Blackwater

12 August 2008 -- A new report says the United States has spent about $100 billion on private contractors to support operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

At the height of last year's military surge in Iraq, the United States had roughly 168,000 troops deployed in the country.

Blackwater security guards, Republican Palace, Baghdad: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) photograph by ACoE photographer Jim Gordon.

But America's armed forces have been outnumbered by what some see as a private army funded by the federal government: contractors that provide a wide array of services, from security operations to rebuilding projects to logistical support.    » read more »

Contractors Allegedly Violated Small-Business Laws

August 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Following release of a Congressional Budget Office report today showing the massive expenditures and an over-reliance on private contractors in Iraq under the Bush Administration and the revelation of a report by the Small Business Administration Inspector General showing Blackwater was awarded millions of dollars in federal contracts designated for small businesses, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on Congress to act on her legislation to reform the contracting system and put in place needed accountability measures and urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an investigation into the impact of Blackwater’s violation.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- May 16, 2008 – Three measures sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to hold private security contractors and war profiteers accountable under U.S. law for the first time were approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday afternoon and included in the Senate version of the emergency supplemental spending bill for Iraq, Afghanistan, and key domestic programs.

Blackwater protesters, Seattle: Photo by Robert Whitlock (CC)    » read more »

05/10/2008 -- Boston, Massachusetts – Today, Senator John Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relation’s Committee’s Middle East Subcommittee, called for Foreign Relations Committee hearings on the State Department’s decision to renew Blackwater’s no bid contract for private security in Iraq.

Blackwater is today under continued grand jury investigation, and a top House Committee has asked the I.R.S. to investigate Blackwater’s controversial tax practices. The New York Times today revealed that even after Blackwater became the focus of several different investigations, “the State Department did not even open talks with two companies, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, to see if they could take over from Blackwater.”    » read more »

February 28, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced today that she has cosponsored legislation to ban the use of Blackwater and other private mercenary firms in Iraq.    » read more »

17 January 2008 -- A report issued by a U.S.-based human rights group is criticizing the Justice Department for failing to hold private security contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan responsible for acts of violence. The report was released Wednesday in Washington.

The report by the New York-based Human Rights First says private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan are not being held accountable for excessive use of force, which has given rise to what the group calls "shoot first, ask questions later, or never."    » read more »

According to reports, Blackwater Worldwide released riot control gas on U.S. troops in 2005

January 11, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, calling on him to respond to reports that Blackwater Worldwide allegedly dispersed CS gas, a riot control substance, in an intersection populated by U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians in 2005.    » read more »

Parliament Approval Key to Ending Culture of Impunity for Serious Abuses

(New York, January 9, 2008) – Iraq’s parliament should approve legislation to end immunity for foreign private security contractors, Human Rights Watch said today. The legislation would effectively rescind Order 17 of the now-defunct, US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which grants foreign contractors and their non-Iraqi employees immunity from Iraqi criminal prosecution.    » read more »

05 December 2007 -- The U.S. Departments of State and Defense have agreed to a new system of rules designed to increase control over private security contractors working in Iraq.

The move to tighten oversight of private contractors follows an incident last September in which guards from the Blackwater company providing security for a U.S. diplomatic convoy fired on Iraqi civilians killing 17 people.

Company officials say the guards were protecting diplomats when they came under fire, but Iraqi investigators concluded the shooting spree was unprovoked.    » read more »

Points to FBI investigation showing unjustified killing of Iraqi civilians

November 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, United States Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sent the following letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking him to answer whether Blackwater’s past performance and an ongoing FBI investigation will be considered before awarding any new contracts to the company.    » read more »

11/07/2007 -- Legislation that would phase out the use of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan was unveiled Wednesday by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jan Schakowsky. The bill would restore vital military functions to the military, reducing the reliance on unaccountable private security contractors in the war zones. As many as 48,000 heavily armed guards are among the private security contractors now operating in Iraq, performing sensitive functions that should be undertaken by U.S. military personnel.    » read more »

11/01/2007 -- WASHINGTON—Today Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) pressed the Bush Administration for more information about how size determinations were made before awarding Blackwater USA federal contracts. Last week, Senator Kerry inquired about a Small Business Administration (SBA) size ruling referenced in a Blackwater press release defending its classification of workers as independent contractors, not employees. The SBA provided some information on the size determination, but Senator Kerry says details on how the determination was made are still needed.    » read more »

Oct 30, 2007 -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement on the immunity agreements granted by the Bush Administration to Blackwater employees:

"Yesterday’s news that the Bush Administration granted unorthodox immunity agreements to Blackwater employees is extremely disturbing -- and another symptom of the corrupt nexus between private security firms and the Beltway politicians who shelter and feed them.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Reps. David E. Price (D-NC) and Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler and Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice requesting more information about the immunity deal for Blackwater guards involved in the shooting deaths of 17 civilians in Iraq, which was reported in today's Washington Post. Text of the letter is attached (pdf file).    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) sent the following letter today to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking for specific answers regarding the Blackwater investigation and about the Department’s reliance on security contractors in Iraq and elsewhere:

October 30, 2007

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:    » read more »