Schakowsky Calls on State Department to Terminate Blackwater's Contract
| For Immediate Release: October 12, 2007 | Contact: Peter Karafotas (202) 226-6898 |
SCHAKOWSKY CALLS ON STATE DEPARTMENT TO TERMINATE BLACKWATER'S CONTRACT | ||
Washington, D.C.--U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a Chief Deputy Whip, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condelezza Rice requesting that the State Department terminate Blackwater USA's contract in Iraq. The text of the letter is below. October 12, 2007 Honorable Condoleezza Rice Madam Secretary: I am writing to strongly urge you to terminate Blackwater USA's contract in Iraq. I am very concerned that the incident on September 16th, in which Blackwater contractors reportedly killed seventeen Iraqi civilians, is only the latest in a long record of dangerous and inexcusably reckless behavior that will continue unless the State Department takes immediate action. It would be irresponsible for the Department of State to continue to allow Blackwater to operate in Iraq because contractors are not currently held accountable under U.S. or Iraqi law. There is nothing preventing the contractors involved in the September 16th incident, or any other Blackwater employee, from killing more Iraqi civilians. Is it the policy of the State Department to allow contractors to get away with murder? Blackwater employees have a long history of excessive use of force. According to incident reports obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, since 2005 Blackwater has been involved in 163 "escalation of force... incidents in which Blackwater forces fired first. This includes the now infamous Christmas Eve incident in which a drunk Blackwater employee killed the guard of the Iraqi Vice President, and was then was flown out of Iraq within thirty six hours at the State Department's request without facing an investigation. That Blackwater employee went on to work as a contractor in Kuwait. This long pattern of irresponsible behavior has resulted in the deaths of many innocent Iraqis, and has jeopardized our mission in Iraq and the safety of U.S. troops. I am afraid that the September 16th incident will not be the last time innocent civilians are killed or injured by security contractors unless the State Department terminates Blackwater's contract immediately. Your recent decision to increase oversight of Blackwater by sending State Department personnel as monitors on all Blackwater security convoys in and around Baghdad, installing video cameras in Blackwater armored vehicles, and saving recordings of all radio transmissions between Blackwater convoys and military and civilian agencies supervising them in Iraq, underscores the lack of contractor accountability and the need for action. Using State Department personnel to monitor Blackwater is not a sufficient response and does not address the underlying problem. Blackwater USA's employees are still engaged in activities that should be handled by U.S. military forces or State Department personnel and they will still not be subject to any disciplinary action under the law. It is crucial to our mission in Iraq and to the safety of our troops that Blackwater's presence be removed from Iraq. Because of their reputation as trigger-happy aggressors, Blackwater employees have caused Iraqis to lose confidence in the U.S. Armed Forces and they have themselves become targets. I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your prompt reply. Sincerely,
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