MSNBC is reporting that Blackwater, the private military firm based out of Moyock, North Carolina, may be banned from operating within the country and that the State Department was suggested that it not renew it’s contract with the company.
The internal report suggests that the State Department begin to plan on using a different private security group to protect it’s diplomats in Iraq after concerns have begun to arise that Blackwater will be banned by the Iraqi government. PMCs are a large part of the security detail for the State Department as their internal security team is too small to deal with the dangers in Iraq. The final recommendation won’t be made until the investigation into the Nisoor Square Massacre has finished. 5 of the contractors have been charged with manslaughter and turned themselves into a Utah court last month, most likely in an attempt to get the trial held in a very sympathetic venue.
The aftermath of the Nisoor Square Massacre.
Personally, I kind of think that this is a situation where you get reap what you sow. Before the Nisoor Square incident became a big news story, there were at least seventy conflicts where Blackwater contractors shot at civilians. They were operating too recklessly and too aggressively (probably because of their immunity which was revoked in 2007) and now they’re losing their largest contract. I’m in total support of the suggestion that the State Department bulk up it’s internal security force rather than contract out to private firms who operate in legal grey zones.
they should be shot.
Comment by walkndude — December 18, 2008 @ 2:31 PM