Our American security contractors have certainly been keeping themselves busy. This time it's DynCorp, not Blackwater, that's killing innocent Iraqi civilians.

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According to State Dept. officals, Donald Rumsfeld's anger at losing control of funds to build the new embassy in Baghdad left State with no choice but to turn to Blackwater for its security.

In 2004 the State Department began planning for its new U.S. embassy in Baghdad and Rumsfeld lost a turf war for control of the billions in construction funds. As a result, Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowits decided protecting State was no longer their concern:

A new executive order, signed in January 2004, gave State authority over all but military operations. Rumsfeld’s revenge, at least in the view of many State officials, was to withdraw all but minimal assistance for diplomatic security...

Meetings to negotiate an official memorandum of understanding between State and Defense during the spring of 2004 broke up in shouting matches over issues such as their respective levels of patriotism and whether the military would provide mortuary services for slain diplomats.

Private Security Firm Raided by Blackwater in Kabul Now Under Investigation

It's really getting hard to know who the bad guys are anymore.

Two Afghani workers were "taken into custody" and American and Canadian citizens were held "at gunpoint," by contractor Blackwater USA during a raid of a competing private security firm in Kabul last month, an "American security official" with close ties to the company told the AP. "[T]he U.S. official (also) said Blackwater security teams took computers and office files."

A second source, Police Gen. Ali Shah Paktiawal told AP that "Afghan police provided security" for the raid on the private firm U.S. Protection and Investigations (USPI).

The AP notes that Blackwater provides security for the U.S. embassy in Kabul and USPI does security work for USAID, an arm of the State Department.

Jeniva Jalal, God rest her soul, is dead.

So is Marany Awanees.

Their crime?

Let's just call it, "DWI."*

It never ends:

Foreign security guards killed two women when they opened fire on a car in the centre of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, witnesses and Iraqi security officials said.

The shooting in Karrada came two days after Iraq vowed to punish US security firm Blackwater after a probe found that its guards were not provoked when they opened "deliberate" fire in Baghdad three weeks ago, killing 17 Iraqis.

It was not clear which security company was involved in Tuesday's shooting...

Shopkeeper Ammar Fallah, a witness to the shooting, told AFP the guards, who were escorting a civilian convoy through the streets, signalled for a woman driving a car to pull over as they passed.

"When she failed to do so they opened fire, killing her and the woman next to her," he said. "There were two children in the back seat but they were not harmed. The women were both shot in the head."

Was it Blackwater?  Maybe, maybe not.  Does it really matter?

Feels like such an odd diary to write since I don't even want anybody I know to be involved in the Iraq War.  I don't get a choice though in the matter and we have thrown in the towel on getting out any time in the near future so please allow me to focus constructively on something that can be done and affects all those on the ground in Iraq.

I was reading the article that was linked to on a diary on the recommended list by Richard Cranium.  About 3/4 of the way through the article are a couple of paragraphs about the United States holding up delivery of chlorine that the Iraqis need due to a cholera outbreak.  Now, cholera is a real shitty disease and dehydration is a real life-threatening possibility.  

The Washington Post Sunday Edition has a feature article today titled Four Hired Guns in an Armored Truck, Bullets Flying, and a Pickup and a Taxi Brought to a Halt. Who Did the Shooting and Why?

The article focuses on four security contractors working for a company called Triple Canopy.  

The article goes on to describe two incidents that occurred on July 8th, 2006 as these security contractors went to the airport to pick up a VIP and as they returned.  The incidents involve allegations of random shootings that were not reported, predicated upon an alleged statement made by the Team Leader, Jacob Washbourne, that "I want to kill somebody today."