Finally...
>
>formatting link
> Iraq won't allow Blackwater to operate in country
>
> y SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press writer Sinan Salaheddin,
> Associated Press Writer =A0 1 hr 10 mins ago
>
> BAGHDAD =96 Iraq will not allow Blackwater Worldwide to continue
> providing security protection for U.S. diplomats in the country, Iraqi
> and U.S. officials said Thursday.
>
> Blackwater's image in Iraq was irrevocably tarnished by the September
> 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square. Five former
> Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in
> Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting.
>
> The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to
> "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Interior Ministry
> spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.
>
> Neither Khalaf nor a U.S. Embassy official gave a date for Blackwater
> personnel to leave the country and neither said whether they would be
> allowed to continue guarding U.S. diplomats during the interim.
>
> A U.S.-Iraqi security agreement approved in November gives the Iraqis
> the authority to determine which Western security companies operate in > Iraq.
>
> Blackwater employees who have not been implicated in the shooting have
> the right to work with a different employer.
>
> "We sent our decision to the U.S. Embassy last Friday," Khalaf told
> The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They have to find a new > security company."
>
> The U.S. Embassy official confirmed it received the government's
> decision, saying that U.S. officials were working with the Iraqi
> government and its contractors to address the "implications of this > decision."
>
> The official made the statement on condition of anonymity under
> embassy regulations.
>
> In the 2007 shooting, Blackwater maintains its guards opened fire
> after coming under attack after a car in a State Department convoy > broke down.
>
> The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely
> watching the case.
About f'ing time. bush hired a private army (and halliburton etc.), busted our economy doing so, and caused the war to drag on, and on and on........
Throw the bastards out.
dennis in nca