Blackwater Won’t Be Fired, Officials Say

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The New York Sun

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, American officials said yesterday.

Blackwater’s work escorting American diplomats outside the protected Green Zone in Baghdad expires in May, one official said, and other officials told the Associated Press they expect the North Carolina company will not continue to work for the embassy after that. It is likely that Blackwater does not compete to keep the job, one official said. Blackwater probably will not be fired outright or even “eased out,” the official added, but there is a mutual feeling that the September 16 deaths mean the company cannot continue in its current role.

State Department officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Secretary of State Rice has not yet considered results of an internal review of Blackwater and the other two companies that protect diplomats in Iraq.

Department officials said no decisions have been made and that Ms. Rice has the final say.

They gave admiring appraisals of Blackwater’s work overall, noting that no diplomats have died while riding in Blackwater’s heavily armed convoys. President Bush did not directly answer a question yesterday about whether he was satisfied with the performance of security contractors.

“I will be anxious to see the analysis of their performance,” Mr. Bush said at a news conference. “There’s a lot of studying going on, both inside Iraq and out, as to whether or not people violated rules of engagement. I will tell you, though, that a firm like Blackwater provides a valuable service. They protect people’s lives, and I appreciate the sacrifice and the service that the Blackwater employees have made.”

A transition from Blackwater would take time. The company employs more people and has more equipment than its two competitors in Iraq. Any outside company that might replace Blackwater would have to provide trained American citizens, with security clearances. That may mean that if Blackwater leaves, competitors hired some of its workers.


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