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Tuesday, September 18, 2007      New: Take a Stand

Iraq worth $1 billion to Blackwater; Rice appeals

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Interior Ministry has triggered a crisis with the United States by ordering the expulsion of Blackwater USA, a leading foreign security firm in Iraq and protection provider for the U.S. embassy and other government agencies.

Officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki on Monday in an effort to rescind the decision to expel Blackwater.

The Bush administration has not officially acknowledged the Iraqi order. The State Department said Washington has not been informed of any Iraqi decision to expel Blackwater, with nearly $1 billion in U.S. government contracts.

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"We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory," Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf said. "We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities."

The order was issued on Monday after the killing of 11 Iraqis following a bombing of a State Department convoy in Baghdad the previous day. No State Department personnel were reported killed or injured.

The Iraqi order threatened to spark a crisis with the United States. Officials said Ms. Rice was scheduled to visit the Middle East on Tuesday and could meet Al Maliki during her tour.

"They [Blackwater] opened fire randomly at citizens," Khalaf said.

Blackwater, involved in numerous killings of Iraqis, was said to employ about 1,000 security guards, most of them former members of the U.S. Special Operations Command. The contractor, based in North Carolina, provides protection to U.S. officials, diplomats and VIPs, and guards reconstruction and other projects.

"This was a crime about which we cannot be silent," Interior Minister Jawad Al Bolani said. "Everyone should understand that whoever wants good relations with Iraq should respect Iraqis. We are implementing the law and abide by laws, and others should respect these laws and respect the sovereignty and independence of Iraqis in their country."

The Iraqi Interior Ministry has blamed Blackwater for the shootout in the Sunni neighborhood of Mansour on Sept. 16 in which 11 people were killed and 13 injured. Officials said Blackwater security guards fired randomly after a State Department motorcade was bombed.

"Blackwater regrets any loss of life, but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life," Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said.

"The bottom line is that the secretary wants to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to avoid the loss of innocent life," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Congress said it would investigate Blackwater's activities in Iraq, with hearings planned by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. House and Senate members have criticized the huge presence of U.S. private military contractors in Iraq.

"The controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors," House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman said.

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