January 29, 2009
A Look at Blackwater in Iraq During the War
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:05 p.m. ET
Iraq said Thursday it will barBlackwater Worldwidefrom providing security protection for U.S.diplomats because its contractors used excessive force. A look at events surrounding Blackwater'stime in Iraq:-- March 2004: A vehicle with four Blackwater Security employees is hit by rocket-propelledgrenades and gunfire in Fallujah, and their charred, mutilated bodies are dragged through thestreets.-- October 2004: Blackwater president says the company has had ''staggering'' growth of morethan 600 percent in the past 18 months.-- December 2006: Iraqi and U.S. officials say a drunken Blackwater employee fatally shoots a bodyguard for Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi.-- September 2007: Seventeen Iraqi civilians are killed in a crowded Baghdad square, andBlackwater says its guards opened fire after coming under attack. The Iraqi governmenttemporarily suspends the firm's license, and several U.S. inquiries begin. The State Departmentcounts 56 shooting incidents that year involving Blackwater guards in Iraq.-- September 2007: Anonymous officials say U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether BlackwaterUSA employees illegally smuggled weapons into Iraq. Blackwater denies it is involved.-- October 2007: A report by a House committee calls Blackwater an out-of-control outfitindifferent to Iraqi civilian casualties. It says Blackwater has been involved in 195 shootingincidents since 2005, or roughly 1.4 per week. Blackwater chairman Erik Prince tells thecommittee, ''I believe we acted appropriately at all times.'' Congress moves to update a law that haskept private security contractors in Iraq immune to criminal prosecution, and the StateDepartment issues new guidelines to monitor Blackwater.-- December 2007: A new U.S. agreement gives the military in Iraq more control over Blackwaterand other private security contractors.
Look at Blackwater in Iraq During the War - NYTimes.comhttp://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/29/world/AP-ML-Iraq-Black...1 of 21/29/2009 1:58 PM
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