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Blackwater's 99 Problems
For a company that was supposed to be outside the law, investigations of Blackwater have been proliferating like wild ever since the September 16th Nisour Square shooting, which left seventeen Iraqis dead. The number has been growing so fast, in fact, that we lost count.
So we decided to catch up. Here, then, is our rundown of the ongoing investigations that have been reported. If we miss one, let us know and we'll update our tally.
House oversight committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has, of course, been leading the charge over the preceding months in an investigation that has followed a number of strands. Waxman's probe of the 2004 ambush in Fallujah led to the conclusion that Blackwater's cost-cutting was at the heart of the debacle. And he's continued to widen the scope of the probe since the Nisour Square shootings. As such, it's impossible to detail all of its aspects here. It's concentrated, however, on four main areas:
* The Nisour Square shootings:
An Iraqi investigation concluded that the Blackwater guards were not under attack when they opened fire. As a result, the Iraqis asked the State Department to pull Blackwater out of Iraq.
The FBI is leading the most active American-led investigation of the shootings. The FBI investigation superseded a preliminary State Department investigation which consisted primarily of taking written statements from Blackwater witnesses and hence largely absolved BW of blame.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi commission, with the predominant U.S. component coming from the military, is reportedly having trouble getting any information while the FBI investigation is ongoing.
The United Nations plans to investigate deaths caused by the U.S. military and contractors in Iraq, including the recent Blackwater case in Baghdad.
* Small arms smuggling:
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges. Update: NBC reports that federal investigators are probing whether Blackwater sent silencers to Iraq without the proper permit.
* Tax evasion:
Last week, Waxman's oversight committee charged that Blackwater had hidden "tens of millions of dollars, if not more" in Social Security, Medicare and retirement taxes by classifying its security guards in Iraq as independent contractors. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) followed up by writing a letter to the Treasury Department asking for an investigation, and John Kerry (D-MA) called for the Senate Finance Committee to investigate.
* Murder:
After stonewalling a reporter's inquiry about a Christmas Eve 2006 incident, where a drunken Blackwater guard allegedly killed a security guard for Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi, the State Department moved past its own initial administrative review of the incident. Condoleezza Rice told the oversight committee that the case was referred to the Justice Department, but that a lack of evidence had hobbled the investigation.
Adrianne Jeffries contributed research to this post.
Comments (15)
Blackwater Awareness Week wrote on October 29, 2007 5:16 PM:Yup, it still is. Go ahead and report that to Congress along with any other shinanigans related to Blackwater.
Remember, Blackwater asked for it!
mac2151 wrote on October 29, 2007 5:21 PM:And these are the guys teaching US law enforcement how to do it. I hope they don't give them the full course.
J.A. wrote on October 29, 2007 5:35 PM:They got away with the shooting in Nisour Square. According to MSN, the State Department gave all of the mercinaries that were there immunity. The FBI stated that they were trying to get some of the gaurds to talk but they wouldn't. So you can take No. 1 down.
moondancer wrote on October 29, 2007 5:40 PM:I'm still hoping for No. 3 Tax Evasion, that would put little Princey in prison.
Blackwater is getting a raised eyebrow from the world court in the Hague too. Eeeyyhah Erik Prince, your wings are on fire son.
moondancer wrote on October 29, 2007 5:45 PM:mac2151
What authority does State have that can give immunity for homicide? I dont think thats possible. Justice maybe.
sy wrote on October 29, 2007 5:54 PM:Somebody needs to haul Condi's narrow behind back up to the Hill for the excoriating of a lifetime.
Drew wrote on October 29, 2007 6:25 PM:Paul: Funny topic, but sort of a JV effort at listing the attacks---there have been an half dozen other sensational announcements about inquiries (e.g., forgotten "Blackwater Stole the Iraqi Air Force" already?) Ever since Ambassador Crocker testified that the US cannot succeed in Iraq without ol' Blackwater, it's been quite the pile on.
Paul Kiel wrote on October 29, 2007 6:59 PM:Thanks, Drew, for the jolt of humility. I was under the mistaken impression that I was Big Man on Campus.
The post was not meant to be a comprehensive rundown of Blackwater malfeasance -- if I tried that, I'd still be writing the post.
linda wrote on October 29, 2007 7:30 PM:More on the Mercenary front on the front. Just heard on Dobbs that Lt. Gen. Dorko who was wounded by an IED in Baghdad was being guarded by a 'private security firm'. Sorry, I didn't catch the name of this group of mercenaries as I was surfing, but it was an 'English Group'.
What are we waiting for? Support the Real Troops, please. "Iraq is not worth one more US Soldier's death". Let Haliburton, Hunt, etc. hire their own guards as their cost of doing business if they want to stay.
tiowally wrote on October 29, 2007 8:09 PM:Massacres, arms trafficking, tax evasion, drunken murderers on the payroll.
Curious. That sweet little prince Eric Prince is pretty much interchangeable with Pablo Escobar or Francisco Arellano Félix.
Oh wait! They weren't white and Republican.
Nevermind.
EMPY wrote on October 29, 2007 9:12 PM:Wrongful Death lawsuit by families of the four Blackwater employees killed in Fallujah on March 31, 2004. Blackwater is represented by Ken "Whitewater" Starr.
trog69 wrote on October 30, 2007 3:52 AM:tiowally: Oh wait! They weren't white and Republican.
Don't forget ultra right-wing Dominionist. To me, that's the really scary part.
Johnbo wrote on October 30, 2007 5:11 PM:You missed the investigation by Waxman into Blackwater's grab a few years back of two Iraqi aircraft.
Also, the immunity deal is just one dot in a whole series of administration actions going back before the invasion of Iraq when the administration took actions to inoculate American officials and members of the military from World Court jurisdiction. We have exempted ourselves or opted out of numerous treaties and essentially told the world to go #@*k itself.
And, of course, domestically we had the see-no-evil ReTHUGlicans in charge who never heard of an administration action that required a second thought. And the ONE incident that actually reached a court ended with a conviction and a commutation of that sentence.
Can we get the next Attorney General to PROMISE to appoint special prosecutors to pursue the numerous crimes of this shameless group of scum-sucking cretins?
wlmiller wrote on October 30, 2007 5:45 PM:JM,
Please give a response to the Daily Howler. I'm of the opinion that he has valid points especially when it come to explaining how the press works to make the dems look so feckless. Today's Howler deserves a response.
WLM
greenpagan wrote on November 1, 2007 10:02 AM:Blackwater Mamluks, Inc. must accept responsibility for their murderous perfidy, abject greed and complete and total folly. What the hell kind of self-important killer-insects are they, anyway? A bunch of frigging goose-stepping black-shirts...Just what America needs, more fascists pumped on steroids with guns...