State Dept. considers ending use of Blackwater

[unhappycamper]

State Dept. considers ending use of Blackwater
By Matthew Lee - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 10, 2007 19:19:23 EDT

WASHINGTON — The State Department may phase out or limit the use of private security guards in Iraq, The Associated Press has learned. That could mean canceling Blackwater USA’s contract or letting it lapse and awarding it to another company within months in line with an Iraqi government demand.

Such steps would be difficult given U.S. reliance on Blackwater and other contractors, but they are among options being studied during a comprehensive review of security in Iraq, two senior officials said.

The review was ordered after a Sept. 16 incident in which Blackwater guards protecting a U.S. Embassy convoy in Baghdad were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

The shooting has enraged the Iraqi government, which is demanding millions of dollars in compensation for the victims and removal of Blackwater in six months. It also has put a focus on the nebulous rules governing private guards and added to the Bush administration’s problems in managing the war in Iraq.

It also prompted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to order the top-to-bottom review from a commission headed by Patrick Kennedy, one of the State Department’s most experienced management officials.

Kennedy has been told to concentrate on several key issues, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is under way. Among them:


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_blackwater_071010/

[BridgeTheGap]

1. It's about time!

Drop 'em like a hot rock!

[w8liftinglady]

2. why?-Because they,and their like,have bled our treasury dry?time to move on to China