Schakowsky Statement on State Department's Decision to Renew Blackwater's Contract

SCHAKOWSKY STATEMENT ON STATE DEPARTMENT'S DECISION TO RENEW BLACKWATER'S CONTRACT

Washington, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, released the following statement today in response to the U.S. Department of State's decision to renew Blackwater's contract. Last November, Congresswoman Schakowsky introduced the Stop Outsourcing Security (S.O.S.) Act to phase out the use of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The decision by the State Department to renew Blackwater's contract suggests that our government is willing to rehire companies whose employees have committed murder. It has been over six months since Blackwater contractors killed 17 innocent Iraqi civilians, sixteen months since the Christmas Eve murder in the Green Zone, and 35 months since a Blackwater helicopter dropped CS gas on a traffic jam in Baghdad. There is still no report on any investigations of these incidents and, months ago, the Iraqi government asked that Blackwater leave the country. The State Department's decision to renew the contract not only puts the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians at risk, but it threatens the safety of our troops and jeopardizes the US mission in Iraq. It appears that the State Department has become so dependent on private security contractors that it is willing to turn a blind eye to gross misconduct. We need to break the State Department's addiction and immediately start phasing out the use of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan."