Blackwater usually fired first in Iraq - lawmaker

Mon Oct 1, 2007 3:41pm EDT

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. security contractor Blackwater has been involved in at least 195 shooting incidents in Iraq since 2005 and, in eight of 10 cases, their forces fired first, a leading U.S. lawmaker said on Monday.

State Department contractor Blackwater, under investigation for the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis on Sept. 16, will answer questions about that incident and its performance in Iraq at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Senior State Department officials will also be grilled by the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform examining whether the growing use of military contractors undermines U.S. efforts in Iraq.

Committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman, a vocal critic of the Iraq war, released details from Blackwater's own reports of multiple incidents involving Iraqi casualties. The memorandum also slammed the State Department's oversight of the company.

It listed 195 shooting incidents from the start of 2005 until Sept. 12 of this year, an average of 1.4 per week. Of those, there were 16 Iraqi casualties and 162 cases with property damage, the California Democrat said.

"In 32 of those incidents, Blackwater were returning fire after an attack while on 163 occasions (84 percent of the shooting incidents), Blackwater personnel were the first to fire," Waxman said.

State Department rules say Blackwater's actions should be defensive rather than offensive...[Open in new window]
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911 didn't 'change everything' but it sure did alter the FUBAR scale.
Bush/Cheney, the neocons, the right Zionists, the crazy Christian 'bunko' churches, the 'clash of civilizations' types of all stripes have truly set new standards in fucking things up beyond all recognition.
If there's anybody around to read them, there will be books about it for decades to come. The American legacy has been turned into shit by these people.
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