# Blackwater Security Consulting Banned in Iraq



## davidhmd (17 Sep 2007)

Posted with all the usual caveats.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/17/iraq.main/index.html


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## tomahawk6 (17 Sep 2007)

That will hurt BW in the pocket book.


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## KevinB (17 Sep 2007)

I can't see it happening to affect the WPPS gig.

  They provide DOS security and have US diplo passports -- they do not need to be a recognized by the MOI for that...
It may affect two of their very small contracts - but unless the US DOS pulls the plug - it wont happen.


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## Journeyman (17 Sep 2007)

Iraqi MoI has made the media gesture; no change likely.

(But I'm carrying my BW travel mug everywhere now, just in case it helps get me kicked out of _this_ country   ;D )


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## KevinB (17 Sep 2007)

I'm not wearing my BW hat these days  ;D


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## The Bread Guy (17 Sep 2007)

Mod Squad:  feel free to shift if you think this belongs in a more appropriate spot.

Shared with the usual disclaimers.....

*Blackwater License Being Revoked in Iraq *  
BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press, 17 Sept 07
Article link

BAGHDAD (AP) - The Iraqi government said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm accused of involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade. 

The Interior Ministry said it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force in the Sunday shooting. It was latest accusation against the U.S.-contracted firms that operate with little or no supervision and are widely disliked by Iraqis who resent their speeding motorcades and forceful behavior. 

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad. 

``We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities,'' Khalaf said. 

The spokesman said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said the shooting was still under investigation. It was not immediately clear if the measure against Blackwater was intended to be temporary or permanent. 

Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., provides security for many U.S. civilian operations in the country. 

Phone messages left early Monday at the company's office in North Carolina and with a spokeswoman were not immediately returned. 

The U.S. Embassy said a State Department motorcade came under small-arms fire that disabled one of the vehicles, which had to be towed from the scene near Nisoor Square in the Mansour district. 

``There was a convoy of State Department personnel and a car bomb went off in proximity to them and there was an exchange of fire as the personnel were returning to the International Zone,'' embassy spokesman Johann Schmonsees said, referring to the heavily fortified U.S.-protected area in central Baghdad also known as the Green Zone. 

Officials provided no information about Iraqi casualties but said no State Department personnel were wounded or killed. 

The embassy also refused to answer any questions on Blackwater's status or legal issues, saying it was seeking clarification on the issue as part of the investigation, which was being carried out by the State Department's diplomatic security service and law enforcement officials working with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military. 

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Sunday condemned the shooting by a ``foreign security company'' and called it a ``crime.'' 

The decision to pull the license was likely to face a challenge, as it would be a major blow to a company that was at the forefront of one of the main turning points in the war. 

The 2004 battle of Fallujah - an unsuccessful military assault in which an estimated 27 U.S. Marines were killed, along with an unknown number of civilians - was retaliation for the killing, maiming and burning of four Blackwater guards in that city by a mob of insurgents. 

Tens of thousands of foreign private security contractors work in Iraq - some with automatic weapons, body armor, helicopters and bulletproof vehicles - to provide protection for Westerners and dignitaries in Iraq as the country has plummeted toward anarchy and civil war. 

Monday's action against Blackwater was likely to give the unpopular government a boost, given Iraqis' dislike of the contractors. 

Many of the contractors have been accused of indiscriminately firing at American and Iraqi troops, and of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens who got too close to their heavily armed convoys, but none has faced charges or prosecution. 

``There have been so many innocent people they've killed over there, and they just keep doing it,'' said Katy Helvenston, the mother of late Blackwater contractor Steve Helvenston, who died in 2004 during the ambush in Fallujah. ``They have just a callous disregard for life.'' 

Helvenston is now part of a lawsuit that accuses Blackwater of cutting corners that ultimately led to the death of her son and three others. 

The question of whether they could face prosecution is legally murky. Unlike soldiers, the contrators are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Under a special provision secured by American-occupying forces, they are exempt from prosecution by Iraqis for crimes committed there. 

Khalaf, however, denied that the exemption applied to private security companies. 

Iraqi police said the contractors were in a convoy of six sport utility vehicles and left after the shooting. 

``We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby. One minute later, we heard the sound of a bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately,'' said Hussein Abdul-Abbas, who owns a mobile phone store in the area. 

The wartime numbers of private guards are unprecedented - as are their duties, many of which have traditionally been done by soldiers. They protect U.S. military operations and diplomats and have guarded high-ranking officials including Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad. 

They also protect journalists, visiting foreign officials and thousands of construction projects. 

Blackwater has an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq, and at least $800 million in government contracts. It is one of the most high-profile security firms in Iraq, with its fleet of ``Little Bird'' helicopters and armed door gunners swarming Baghdad and beyond. 

The secretive company, run by a former Navy SEAL, is based at a massive, swampland complex. Until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, it had few security contracts. 

Since then, Blackwater profits have soared. And it has become the focus of numerous controversies in Iraq, including the May 30 shooting death of an Iraqi deemed to be driving too close to a Blackwater security detail. 

In violence Monday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near a busy market in Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10 in an attack that apparently targeted a police patrol, said a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release the information. 

Hamid Ghassan, a 20-year-old juice vendor, who described hearing the blast, said he was dismayed that al-Maliki's government is ``sitting safe, making agreements and lying to people while masses ... are being killed.''


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## KevinB (17 Sep 2007)

As I mentioned before (or maybe I just took it for a known)

BW's WPPS gig - does not require the Iraqi MOI permission - they run under Department of State, and are NOT a licensed PMC in Iraq (and their license had lapsed last year for two other projects they run...)

  The other two projects are quite minor and wont affect BW's cash flow at all.

For those unfamiliar with WPPS (WorldWide Political Protectice Service) contract are let under the diplomatic umbrella as since 911 they do not have enough DSS agents to provide protection in all the areas where American's have become a favourite target.  A DSS RSO rides with the WPPS convoys to ensure 1) DOS has a foot on the ground 2) THESE SORTS OF THINGS ARE ACCOUNTABLE.

Secondly despite all the grandstanding - the shooting in this case looks to be on the up and up.

Finally DOS sets the ROE and other force protection measures in place -- don't blame BW for following them.


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## Jammer (17 Sep 2007)

CNN has reported this morning that the "civilians" killed were in fact, insurgents. 
The US State Department are in serious damage control right now.
Writing the final chapter of BWs involvement in Iraq may be premature at this point.


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## tomahawk6 (17 Sep 2007)

Time article.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1662586,00.html

TIME has obtained an incident report prepared by the U.S. government describing a fire fight Sunday in Baghdad in which at least eight Iraqis were reported killed and 13 wounded. The deadly incident occurred when a convoy of U.S. personnel protected by Blackwater security contractors came under small arms fire. Blackwater returned fire, resulting in the Iraqi deaths. The loss of life has provoked anger in Baghdad, where the Interior Ministry has suspended Blackwater's license to operate around the country. Several Iraqi government officials have indicated their opposition to Blackwater's continued presence in their country. If the suspension is made permanent, it could significantly impair security for key U.S. personnel in the country, a U.S. official in Baghdad told TIME. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose State Department depends on Blackwater to protect its Iraq-based staffers, called Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to say that the U.S. has launched its own investigation into the matter.

According to the incident report, the skirmish occurred at 12:08 p.m. on Sunday when, "the motorcade was engaged with small arms fire from several locations" as it moved through a neighborhood of west Baghdad. "The team returned fire to several identified targets" before leaving the area. One vehicle engine was hit and disabled by bullets and had to be towed away. A separate convoy arriving to help was "blocked/surrounded by several Iraqi police and Iraqi national guard vehicles and armed personnel," the report says. Then an American helicopter hovered over the traffic circle, as the U.S. convoy departed without casualties. Some reports have said the helicopter also opened fire on Iraqis, but a Blackwater official told TIME that no shots were fired from the air. 

Some eyewitnesses said the fighting began after an explosion detonated near the U.S. convoy, but the incident report does not reflect that. The Blackwater official declared that, contrary to some reports from Iraq, "the convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job, they fired back to defend human life." The official said that "Blackwater is contracted to work in a war zone, its personnel are under frequent fire, and all the rules of engagement permit them to defend themselves." 

Blackwater, a security company based in Moyock, North Carolina, has more than 1,000 personnel in Iraq, most protecting senior State Department personnel and others carrying out sensitive work in the country. Founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, the firm is privately held and secretive. Last week U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker testified to the Senate that the State Department is overwhelmingly dependent on contractors like Blackwater for its security. As he put it, "There is simply no way at all that the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security could ever have enough full-time personnel to staff the security function in Iraq. There is no alternative except through contracts." 

Crocker added, "The capability and courage of the individuals who provide security under contract is worthy of respect of all Americans." As an example of the dangers faced by private security personnel in the country, he cited a Blackwater helicopter that crashed in Iraq last Monday. "One of Blackwater's helicopters went down yesterday — a hostile fire incident," the Ambassador said. "Fortunately no one was killed in that accident, but over 30 of our contract security Americans have been killed keeping the rest of us safe." A Blackwater official confirmed Crocker's account of the incident. 

A spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry has told reporters it has cancelled Blackwater's license and will launch an investigation into whether excessive force was used in the incident. But, in spite of that declaration, which was carried on wire reports, a senior Iraqi official contacted by TIME said that prime minister Maliki is expected to discuss the episode at a cabinet session scheduled for Tuesday and that, as far as the license being permanently revoked, "it's not a done deal yet." 

However, the Iraqi official also said he had spoken with at least two cabinet members about yesterday's shooting and that some in the government have "been upset about Blackwater for a while now. They want them to get out," said the advisor. The State Department said Secretary Rice called prime minister Maliki on Monday is expected to occur later on Monday. She expressed her regret for the loss of life in the incident, assuring him that the U.S. will conduct its own investigation and inform the Iraqi government of its progress. House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman announced Monday he will launch an investigation into the incident as well, calling it "an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors."


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## 1feral1 (17 Sep 2007)

Most insurgents are dressed in civvy attire. Take off thier chest webbing, and remove their AKs, you've got dead civvies, and instant bad press.

 I'll hold my comments on this matter until the shyte storm clears a bit.  :warstory: I will say IMHO the Iraqi government has over reacted.

I will say on the small exposure I had with BW, they conducted themselves pretty good, and I won't forget the day they lost a LOCH to SAF. I was present at 28 CSH when one LOCH brought some wounded back, and the LOCH buzzed around the CSH like an irritated hornet.. Others from the downed LOCH were executed in an alley up near Sadr City. I did post this on here somewhere. I can't see the BW guys acting willy-nilly, as many are former SF etc, and keep their shyte wired tight.


No OPSEC here.... Australians in Baghdad (the roto before ours)  brassed up up an Iraqi vehicle acting strange, trying to pass a convoy,  an Iraqi government armed secuirty guard was shot and killed, as these guys actually returned fire with AKs. The  others in that SUV were somewhat phucked up. The vehicle swerved off the road, striking a pole. That incident caused a shyte storm in itself, and haunted my roto the whole time we were in country. A bad taste in many Iraqi mouths over it, and they were in the wrong! When dealing with other Iraqi governent ministry security forces, they were NOT happy with us at all. Encounters often had an escallation of force on both sides.

Meanwhile, Sunnis murder shiites every hour of the day, and nothing is done.




Wes


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## KevinB (18 Sep 2007)

Wes,

One correction.   Its Shia executing Sunni for the most part.


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## 1feral1 (18 Sep 2007)

I stand corrected  ;D

Stay safe in that arsehole of a place. At least in a month or so it will be more temperate, if i remember right.

Cheers,

Wes


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## KevinB (18 Sep 2007)

yeah should be decent by then -- its a very reasonable  : 42C at 1500hrs currently  - but way better than it was a few weeks ago, when it was 42 during my evening run around 1930...


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## Sig_Des (6 Oct 2007)

> *Rice orders tighter watch on Blackwater guards in Iraq*
> Last Updated: Friday, October 5, 2007 | 8:13 PM ET
> CBC News
> 
> ...



http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/10/05/blackwater.html

Recording radio traffic shouldn't be too difficult, and video camera's on vehicles wouldn't be either. But the whole federal agent thing could cause an administrative nightmare, I'm sure.

And if they do it for one company, the rule should apply to all. This seems to me just a overt attempt to placate people when it comes to Blackwater.


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## KevinB (6 Oct 2007)

Okay reference the above -- on all DOS convoys and MDS agent (DS SA from DSS) was riding anyway with the principle.  Camera's had been in - and then where removed at DOS instruction after the Aegis "Elvis" video hit the net.  

  The issue will just be adding a MDS to the TMST (which does not stand for Templar Mission Support Team     - or not anymore ;D and to the AirOps missions (which in the LittleBirds will be awkward due to the Space and weight for an oxygen theif (not accusing MDS of being that - but on a 4 crew LB - 2 pilots and 2 gunner - if your not one of the four your stealing air there)

 The hook up with .mil was a no brainer and that has been State's fault in the DOD-DOS power struggle.  Recording of radio traffic was alreayd happening - now it will be done with a clearer intent.

No-one from BW is against these changes -- and Triple Canopy and DynCorp (the other two WPPS providers) will be in complaince soon - but their AO's are not like BW's and so the rush is not as immediate for percieved changes.



An aside I notice no-one here though to demonstrate at Eric Prince and BW dont care about cash or assets - as BW's Little Brids landed and evac'd the Polish Ambo when his convoy was ambushed  http://youtube.com/watch?v=6y8Q_ww7k2Q


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## Big Red (6 Oct 2007)

The changes are good, nobody within the industry will fight them. As for DSS agents in convoys other than WPPS contracts, it wouldn't make any sense. DSS agents are to protect DoS clients, nobody else. They are already in short supply, hence BW/TC/Dyn running the high threat regions on contract.  They've always had the option to do ride along, there just arent enough for every BW mission that's on the road.  As for them riding in the Little Birds, I think Air Wing is actually a seperate contract under DoS so I don't think they'd need to ride along.

For all the heat BW takes, they are the only company out there that will roll QRF for any friendly force regardless of the situation.

Really the latest BW 'inquiry' is just an excuse to slam the Iraq war again. The left wing has gone after Bush, the war, KBR, the generals, now it's the security contractors turn.  Whatever will keep the nutjobs in the news.


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## Armymedic (6 Oct 2007)

Does Dawn Black count as a left wing nut job?


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## Big Red (6 Oct 2007)

Who's Dawn Black?


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## KevinB (6 Oct 2007)

St. Micheals Medical Team said:
			
		

> Does Dawn Black count as a left wing nut job?



ABSOLUTELY...


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## Big Red (6 Oct 2007)

Just goggled her. How else would you describe a member of the NDP?


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## daftandbarmy (6 Oct 2007)

Infidel-6 said:
			
		

> Okay reference the above -- on all DOS convoys and MDS agent (DS SA from DSS) was riding anyway with the principle.  Camera's had been in - and then where removed at DOS instruction after the Aegis "Elvis" video hit the net.
> 
> The issue will just be adding a MDS to the TMST (which does not stand for Templar Mission Support Team     - or not anymore ;D and to the AirOps missions (which in the LittleBirds will be awkward due to the Space and weight for an oxygen theif (not accusing MDS of being that - but on a 4 crew LB - 2 pilots and 2 gunner - if your not one of the four your stealing air there)
> 
> ...


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## KevinB (7 Oct 2007)

Can you fix the quote please - you've included your commentary.


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## GAP (9 Oct 2007)

Iraq to Blackwater: Pay US$8 million per victim
Updated Mon. Oct. 8 2007 10:04 PM ET The Associated Press
Article Link

Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month. 

The demands -- part of an Iraqi government report examined by The Associated Press -- also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraqi courts. 

The tone of the Iraqi report appears to signal further strains between the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the White House over the deaths in Nisoor Square -- which have prompted a series of U.S. and Iraqi probes and raised questions over the use of private security contractors to guard U.S. diplomats and other officials. 

Al-Maliki ordered the investigation by his defense minister and other top security and police officials on Sept. 22. The findings -- which were translated from Arabic by AP -- mark the most definitive Iraqi positions and contentions about the shootings last month. 
More on link


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## KevinB (9 Oct 2007)

:   Heavy Machine Gun Fire  - well BW does not have M2 .50's right now (DOS was looking at procuring them after the Jan ambushes)

Al-Maliki would be better off getting a grip of his MOI Death Squads.  Heck his parliament is not even really legit anymore as they refuse to hold another election...

8mil per victim -  :-*  Where an avg wage a month here is $100...
  Yeah that proportional even given BW has not been proven at fault.

People wonder why we hate a lot of the media when they spread tripe like this article.


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## 1feral1 (9 Oct 2007)

Infidel-6 said:
			
		

> People wonder why we hate a lot of the media when they spread tripe like this article.




Exactly!

Cheers,

Wes


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## Old Ranger (10 Oct 2007)

Wesley  Down Under said:
			
		

> Most insurgents are dressed in civvy attire. Take off thier chest webbing, and remove their AKs, you've got dead civvies, and instant bad press.



Wes,
I quoted you today when tossing an idea to Blackwater about cameras on their primaries and vehicles.
They already have them in trials....
(Maybe the OPP should put them on their sniper rifles to prove the ....... had an AK, not a broomstick.)

Cheers,
Ben


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## Big Red (11 Oct 2007)

Old Ranger said:
			
		

> Wes,
> I quoted you today when tossing an idea to Blackwater about cameras on their primaries and vehicles.
> They already have them in trials....
> (Maybe the OPP should put them on their sniper rifles to prove the ....... had an AK, not a broomstick.)
> ...



You were giving ideas to BW?

Camera's on weapons? :


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## KevinB (11 Oct 2007)

BW, DynCorp and Triple Canopy ALL used to run cameras in their vehicls.

Department of State forced the teams to remove them after the infamous Aegis "Elvis vid" hit the news.
  Its nothing new.

I forsee a large use of helmet cam's - as some entities already mandate them.

Several companies make a see thru screen for sniper rifle scopes -- primarily to be used as a trainign feedback tool, however they do offer a decent liability protection for the Dudley George incidents of the world...  Fine in a static scenario - but not much use in a fluid environment.


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## tomahawk6 (11 Oct 2007)

I would much rather have State tell the Iraqi government to get a handle on the pro-Iranian killers operating under the protection of certain Iraqi government officials. They should have the stones to stand by BW. Its convenient that IP were in the neighborhood acting as a blocking force for the bad guys. This is very similar to the taliban attack on the MARSOC company in Afghanistan.


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## Old Ranger (12 Oct 2007)

Big Red said:
			
		

> You were giving ideas to BW?
> 
> Camera's on weapons? :


If a camera on your primary can prove your integrity and show the world what your really up against, why not?
After the media plasters pics of dead civi's, and you can show pics with weapons in the hands of these "civis", where would sympathy and more support go?  I'm not looking at it as a Big Brother idea, just an idea that could go towards supporting the "Peace Machine".

Ben


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## Retired AF Guy (12 Oct 2007)

Just a little off topic, but remember a few months ago when the Garda personnel were kidnapped? Since then I haven't heard anything as what finally happened to them - were they killed, released, ransomed?


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## KevinB (13 Oct 2007)

Still missing - this was the same IP that abducted them - that put a block on BW and claim that BW opened fire indiscriminately.


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## Retired AF Guy (14 Oct 2007)

Infidel-6 said:
			
		

> Still missing - this was the same IP that abducted them - that put a block on BW and claim that BW opened fire indiscriminately.



Thanks for the update.


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## retiredgrunt45 (18 Oct 2007)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21352794/



> Blackwater will probably leave Iraq, officials say
> Official: Likely firm won't compete for Iraq job after contract expires in May
> 
> WASHINGTON - A State Department review of private security guards for diplomats in Iraq is unlikely to recommend firing Blackwater USA over the deaths of 17 Iraqis last month, but the company probably is on the way out of that job, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
> ...



It would seem that someone got cold feet.


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