October 01, 2007

Congressional Report Paints Harsh Picture Of Blackwater

In anticipation of tomorrow's hearing on Blackwater USA's activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released a preliminary report detailing the private security contractor's alleged recklessness in several shootings and its attempts, sometimes with the help of the State Department, to cover up those incidents.

The report [PDF], compiled by the committee's Democratic majority staff, claims that Blackwater "has been involved in at least 195 'escalation of force' incidents in Iraq since 2005 that involved the firing of shots by Blackwater forces," and that while the company's government contract stipulates that it should only "engage in defensive use of force," Blackwater employees fired the first shots" in more than 80 percent of the shooting incidents.

The document also notes that, according to the company's own reports, Blackwater has been involved in "more shooting incidents than the other two contractors" who provide security for the State Department -- DynCorp International and Triple Canopy -- combined. Furthermore, congressional staffers charge that "documents provided by the State Department raise serious questions" about how that agency's officials "responded to reports of Blackwater killings of Iraqis."

In its analysis of the documents, the New York Times speculates that "the report is likely to raise questions not only about the wisdom of employing private security forces in Iraq, but also about the basic American mission in the country."

AP, the Times and USA Today have more on this story.

Meanwhile, the Politico reports that seven House Republicans have asked Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to postpone tomorrow's hearing until details emerge from a State Department investigation and a joint U.S.-Iraqi probe into a recent Blackwater-involved shooting that left at least 11 Iraqi civilians dead. Last week, Waxman criticized Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for obstructing his panel's investigation into the matter. The Los Angeles Times checked in with the State Department probe today.

Posted at 4:22 PM
Posted to: Congress, House, Iraq
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