Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes

Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes
Feb 01, 2013
Associated Press
by Eric Tucker

WASHINGTON -- With thousands of civilian contractors remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan, Justice Department officials want Congress to resolve a legal issue they say obstructs efforts to prosecute any such workers who rape, kill or commit other serious crimes abroad.

Scofflaw Pentagon employees and contractors supporting the American war mission overseas are subject to federal prosecution in the U.S., but a nonmilitary contractor who breaks the law may fall outside the Justice Department's jurisdiction. Lawmakers who have pushed in the past to extend the reach of U.S. criminal law plan to renew their efforts this session with bills to make civilian contractors and employees liable to federal prosecution for acts including murder, arson and bribery.

Federal prosecutors believe clearer and more uniform rules are needed to resolve a jurisdictional question made murkier by the end of the Iraq war and the ongoing reduction of troops in Afghanistan. The issue caused problems for authorities during the first prosecution of Blackwater contractors accused in 2007 shootings in Baghdad and could again be a stumbling block as prosecutors seek a new indictment in the case.
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1 Dead, 1 injured in Blackwater Helicopter crash

One dead, one injured in chopper crash
Updated: Tuesday, 24 Feb 2009, 4:31 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 24 Feb 2009, 2:03 PM EST

CAMDEN CO., N.C. - Officials confirm with WAVY.com at least one person was killed when a helicopter crashed at Xe, formerly Blackwater Worldwide, Tuesday afternoon.

Camden County Sheriff Tony Perry confirmed for WAVY.com, 911 dispatchers received a call at 1:36 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed on the grounds of Xe in Moyock, North Carolina.

Currituck County Public Information Officer Randall Edwards says it was a small private type of helicopter that crashed. Edwards says an ambulance, fire trucks and personnel from the Moyock station arrived on scene within minutes after the crash.

One person was killed. The body was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, as required by Federal Aviation Administration investigations, who are already on the scene. A second passenger in the helicopter reportedly received non-life threatening injuries and was awake and talking, according to paramedics on the scene. He was transported to Chesapeake General Hospital.
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http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_wavy_nc_helo_crash_20090224

Charged Blackwater security guards "are decorated vets"

If this is true, then we need to know the whole story. If they did this and were not fired upon, then they need to explain to the troops there why they would jeopardize the lives of the troops by a stunt like this. I really hope they have done a very thorough investigation into all of this. If they are guilty, they should not get away with it and if they are innocent, then someone has some explaining to do.

Charged Blackwater guards are decorated vets


By Matt Apuzzo and Lara Jakes Jordan - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Dec 7, 2008 13:40:06 EST

WASHINGTON — Defense attorneys on Saturday lambasted U.S. indictments against decorated war veterans for deadly 2007 shootings as Iraqis welcomed the charges against five Blackwater guards in a case that fueled anti-Americanism and roiled diplomacy with Baghdad.

Charges against Blackwater security guards will be unsealed Monday, more than a year after the fatal shootings of 17 Iraqi civilians. Iraqis hope the charges will finally bring justice and improve relations with the United States after the gruesome slayings on Sept. 16, 2007.

Defense lawyers say the case has unfairly tarnished the images of the Blackwater guards. Each man has received honors for his service in some of the world’s most dangerous places, from Bosnia and Afghanistan to Iraq. The five were to surrender to the FBI on Monday, when the Justice Department plans to unseal the charges against them. click link above for more

Forces may have to rent helicopters for Iraq and Afghanistan

Forces may have to rent helicopters

By Kim Sengupta
Thursday, 31 July 2008


British forces are so short of helicopters in Afghanistan and Iraq that they are considering renting them from other countries, or even from the controversial US security contractor Blackwater.


As a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Helmand province claimed the life of another UK paratrooper, The Independent has learnt that the Ministry of Defence will hold a crisis meeting at 5pm today to discuss leasing helicopters from former Warsaw Pact countries as well as commercial companies.

Chaired by the Defence Secretary Des Browne, the summit will be attended by senior military and government personnel who will be expected to solve the acute helicopter shortage.

Nato, but not Britain directly, is believed to be negotiating with Blackwater, which has come under fierce criticism from the Iraqi government and the US Congress after 17 civilians were shot dead in Baghdad last year. Another option being explored by the MoD is leasing Cougar helicopters from oil companies involved in offshore production.
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IRAQ: Fever Named After Blackwater

IRAQ: Fever Named After Blackwater
By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*

FALLUJAH, Mar 26 (IPS) - Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province warn of a new disease they call "Blackwater" that threatens the lives of thousands. The disease is named after Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. mercenary company operating in Iraq.

"This disease is a severe form of malarial infection caused by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, which is considered the worst type of malarial infection," Dr. Ali Hakki from Fallujah told IPS. "It is one of the complications of that infection, and not the ordinary picture of the disease. Because of its frequent and severe complications, such as Blackwater fever, and its resistance to treatment, P. falciparum can cause death within 24 hours."

What Iraqis now call Blackwater fever is really a well-known medical condition, and while it has nothing to do with Blackwater Worldwide, Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided to make the connection between the disease and the lethal U.S.-based company which has been responsible for the death of countless Iraqis.

The disease is most prevalent in Africa and Asia. The patient suffers severe intravascular haemolysis -- the destruction of red blood cells leading to kidney and liver failure. It also leads to black or red urination, and hence perhaps the new name 'Blackwater'.

The deadly disease, never before seen in Iraq on at least this scale, seems to be spreading across the country. And Iraq lacks medicines, hospitals, and doctors to lead a campaign to fight the disease.

"We informed the ministry of the disease, but it seems that they are not in a mood to listen," a doctor from the al-Anbar Health Office in Ramadi told IPS, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are making personal contacts with NGOs in an attempt to get the necessary medicines."
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http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41743
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