Blackwater: Don’t let the باب hit you on the way out

Iraqi leaders revoked the contract of US private security company Blackwater USA following the shooting deaths of eight Iraqi civilians by Blackwater guards. Despite an order by the Coalition Provisional Authority that gave companies immunity from Iraqi prosecution, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised justice against the private security mercenaries. According to the 2007 CRS Report for Congress [pdf], the company employs about 1,000 private forces in the region.

Flying under the radar during the first half of the Iraq war, Blackwater USA became a household name after four employees were killed with their defiled remains publicly displayed from a bridge outside Falluja in 2004. The media attention from the tragedy gave Americans the glimpse of a hostile Iraqi population while also bringing the US government’s pay-as-you-go soldiers into the spotlight.

Blackwater is no stranger to controversy. Founded in 1997 by former US Navy Seal, George H.W. Bush intern, and billionaire heir Erik Prince, Blackwater’s concerns are decidedly tougher than your average place of business. In December 2006, an intoxicated employee shot and killed Iraqi VP Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s bodyguard. Five months later, a staff member killed an Iraqi driver in Baghdad. And videos like this on YouTube don’t help to put a gleam on the conservative Christian-backed company’s tarnished halo.

The Iraqi government has announced plans to review the contracts held by private security forces in the country. In addition to Blackwater USA, the following companies have contributed to the more than 160,000 private employees in Iraq:

• Aegis Assessment
• CACI International
• DynCorp International
• Elite Security
• Erinys International
• Garda World Security
• MVM
• KBR
• Security Consultants Group
• Spartan Consulting
• L-3 Titan Group
• Triple Canopy
• Vance International