Blackwater chief defends Iraq guards

October 2, 2007 · Filed Under Politics, U.S. News

The boss of US security contractor Blackwater Tuesday staunchly defended his teams in Iraq, as lawmakers assailed the firm involved in a Baghdad shootout which left at least 10 Iraqis dead. Blackwater founder and chief executive Erik Prince, a previously reclusive ex-Navy SEAL, warned of a “rush to judgement” over the deadly September 16 shooting.

“To the extent there was loss of innocent life, let me be clear that I consider that tragic,” said Prince, in written testimony to a House of Representatives committee.

But he said “that based on everything we currently know, the Blackwater team acted appropriately while operating in a very complex war zone on September 16.”

Prince warned that Blackwater had been the victim of “negative and baseless allegations reported as truth.”

“There has been a rush to judgement based on inaccurate information, and many public reports have wrongly pronounced Blackwater’s guilt for the death of varying numbers of civilians.”

Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, questioned whether Blackwater, reported to have made a billion dollars in US government contracting, was acting in US interests…CLICK FOR THE FULL STORY