Expulsion of American security firm could undermine withdrawal plans
Jason RhynePublished: Tuesday September 18, 2007Iraqi government restrictions on security contractor Blackwater USA could mean a range of complications for US involvement in the country--potentially even undermining current plans to remove some troops on the ground, reports the Wall Street Journal in a story by August Cole and Neil King, Jr.
After an incident on Sunday in which Blackwater security personnel killed Baghdad civilians during a fight with insurgents, the government of Iraq announced that it plans to deny the firm permission to continue operations.
"The incident may increase strains between the Bush administration and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki," said the Journal. "The State Department relies heavily on Blackwater to guard its diplomatic compound within Iraq's Green Zone and also to provide security for U.S. diplomats as they travel around Iraq. The work often calls for Blackwater to draw on its fleet of armed helicopters, which give it an arsenal that other security contractors lack."
Coming at an "awkward time" for the White House, according to the Journal, the incident follows on the heels of an announcement last week that the US plans to withdraw as many as 30,000 troops by July.
"As the U.S. diminishes its military footprint," Cole and King write, "it is almost certain to rely more heavily on private-security companies to guard the tens of thousands of nonmilitary U.S. personnel working in Iraq."
After an incident on Sunday in which Blackwater security personnel killed Baghdad civilians during a fight with insurgents, the government of Iraq announced that it plans to deny the firm permission to continue operations.
"The incident may increase strains between the Bush administration and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki," said the Journal. "The State Department relies heavily on Blackwater to guard its diplomatic compound within Iraq's Green Zone and also to provide security for U.S. diplomats as they travel around Iraq. The work often calls for Blackwater to draw on its fleet of armed helicopters, which give it an arsenal that other security contractors lack."
Coming at an "awkward time" for the White House, according to the Journal, the incident follows on the heels of an announcement last week that the US plans to withdraw as many as 30,000 troops by July.
"As the U.S. diminishes its military footprint," Cole and King write, "it is almost certain to rely more heavily on private-security companies to guard the tens of thousands of nonmilitary U.S. personnel working in Iraq."
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 9:45 PM
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