When Independent Oversight Isn't

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Source: army-technology.com"The State Department's initial report of last month's incident in which Blackwater guards were accused of killing Iraqi civilians was written by a Blackwater contractor," reports CNN. Blackwater's Darren Hanner drafted the two-page report, "on the letterhead of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the [U.S.] embassy's Tactical Operations Center," which has "outsourced positions to Blackwater and another private firm." Hanner's report agrees with Blackwater's assertion that "its employees responded properly to an insurgent attack"; it also "doesn't mention civilian casualties." A State Department spokesperson stressed that the report is "a first-blush account" that "has no standing whatsoever." The State Department is conducting an investigation into the shootings, with help from FBI agents. "A senior Iraqi National Police official participating in the Iraqi government probe of the shooting said the Blackwater gunfire was unprovoked and the guards fired randomly." Eight Iraqi civilians were reported killed and 13 wounded in the incident.

Main Source: 
CNN, October 2, 2007
Topics: 
Human Rights
International
U.S. Government
Iraq

Comments

Diane Farsetta replied on

Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN04308615 reports]:

"To avoid even the appearance of any conflict, the FBI team deployed from Washington to assist the State Department in the investigation of the events of Sept. 16th will have any additional security needs provided by U.S. government personnel," FBI spokesman John Miller said in a statement.

Blackwater usually guards FBI personnel in Iraq under a State Department contract, the FBI said.

Mutternich replied on

If U.S. soldier vs. U.S. "security contractor" seems like a distinction without a difference to outraged Iraqis, will calling in our FBI to investigate the incident, and U.S. government security personnel to guard them, assuage their concerns?

Which PR firm will get the contract to explain it all to the Iraqis?

Diane Farsetta replied on

This article is about a State Dep't / FBI investigation into what happened. The legal immunity currently enjoyed by Blackwater and other private military contractors is a separate issue. But it's important to point out that the U.S. interim government in Iraq granted that immunity (which Iraqi legislators and some U.S. officials are trying to remove).