Blackwater’s enablers at the State Department
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair Henry Waxman finally got to the heart of the Blackwater contract-killing scandal when he reviewed emails detailing how the U.S. State Department worked with the private security firm to hide bloody trail of its mercenaries.
Noting that after an intoxicated Blackwater thug shot and killed an Iraqi guard last December, the State Department counseled the corporation on how much to pay the family of the Iraqi to keep silent and then arranged for the Blackwater employee to exit Iraq without facing any consequences for his actions, Waxman produced records of internet communications detailing the cover up.
“It’s hard to read these e-mails and not come to the conclusion that the State Department is acting as Blackwater’s enabler,” Waxman told a hearing that saw Blackwater founder Erik Prince claim with a straight face that his company “acted appropriately at all times” during an incident last month that left 11 Iraqis dead and inspired an effort to force the country to withdraw its mercenaries from Baghdad. [complete article]
See also, Iraq PM says ‘unfit’ Blackwater must go (AFP), Ex-paratrooper is suspect in a Blackwater killing (NYT), and Federal guards to protect agents in Blackwater investigation (WP).
