Blackwater is in for more bad news. It is being criticized by the US lawmakers, who want to have all private security contractors answerable in a court of law. FBI and the pentagon are giving them a tough time and tightening the screws on them.
The Iraqi government has finished the probe on the shooting at al-Nisoor square in Baghdad last month. Its report is even more damning. It says that Blackwater is lying when it says it was fired upon by Iraqi policemen and civilians. The government spokesman says Blackwater boys were not attacked at all. He was most emphatic and said not even a stone was thrown at them.
The Iraqi government is waiting for the US investigation to finish and after that it intends to try the bad Blackwater boys in a court of law.
A US-Iraqi commission has been set up to ensure that in future Iraqi civilians are not hurt again by security contractors.
The State Department has been criticized for being too lenient on security contractors. Matters further flared up after a private security contractor for the Pentagon, Combat Support Associates, acknowledged it had unknowingly hired the former Blackwater contractor who is the suspect in the Christmas Eve killing of an Iraqi guard. Combat Support Associates said that the company had done the required vetting of Moonen but that the Christmas Eve incident did not appear on his record and that the State Department did not inform the company he was the suspect.
Condoleezza rice has moved in for damage control. She has ordered that henceforth all convoys will be accompanied by official monitors from the department’s Diplomatic Security Bureau, and video cameras will be mounted in vehicles. In addition, radio communication will be recorded and will be archived along with the video and electronic tracking data so diplomats can better review Blackwater’s performance.
Other private security contractors besides Blackwater are feeling the heat too. They fear that the reputation of all security companies has been tarnished and that is bad for business. On the flipside with Blackwater becoming infamous, they hope they will be able to lay their hands on work which Blackwater will lose.
