The Political Chase

Video proves Blackwater attack unprovoked

Updated below.

There are a few significant pieces in tomorrow’s NYT and the WaPo - none of which bode well for Blackwater or the Bush-Cheney administration. Iraqi officials reportedly have hard evidence — as in a video — that Blackwater’s killing of at least eight Iraqis was unprovoked. Given the hour (4:07 AM ET), I’ll just point them out for now and will review the detail tomorrow.

First, buried on page A18, the Washington Post reveals the Iraqi government has complained repeatedly to “U.S. officials” about “Blackwater’s involvement in the deaths of numerous Iraqis.” But the administration chose to ignore their concerns.

Senior Iraqi officials repeatedly complained to U.S. officials about Blackwater USA’s alleged involvement in the deaths of numerous Iraqis, but the Americans took little action to regulate the private security firm until 11 Iraqis were shot dead last Sunday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

…The lack of a U.S. response underscores the powerlessness of Iraqi officials to control the tens of thousands of security contractors who operate under U.S.-drafted Iraqi regulations that shield them from Iraqi laws. It also raises questions about how seriously the United States will seek to regulate Blackwater, now the subject of at least three investigations by Iraqi and U.S. authorities.

In this piece, the New York Times reports Iraq intends to file criminal charges against the group, although current law doesn’t allow Iraq to prosecute U.S. contractors, so how they’re going to actually follow through with their intent is unclear. Furthermore, from what I’ve read thus far, based on Iraq’s alleged repeated complaints, this piece appears to be highly indicative of the Bush administration’s standard dodge ball performance. They’re giving a soft-shoe performance, but the music just don’t connect with their act.

The Iraqi government said Saturday that it expects to refer criminal charges to its courts within days in connection with a shooting here by a private American security company, and the Interior Ministry gave new details of six other episodes it is investigating involving the company.

The state minister for national security affairs, Shirwan al-Waili, said the government had received little information from the American side in the early days of a joint investigation of the shooting, which involved the company Blackwater USA and left at least eight Iraqis dead. But he said that the Iraqi investigation was largely completed and that he believed the findings were definitive. “The shots fired on the Iraqis were unjustifiable,” he said. “It was harsh and horrible.”

Maybe it’s just the hour and the dots will connect differently tomorrow, but the two just don’t fit.

Finally, this is the money piece, (see update below) which was filed by the AP at 3:07 AM ET.

Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.

Iraq’s president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. (Emphasis added.)

More later…

Late Update: The link in the above paragraph points to an AP article that has been updated and does not cover the video Iraqi officials claim proves Blackwater was not provoked. For more information on the video, see this piece at CNN.