Blackwater: Contract up for renewal [View All]

[lame54]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1706121,00.html
Regardless of the outcome of various legal proceedings against Blackwater, the controversial security firm potentially faces a massive business setback this coming May. That's when its State Department contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq comes up for renewal, and its hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the company are no longer a sure thing in light of the legal and political repercussions of two recent incidents in which Blackwater guards allegedly killed Iraqis.

A Washington, D.C., grand jury is currently hearing evidence involving one of the episodes. And if the U.S. were to bring criminal indictments against Blackwater personnel, many observers believe it could jeopardize the contract's renewal and further undermine the company's already shaky status in Iraq.