Blackwater backs ‘stringent accountability’ as guards violate rules of deadly force
The New York Times cited unidentified civilian and military officials as saying that the killings of at least 14 of the 17 Iraqi civilians shot by Blackwater personnel guarding a US Embassy convoy were found to have been unjustified and violated standards in place governing the use of deadly force.
Responding to the Times report, Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman, said the company “supports the stringent accountability of the industry. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators.”
She added that the company will withhold further comment “until the findings are made available”.
A government official familiar with the investigation said no final conclusions have been reached about any of the fatalities. A State Department official said he was not aware that the department had been informed of any findings. Both requested anonymity because the investigation is still underway.
The Times said the Justice Department is already reviewing the findings, even though the FBI is still investigating the September 16 shootings.
No evidence supports assertions by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians, but the FBI has concluded that three of the deaths may have been justified under rules that allow lethal force in response to an imminent threat, the paper reported.
“Without a doubt, the teams were faced with deadly force that day,” the spokeswoman said.
Investigators have concluded that as many as five of the company’s guards opened fire during the shootings, the newspaper reported. One guard has become the focus of the investigation, the Times reported, because that guard was responsible for several deaths.
The shootings took place in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square.
Blackwater contends that its convoy was attacked before it opened fire, but the Iraqi government’s investigation concluded that the shootings were unprovoked.
State Department officials have said it has offered limited immunity to private security contractors involved in shootings in Iraq. They disagreed with law enforcement officials that such actions could jeopardise prosecutions in the September 16 incident.
Republican David E Price has sponsored legislation to apply US criminal law to contractors serving overseas and called for the Justice Department to hold someone accountable for the shootings.
Paul Cox, a spokesman for Price, said if the FBI concludes there was criminal wrongdoing, “just because there are deficiencies in the law, and Congressman Price is trying to rectify that, that’s no excuse not to prosecute”.
