq, but the new contract increases its share of the security work. DynCorp International also has a State Department contract for work in Iraq.

Losing the contract is considered a huge blow to Blackwater/Xe. While the company is privately held, the Iraq contract has been estimated to make up one-third to one-half of its business. Blackwater/Xe has about two dozen aircraft in Iraq, as well as 1,000 personnel.

Despite the loss, the company continues to hold other contracts with the State Department to protect American diplomats elsewhere in the world. The company's founder, Eric Prince, resigned as head of the business in March.

Five former Blackwater security guards pleaded not guilty in January to charges of voluntary manslaughter and other serious crimes stemming from their involvement in the September 16, 2007, incident in a Baghdad square. A sixth former security guard has pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter.

Blackwater says its employees were returning fire after they were attacked by armed insurgents, but an Iraqi investigation concluded that the guards randomly fired at civilians without provocation. The Iraqi government says 17 civilians were killed, although the indictment alleges 14 died.

The company does not face any charges. But the Baghdad incident exacerbated the feelings of many Iraqis that private American security contractors have operated since 2003 with little regard for Iraqi law or life.

The indictment of the five men represents the first prosecution of non-Defense Department contractors under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. The act was amended in 2004 to allow the Justice Department to prosecute such personnel providing services "in support of the mission of the Department of Defense overseas."

Last year, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract over strong objections from the Iraqi government. Starting January 1, the Iraqi government has mandated that all contractors obtain Iraqi licenses to operate.

Source: CNN

this is hopefully a turn for the better, I've always hated how Blackwater has made the US look bad so to speak

 

[Kakashi]

They are pretty much a bunch of mercenaries, they didn't give a crap about what they did wrong in Iraq, just as long as they were paid. Meh.

 

[VirusType2]

Mercenaries in a hostile foreign environment that consists mostly of innocent people; what could go wrong?

 

[Bob_Marley]

So?

The Iraqis have just hired Triple Canopy instead. This changes very little, as Triple Canopy hardly have a spotless recourd either. Though they have improved in the last few years.

 

[CptStern]

"A lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County by two former Triple Canopy employees (Shane B. Schmidt and Charles L. Sheppard III) in July 2006 claims that their shift leader (later identified as Jacob Washbourne) deliberately fired at vehicles and civilians in two incidents, saying that it was his last day in Iraq and that he was determined "to kill someone today.""

 

[Warped]

Giving a private army too much power is a bad thing. even if you pay them to do the stuff you don't want to be doing or you need more men in an area....they end up making the native population angry

 

[jet_porkins]

It's threads like these that give the politics section a bad name.

 

[CptStern]

? huh? how so?

 

[jet_porkins]

There was an element of humor, that wasn't brought out thanks to the internet. Thread belongs in the politics section imo, gotta go kthxbai

 

[Warped]

There was an element of humor, that wasn't brought out thanks to the internet. Thread belongs in the politics section imo, gotta go kthxbai

still kinda new to this. honestly i thought The Lounge was something appropriate

 

[Bob_Marley]

Giving a private army too much power is a bad thing. even if you pay them to do the stuff you don't want to be doing or you need more men in an area....they end up making the native population angry

Not true, in Sierra Leone the locals loved Executive Outcomes. In just a few days they achieved with under 200 men what the Government Army was incapable of doing at all. They regained control of the diamond fields in a matter of days and within a month the RUF had been driven back to thier border enclaves.

EO were so effective that the RUF insisted that thier contract be terminated as part of the peace agreement in 1995. And once EO were out they quickly resumed thier offensive and went back to thier old ways of chopping peaples various extremities off and recruting child soldiers.

Theres nothing inherently bad in the use of Private troops, you'll get these sorts of incidents with any state run fighting force. After all, it wasn't private contractors who perpetrated the abuse at Abu Graib or killed civilians at My Lai, now was it?

 

[jet_porkins]

still kinda new to this. honestly i thought The Lounge was something appropriate

There's no crime against posting things of this nature in the lounge as I understand, and I'm probably the only one willing enough to make a comment, it's just my personal preference that we keep politics as politics and lounge as lounge... whatever that may be.

After reading over my posts, I feel like I came off as harsh when that was never my intention from the beginning. I'm sorry.

 

[Warped]

There's no crime against posting things of this nature in the lounge as I understand, and I'm probably the only one willing enough to make a comment, it's just my personal preference that we keep politics as politics and lounge as lounge... whatever that may be.

After reading over my posts, I feel like I came off as harsh when that was never my intention from the beginning. I'm sorry.

nah we cool

 

[15357]

****ing mercs.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Probably the problem has more to do with the culture of administration and operations in Iraq - of irresponsibility, private gain and power - than anything inherent to mercenary forces. As Marley hints, both the direct US administration and the Iraqi government have a lengthening history of employing militias and forces whose conduct is worse than even that permitted as part of 'war'.

 

[speedbump]

Any merc-group that uses the 'black' in its name sounds amateurish. -which Blackwater's motorcade proved by doing an abrupt 180 in a crowded thoroughfare and shooting wildly at phantoms after a civilian-vehicle backfired.

 

[Polaris]

Good, I almost thought that they will make the MGS4 a reality. Their actions in Iraq were quite insane.Oh, and their CEO Eric Prince is really nice guy indeed.

 

[VirusType2]

I keep thinking of the Blackwater mercenaries from TES: Oblivion. not actually bad, just a bit of corruption to fix.

 

[Maturin]

I keep thinking of the Blackwater mercenaries from TES: Oblivion. not actually bad, just a bit of corruption to fix.

That's why in Oblivion we wiped out the drug-crazed scaly eastern lunatics.

...although it occurs to me that the Fighters Guild was originally staffed by scaly lunatics from the east.

 

[speedbump]

I was kinda lookin' forward to joining Blackwater Company... till they lied to me, drugged me, and gang-piled me. I hope the next TES installment includes psychiatrists; complete with plush velvet couches.