Think Progress

Blackwater tried to bribe critical Iraqi officials with $1 million after 2007 shootings.

On Sept. 16, 2007, a Blackwater convoy opened fire in Iraq’s crowded Nissor Square, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and wounding dozens more. The incident set off a backlash of criticism against the contractor, and earlier this year, Iraq said that it wouldn’t issue Blackwater a new operating license. Today, the New York Times reports that in 2007, top executives at Blackwater approved $1 million to bribe critical Iraqi officials into supporting the company, although it is unclear whether the money ever made it to the intended recipients:

Blackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law, created a deep rift inside the company, according to the former executives. [...]

The former Blackwater executives said it was not clear who proposed paying off Iraqi officials. But after Mr. Jackson, the former company president, approved the plan, the cash for the payoffs was taken from Amman and given to Rich Garner, then a top manager in Iraq, the former executives said. One of those executives said that officials in Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which is responsible for operating licenses, were the intended recipients.

Five Blackwater guards involved in the shooting now face federal manslaughter charges.

State Department panel recommends dumping Blackwater in Iraq.

The AP reports that a panel commissioned by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after Blackwater’s infamous September 2007 Baghdad shootout has called for the security firm’s contract not to be renewed next year. Since the shootings, the Bush administration has repeatedly defended the firm, renewing its contract in May. Last October, the State Department granted Blackwater guards immunity after the shootings.

Blackwater guards surrender on 14 counts of manslaughter for roles in Iraq shooting.

Five former Blackwater security guards surrendered to federal authorities today in Utah “over charges stemming from the 2007 shootings in Baghdad that killed 17 Iraqis.” Subsequently, the Justice Department unsealed a 35-count indictment charging the five former security guards “with voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and weapons violations.” From the Justice Department press release:

If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each count of manslaughter, seven years of imprisonment for each count of attempt to commit manslaughter, and a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 30 years for the firearms count.

The charges represent the “first prosecution under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to be filed against non-Defense Department private contractors.” A sixth guard “admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.”

Blackwater plans new mission: fighting pirates.

The private security firm Blackwater is planning to offer a new service to make money: protection from the pirate-infested waters off the coast of East Africa. “Blackwater’s push to land its first antipiracy contract is part of a strategy to build its business outside its State Department security work in Iraq, which brings in between $300 million and $400 million a year.” The security company may be looking for new lucrative opportunities partly because the Iraqi government has now ratified a law stripping Blackwater contractors of immunity. Indeed, Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell noted the legal benefits of operating in the open sea: “We would be allowed to fire if fired upon; the right of self-defense is one that exists in international waters.”

DOJ moves toward charges in Blackwater shooting.

The Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors “have sent target letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a September shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, indicating a high likelihood the Justice Department will seek to indict at least some of the men, according to three sources close to the case.” A final decision “on whether to indict may not be made until October, about a year after the incident.”

Federal agents raid Blackwater site.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided Blackwater Worldwide this week, “as part of an investigation into whether the private security company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of automatic assault rifles.”

State Department renews Blackwater’s Iraq contract ‘for at least another year.’

Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that private security contractor Blackwater “is not expected to face criminal charges” over an allegedly unprovoked shooting in September 2007 that killed up to 17 Iraqis, essentially “ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats.” Today, the New York Times reports that the State Department has renewed Blackwater’s contract “for at least another year.” The reason for the renewal? The State Department says it has no other options:

State Department officials said Friday that they did not believe they had any alternative to Blackwater, which supplies about 800 guards to the department to provide security for diplomats in Baghdad. Officials say only three companies in the world meet their requirements for protective services in Iraq, and the other two do not have the capability to take on Blackwater’s role in Baghdad. [...]

“We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq,” said Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management. “If the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq.”

Blackwater unlikely to face charges for Sept. ‘07 Iraq shootout.

In September 2007, Blackwater guards in Iraq engaged in an unprovoked attack, according to witnesses, that killed 11 civilians. The AP reports today that the contractor “is not expected to face criminal charges” over the shooting, “all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats”:

Instead, the seven-month-old Justice Department investigation is focused on as few as three or four Blackwater guards who could be indicted in the Sept. 16 shootings, according to interviews with a half-dozen people close to the investigation. The final decision on any charges will not be made until late summer at the earliest, a law enforcement official said.

Nevertheless, families of the shooting victims “are suing Blackwater under a wrongful death claim in civil court.” Furthermore, federal prosecutors in North Carolina are “investigating whether Blackwater played a role in a weapons smuggling case linked to the Kurdish militant group PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.”

Subcontractor cuts ties to Blackwater.

The owner of a California shooting range who trained military personnel for Blackwater Worldwide said yesterday that “he will no longer work with the North Carolina company because of the notoriety of the government contractor.” Marc Halcon, owner of American Shooting Center, has been a Blackwater subcontractor since 2002, but now says he is “tired of being dragged into this thing” and no longer wants to be “associated with what he said was Blackwater’s questionable business practices.”

Blackwater accused of shredding documents.

Families of Iraqis who died in a September shooting involving Blackwater guards have accused the corporation of “shredding documents and destroying evidence” sometime around March 18. The court documents identify former Blackwater employees as the source of the information. AP notes that there is “no indication the Justice Department is investigating shredding as part of that case.”

Blackwater guards shoot NYT’s dog.

Reuters reports that the “U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards — this time of the New York Times’s dog.” The Times’ Baghdad bureau staff said that their office dog, Hentish, was shot by Blackwater bodyguards just prior to a visit by a U.S. diplomat:

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the dog had attacked one of Blackwater’s bomb-sniffer dogs while a security team was sweeping the compound for explosives.

“The K-9 handler made several unsuccessful attempts to get the dog to retreat, including placing himself between the dogs. When those efforts failed, the K-9 handler unfortunately was forced to use a pistol to protect the company’s K-9 and himself,” she said in an e-mail to Reuters.

State Department investigators have made two follow-up visits to the Times compound to investigate the shooting of Hentish.

Digg It!

State Dept. IG’s brother sits on Blackwater’s board.

During today’s House oversight committee hearing on State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, “Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) dropped a bombshell: Krongard’s brother, former CIA Executive Director A.B. ‘Buzzy’ Krongard, sits on Blackwater’s board. Blackwater, of course, is a State Department contractor.” Under questioning by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Krongard denied that his brother worked for Blackwater and said he would recuse himself from Blackwater investigations if it’s true:

Cummings: “According to this email, Mr. Prince invited your brother to be at a board meeting to discuss strategic planning. And this meeting is taking place right now, in Williamsburg, Virginia, this week as we speak.Staff contacted the hotel to speak to your brother and the hotel confirmed that he was scheduled to be there. Did you know that?”

Krongard: “No sir, I did not.”

Cummings: “And so, if your brother is a board member, which you said he’s not, but if he is — since I know you’re sensitive to conflict — would you agree that you should recuse yourself of anything dealing with Blackwater investigations?”

Krongard: “Yes, sir. And that was why — first of all, by the nature of my brother’s work, you should understand that we have never discussed his work or my work, so I had no reason to even think that he had any involvement with Blackwater. But, when these things surfaced, I called him and I asked him directly, he has told me he does have any involvement, he does not have any financial interest. If you’re telling me he does absolutely I would recuse myself.”

Cummings: “You will recuse yourself?”

Krongard: “Absolutely.”

Rep. Cummings: “Immediately?”

Krongard: “Absolutely.”