Uncertain role in 2009 for Blackwater in Iraq

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Uncertain role in 2009 for Blackwater in Iraq
By Mike Baker - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 23, 2008 15:58:12 EST

RALEIGH, N.C. — When a team of Blackwater Worldwide security contractors opened fire last year in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square, nobody was quite sure if a crime had been committed, and if so, whether there was a prosecutor with the authority to bring charges.

More than a year after the shooting that left at least 14 Iraqi civilians dead — an incident that led Iraqi leaders to demand Blackwater leave the country and forced Chief Executive Erik Prince to defend his company in hearings before Congress — the rules under which security firms operate in Iraq are still muddled.

And a new U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that takes effect Jan. 1 isn’t offering any help on the central question of whether Blackwater’s roughly 1,000 guards working in Iraq are subject to that nation’s courts.

“The immunity question — the largest question being talked about — is not addressed in the ... agreement,” said Alan Chvotkin, who works on behalf of contractors, including Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater, as executive vice president and counsel at the Arlington, Va.-based Professional Services Council.

“The implication is there is none, but there’s some hedging on that question. As of right now, there’s still some ambiguity. And smart people disagree about it.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_blackwater_122308/%2e