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Blackwater shoots innocent civilians says congress Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ayQt7vxwyVyo&refer=us http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ayQt7vxwyVyo&refer=us Blackwater Employees Shot Civilians, Report Says (Update1) By Lorraine Woellert Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Blackwater USA employees shot innocent Iraqis and paid off one victim's family at the urging of State Department officials who wanted to put the ``unfortunate matter'' behind them, according to a congressional report. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, released a report on Blackwater's activities in Iraq a day before the security contractor's founder Erik Prince is set to testify. The 15-page report offered new information about fatal Blackwater shootings and portrayed the employees as frequently resorting to violence. Blackwater didn't respond to requests for comment. Blackwater employees have been involved in at least 195 shooting incidents since 2005, firing the first shot more than 80 percent of the time, according to Waxman's report. The company's contract with the State Department permits Blackwater personnel to use force only when in ``imminent and grave danger.'' Blackwater is one of three private military contractors paid to provide security to the State Department in Iraq. Between Jan. 1, 2005, and April 30, the company reported 168 shooting incidents, more than the other two contractors -- DynCorp International Inc. and Triple Canopy -- combined. In the past three years, Blackwater has had to fire 122 employees, about one-seventh of its workforce in Iraq, for alcohol and drug abuse, misusing weapons, violent behavior and other inappropriate conduct, according to the report. Provide Security The State Department has paid Blackwater more than $832 million to provide security between 2004 and 2006, about half of the money under a no-bid contract awarded in June 2004. State Department spokesman Tom Casey, who hadn't seen the latest Waxman report, said Blackwater has handled security details for more than 1,800 diplomatic convoys this year and only about 56 of those occasions involved the discharge of a weapon. ``I would strongly dispute anyone's assertion that the State Department has not exercised good and strong oversight in our efforts to manage these contractors,'' Casey said. In one killing on Dec. 24, a drunken Blackwater employee returning from a party killed a guard of Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi, the report said. The U.S. Embassy charge d'affaires recommended that Blackwater compensate the victim's family, proposing a $250,000 payment at first. That sum prompted one State Department official to say that such ``crazy sums'' might cause Iraqis to ``try to get killed so as to set up their family financially.'' Blackwater eventually paid $15,000 delivered to the guard's family with the help of the State Department, according to Waxman's report. The Blackwater guard was moved out of Iraq on Dec. 26. On Dec. 28, in a letter to the U.S. Embassy, Iraqi Prime Mimister Nouri al-Maliki's chief of staff labeled the incident ``murder.'' Last Updated: October 1, 2007 17:14 EDT

afghan-contractor-jailed 10 iraqi contractors penalized for bribery corruption { April 26 2004 } Allegations security contractors brutalizing iraqi civilians Army gives interrogate contract to company in scandal { August 5 2004 } Army turns to private guards { August 12 2004 } Blackwater assasinated 3 innocent iraqis { November 8 2007 } Blackwater employees kill 8 civilians { September 17 2007 } Blackwater offers private armies for low intensity conflicts { March 29 2006 } Blackwater shoots innocent civilians says congress British private military companies boom Cia spies stampede to private sector { September 11 2001 } Contract workers are wars forgotten { July 31 2004 } Experienced skilled army employees replaced with privatization Fbi cia denies employee afghan freelancer { August 17 2004 } Iraq war company saic hides 8b shadow Line blurred between soldiers and private contractors { May 13 2004 } Mercenary company sues family of slain employees Mercenary strength reaches high in iraq New law to subject civilian contractors to military law { January 15 2007 } Over 100 thousand civilian contractors in iraq { January 7 2007 } Private army blackwater [jpg] Private guards repel attack { April 6 2004 } Private iraqi contractor abandons 7 children in nigeria Private mercenaries outnumber US troops in iraq { July 4 2007 } Private security firm say its fun to shoot some people { April 3 2005 } Secret mercenaries { October 13 2002 } Security firms form alliance { April 8 2004 } Security firms use air blimps over iraq { January 17 2006 } Us contractor uses chilean pinochet commandos for iraq { March 5 2004 } US contractors in iraq allege brutality US intelligence privatized { July 24 2007 } Files Listed: 30

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