Shooting shines light on murky world of Iraq security
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Their helicopters buzz through the Baghdad sky, their patrols bristle with the latest weaponry and their armored vehicles carry the latest hi-tech gadgets.
It's not the U.S. military but another lethal fighting force in Iraq -- private security contractors.
Iraq has vowed to review all local and foreign security contractors, described by critics as mercenaries who act with impunity, after a shooting incident involving U.S. firm Blackwater on Sunday in which 11 people were killed.
It said it will revoke the license of the high-profile Blackwater and prosecute those involved in the incident.
But the government might find it difficult to prosecute the case, and even harder to revoke Blackwater's license because it most probably does not have a current one.
Blackwater said its employees reacted "lawfully and appropriately" to a hostile attack. The Iraqi Interior Ministry says 11 people were killed when Blackwater contractors fired randomly after mortar rounds landed near their convoy.
Security sources in Baghdad say they operate in a murky world of little regulation where few companies hold up-to-date licenses and many bribe their way into work.
The workings of security contractors in Iraq are so unclear that the State Department, whom Blackwater protects in Iraq, was still unable to say more than 48 hours after Sunday's incident whether the company holds a legitimate license.
The U.S. embassy also could not answer questions about the legal status of security contractors, and whether any possible proceedings would be prosecuted under Iraqi or U.S. law.
"TOP COVER"
Based in North Carolina, Blackwater was founded in 1997 by former U.S. Navy SEAL Erik Prince and says it works in two main areas: training and protection.
It says on its Web site (www.blackwaterusa.com) that its vision is to "support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere."
It employs about 1,000 people in Iraq and has an immediately visible presence, its small helicopters buzzing in circles as they provide "top cover" whenever U.S. embassy officials travel around the capital.
Estimates of the number of security contractors employed by mainly U.S. and European firms range between 25,000 and 48,000 in what can appear like multinational militias.
Peruvians man checkpoints around Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Fijians in blue helmets guard the U.N. compound.
Australian, English and New Zealand accents abound, many of them former special forces soldiers who learned their martial skills for a fraction of their current wages.
Some security companies try to keep low profiles, but Iraqis have long complained about the heavy-handed approach of others whose convoys of armored vehicles muscle their way through traffic and shoot at cars which come too close.
Private security industry representatives in Britain said the Blackwater episode highlighted ambiguities in the status of security contractors and a need to update laws governing them.
Security firms still operate under memorandum 17 of the Coalition Provisional Authority, written in 2004, which makes foreign security contractors immune from Iraqi law.
"Circumstances in Iraq have changed drastically since then," said Andy Bearpark, head of the British Association of Private Security Companies.
"We would still wish certain elements of immunity to be maintained. The Iraqi (legal) system is simply not robust enough at the moment to allow for them to be removed," he said.
One Baghdad security source said: "They're operating under Iraqi law but there are so many loopholes in it."
GOVERNMENT POLICY UNCLEAR
Other security sources, who asked not to be named, said few foreign security companies hold current licenses, most simply not bothering to renew their one-year permit after landmark 2005 elections because the new government's policy was unclear.
Companies wanting to work in Iraq must register with the ministries of trade and the interior, lodging documentation for personnel, vehicles, weapons, training, fire and safety and first aid, and pay a bond of between $20,000 and $55,000.
David Claridge, managing director of London-based Janusian Security Risk Management which employs about 1,000 mostly Iraqi staff, said the rules on licensing private security companies (PSCs) had not been consistently applied.
"You have to apply those rules evenly. Otherwise it does introduce a level of uncertainty ... and create a sense that some people are totally immune and can behave as they wish and others not," he told Reuters in London.
Claridge and several Baghdad security sources said it was widely known Blackwater was operating without a license because they worked under the protection of the U.S. embassy.
"From our perspective, it's unwanted attention and unwanted bad publicity for our industry as a whole but we don't consider ourselves to be in the same group as Blackwater," Claridge said.
But many believe Blackwater will survive the incident relatively unscathed, mainly because of its close ties to the State Department.
"Smart money says that Blackwater is in Iraq for the duration," said security author and blogger R J Hillhouse (www.thespywhobilledme.com).
双语新闻
美国财长称世界经济强劲 (US Treasury Secretary Says World Economy Strong)
美国财政部长保尔森说，虽然市场最近出现波动，但是全球经济依然强劲。
保尔森星期一在巴黎会晤了法国财政部长，他在会晤之后说，不要仓促地决定加强市场管制。保尔森说，虽然目前的市场出现动荡，但是全球经济的根基稳固。市场动荡首先从美国的次级房贷无力偿还开始。
由于利率上升以及很多市场的房屋销售和价格滑落，美国房屋市场出现了越来越多的因无法偿还贷款而被没收房屋的现象。
美国财长保尔森还对前法国财政部长斯特劳斯-卡恩竞选国际货币基金组织的新总裁做出了积极的评价。
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the global economy is strong despite recent market turmoil.
After meeting in Paris Monday with his French counterpart, Paulson cautioned against any quick decisions to increase market regulation. Paulson said the world's economic underpinnings are sound despite the current turmoil that began with defaults on sub-prime mortgage loans in the United States.
The U.S. housing market has faced an increasing number of foreclosures as interest rates rose and home sales and prices declined in many markets.
The Treasury secretary also spoke positively about the candidacy of former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the new head of the International Monetary Fund.
泰国政府调查死亡坠机事件 (Thai Authorities Investigate Deadly Plane Crash)
泰国调查人员找到了在渡假地普吉岛坠毁的客机上的两个飞行数据记录器。飞机坠毁造成机上130人中的至少89人遇难。
记录器将被送往美国进行分析，这个过程预计需要至少一个星期。当局希望有关信息能够帮助查明飞机失事原因。
这架美制麦道MD-82喷气客机由泰国低成本航空公司“一二走”(One-Two-Go)经营。飞机着地时摔成两截，起火燃烧。
有关官员说，在星期天的坠机中，34名泰国人和55名外国人丧生。外国大使馆证实，死者当中包括4名美国公民、一名澳大利亚人和一名法国国民。
飞机上还有德国和伊朗公民。泰国官员说，41名幸存者已经被送入医院，其中5人烧伤严重，情况危急。
Thai investigators have found both flight data recorders from a passenger plane that crash-landed on the resort island of Phuket, killing at least 89 of the 130 passengers and crew on board.
The devices will be sent to the United States for analysis, a process expected to take at least a week. Authorities hope the information will help explain why the plane crashed.
The airliner broke in two upon impact and burst into flames. The U.S.-made McDonnell Douglas MD-82 jet was operated by the Thai budget carrier One-Two-Go.
Officials say 34 Thais and 55 foreigners were killed in Sunday's crash. Foreign embassies have confirmed that four U.S. citizens, one Australian and a French national are among the dead.
Citizens from Germany and Iran also were aboard. Thai officials say 41 survivors have been taken to hospitals. Five are in critical condition with severe burns.
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