WASHINGTON — The State Department moved quickly Monday to tamp down anger and possible repercussions after the alleged killing of eight Iraqi civilians by a private security firm hired to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to express regret at the loss of life and promise that the results of an internal investigation into Sunday’s incident would be shared with the government in Baghdad.
The 15-minute call came after Iraq’s Interior Ministry said it had revoked the license of the firm, Blackwater USA, to work in the country, a move that could severely curtail the ability of U.S. diplomats to operate outside the heavily fortified “Green Zone.”
The order by the Interior Ministry, if carried out, would deal a severe blow to U.S. government operations in Iraq by stripping diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others of their security protection.
The presence of so many visible, aggressive Western security contractors has angered many Iraqis, who consider them a mercenary force that runs roughshod over people in their own country.
There were conflicting accounts of the incident, in which, according to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a diplomatic convoy was attacked in Baghdad, causing security guards to open fire.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack had no information about any Iraqi laws Blackwater or its employees might be subject to, the chain of command its employees answer to or details of the company’s contract with the State Department.
He said the probe is being conducted by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security with assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., is one of three private security firms employed by the department to protect its personnel in Iraq. The two others, both of which are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp, based in Falls Church, Va., and Triple Canopy, based in Herndon, Va.
In May, a Blackwater employee fatally shot an Iraqi civilian deemed to be driving too close to a company security detail. A company spokeswoman says that based on incident reports and witness accounts, the employee acted lawfully and appropriately.
In December 2006, a drunken Blackwater employee fatally shot a bodyguard for Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraqi and U.S. officials say. The incident is under investigation; the employee has been fired, a company spokeswoman said.
Shooting incidents have involved the other security firms as well. None has faced charges or prosecution.
“The Blackwater guys are not fools. If they were gunning down people, it was because they felt it was the beginning of an ambush,” said Robert Young Pelton, an independent military analyst and author of the book “Licensed to Kill.”
“They’re famous for being very aggressive. They use their machine guns like car horns. But it’s not the goal to kill people.”
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