Blackwater is gong down by Claudia Sonea

After the meeting between Iraqi's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and US President, George Bush, on 25 September 2007, Balckwater issue was covered extensively, the PM underlining the need of Iraqi's sovereignty to be respected. Therefore a joint Iraqi-US investigative committee for the tragic event on 16 September, when the killing of 11 Iraqi people outraged Iraquis and raised tensions between the two countries, was created. Blackwater USA is a private military company founded in 1997 by Eric Prince and Al Clark, named often by the international media as being a security contractor or a mercenary organization. It is currently one of the largest three US State Department's private security contractors. However, its mission raised numerous questions due to the casualties and inflicts created by its employees. Nowadays they are paid to provide security service in the Iraq War, each member being paid with 44500 dollars per year. Now they are being investigated for the 16 September incident and gun smuggle allegations. Kerry Pelzman, a USAID specialist on helping rebuild Iraqi businesses, schools and other infrastructure was transported that day on one of the three black GMC Suburbans who were led by a Balckwater gun truck and followed by another one, called Mambas and equipped with 7.62 mm machine guns. While she was in a secure compound making plans on Izdihar â€" a U.S.-Iraqi joint venture company that was working to rebuild Iraq's badly damaged services and funded by USAID on a three-year contract, a bomb-car exploded 200 yards away. An Iraqi report accompanied by witness' accounts comes down hard on Blackwater and demands them to leave in about six months from Iraq accusing them for the murder of 17 civilians and the last toll was 11. AP received the report and revealed what happened by keeping anonymity of the ones recounting because of the consequences. Blackwater's convoy in Nisoor Square opened fire on a white car where Ahmed Haithem Ahmed, a 20-year-old third year medical student was with his mother. The traffic policemen said they continued to fire even after the student was shot in his head and they tried to signalize to stop the shooting. There were reports on small helicopters shooting and the bodies' gun wounds proved that only from above it could had come the bullet. Another Blackwater convoy tried to pass through the city afterwards, but Iraqi police stopped them with water trucks until two U.S. military Humvees emerged from the nearby National Police Headquarters and convinced the Blackwater drivers and guards to return to the Green Zone. The epilogue is expected in the next few days. Stay connected!

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071008/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_blackwater;_ylt=AqZIgV2ahGCxjnL1wL.ejnCs0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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