The Political Chase

Blackwater resumes operations

The NYT is reporting that Blackwater has resumed operations in Iraq, but it is unclear to what extent and upon whose approval.

Brief summary. Blackwater USA, a private security contractor based in North Carolina with thousands of approximately 1,000 employees in Iraq (see update below), is primarily responsible for providing security for American officials, particularly those residing in the Green Zone. On September 16, Blackwater was escorting an American diplomatic convoy and became involved in a shooting that killed eight Iraqis. Due to Blackwater’s alleged history of extreme and uncontrolled violence, the Iraqi government quickly moved to ban Blackwater’s operations on September 18. However, the Iraqi government has no legal authority over U.S. corporations or individuals, the ban was still implemented. Since Blackwater was the only source of protection for Americans and other officials outside of the Green Zone, they were unable to leave the protected area for basically any reason — no trips to the airport or one of those garden spot markets John McCain strolled through. Stuck in the middle of hell.

Now, only three days after the Iraq government’s “ban,” Blackwater has resumed operations, in spite of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s substantial criticism of the company after the September 16 shootings. Interestingly enough, Blackwater reloads their gear while Maliki is reportedly on his way to the U.S. to meet with the Decider.

When asked about Blackwater resuming operations, an American Embassy spokeswoman said the decision had been made “in consultation with the Iraqi authorities.” I suppose we can take that to be on about the same level as Mr. Bush consulting with leaders in Congress on the strategy for Iraq.

Late Update: Based on an article in today’s (9/22) Washington Post, I revised the number of Blackwater USA employees in Iraq to “approximately 1,000.” The previous number of employees reported was based on my recollection of other press accounts, which may have been inaccurate due to early reporting of the Blackwater incident.