Headlines about Blackwater USA, the private security contractor working in Iraq, have been above the fold for several weeks now, conjuring up images of the old Wild West—when guns and lawlessness ruled the day. Except it’s 2007 and it’s not the Wild West.
Here’s what’s happening, in a nutshell:
In mid-September the Iraqi government ordered Blackwater out of the country
Why? On Sunday, September 16, while providing security services to U.S. State Department officials attending a meeting in Baghdad, Blackwater security forces were involved in a shoot-out that left as many as 17 Iraqis dead. Blackwater says they were fired on and returned self-defense shots; Iraqis called it excessive force.
> Read a witness account in the NYT that will tear your heart out.
> ABC put together some photos of the explosion and the convoy.
Iraqi officials said enough, we’re revoking your license to work in this country, calling the contractor “unfit.”
The State Department said hold on, let us conduct an investigation before you kick them out. In the meantime a Congressional committee launched a broader inquiry into Blackwater and found it was involved in 195 shootings since 2005. On Tuesday Blackwater founder and former Navy SEAL Erik Prince appeared before the House committee and defended his company.
What is Blackwater USA?
Blackwater is one of many, many foreign contractors operating in Iraq that do all kinds of jobs—from infrastructure construction to cell phone services. But Blackwater is specifically a security provider for U.S. officials, with about 1,000 employees in Iraq.
Although the work is often extremely dangerous, these contracts are often very lucrative. Blackwater has reportedly earned $1 billion from the U.S. government since 2001, or $1,200 a day for each security agent, according to the Congressional report. A New York Times editorial says that’s six times the pay of a comparable U.S. soldier.
If Iraqis want to prosecute Blackwater, they can’t
In fact contractors in Iraq apparently aren’t subject to U.S. or Iraqi judicial systems, though the laws are murky on this point. On Thursday the House of Representatives passed a bill paving the way for prosecution of contractors in U.S. courts but it’s unlikely to garner White House support.
The big picture
The September shootout put Blackwater on the radar of the American public for the first time, although Iraqis have been complaining about their conduct for some time. The Iraqi government is in a bind. While civilians want answers, the government is trying to keep the peace with U.S. officials. The U.S. government is in a bind too, as this incident comes at a time of escalating unpopularity of U.S. presence in Iraq both there and at home.
