<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile — Blackwater down? Arrests could cost contractor its Iraq license

Blackwater down? Arrests could cost contractor its Iraq license

Monday, December 22, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

WASHINGTON — A major U.S. security contractor is in danger of losing its license to operate in Iraq.

The State Department has been bracing for the prospect that the Iraqi government would ban Blackwater Worldwide in 2009.

A report by the department's inspector-general said officials should seek a replacement for Blackwater in wake of the indictment of five of its security guards on manslaughter charges.

"The department faces the real possibility that one of its primary worldwide personal protective services contractors in Iraq — Blackwater — will not receive a license to continue operating in Iraq," the 42-page report said.

Blackwater, with more than $1 billion in projects, has been regarded as the largest U.S. security contractor in Iraq. The company has been protecting U.S. diplomats, government staffers as well as a range of sites in Iraq.

Officials said Blackwater's contract in Iraq ends in April 2009. The company has been blamed for the death of 17 Iraqis in downtown Iraq during a shootout with suspected Sunni insurgents in September 2007.

The State Department has been examining the feasibility of employing Blackwater in Iraq. Under an agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008, American employees in Iraq could be prosecuted by the host country.

Many in the Democratic-controlled Congress has urged the Bush administration to find an alternative to Blackwater. They said Blackwater and other U.S. security companies in Iraq operated with impunity.

"The era of Blackwater must finally end," Sen. John Kerry, incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. "It will benefit the incoming [Barack Obama] administration to have reassurance from the State Department that Blackwater's contract should not be renewed."

In February 2008, the House and Senate drafted legislation to ban the use of private security contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the co-sponsors of the bill was Sen. Hillary Clinton, named as the next secretary of state.

Still, officials said, any effort to replace Blackwater with another private contractor would be extremely difficult. They said no other company has Blackwater's experience, manpower and air fleet.

Blackwater has also been accused of ignoring export regulations in delivering weapons and ammunition to Iraq. On Dec. 17, the State Department, in wake of a review, issued measures that would require Blackwater to file additional reports.

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