Blackwater incident revisited.

So it appears the "government report" on the incident we talked about earlier was written by "a Blackwater contractor working in the embassy security detail". Not only that, but the report itself "doesn't mention civilian casualties" which is rather convenient given that a number of civilians were killed in the incident. Full story here.

And to make Blackwater's already bad day worse, the NY Times is reporting that

"A Blackwater USA employee under investigation in the killing last December of an Iraqi bodyguard in an off-duty confrontation was so drunk after fleeing the shooting that another group of guards took away the loaded pistol he was fumbling with, a report to a House committee said Monday."

The State Department's response was to give the bodyguard's family $250,000 compensation. However according to The Kansas City Star

the "payment proposed by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was too much, because it might lead Iraqis to "try to get killed so as to set up their family financially".

I bet the people or Iraq sit around and thank their lucky stars for the "protection" we're giving them...

Blackwater ordered out of Iraq.

This is going to be an interesting turn of events in Iraq. After a recent shooting involving Blackwater personnel left nine people dead, the government of Iraq is banning the security contractor. In addition, a top Iraqi judge is saying that charges can be brought against Blackwater for the deaths, which contradicts "Order 17" which gives private security companies and their employees immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Additionally, according to the Washington Post, "some security experts said it is unlikely that the Iraqi government could expel Blackwater because its contract is through the State Department."

So what happens now? Does the Iraqi government have the ability to decide what happens inside their borders yet or is the U.S. going to tell them what is best for them? If Blackwater is allowed to stay by the U.S. and nothing is done, will it breed more mistrust and resentment among the Iraqi people towards the U.S.? And if Blackwater is indeed forced to leave, will the military have to come up with an extra 2000 troops to cover the loss of Blackwater personnel?

Should be interesting indeed.

BTW - here is a not so unbiased video about Blackwater:

What do California and Al Qaeda have in common?

They both ban smoking! And according to Iron Eagle III co-star and presidential candidate Fred Thompson, the Al Qaeda policy of no-smoking pushed some tribes in Iraq to support the United States. Now, I will admit that California won't cut off your fingers if you smoke, but if banning smoking is something that Al Qaeda would do, what does that say about California?

As for Thompson - it is good to see him getting comfortable with the whole "using your family to get votes" part of politics:

His cue to stop talking came from 4-year-old daughter Hayden, who came on stage with a bow in her hair to tug on Thompson's pants leg - drawing "oohs" from the audience.

Of course I doubt if his 47 year old son would've been able to draw any "oohs" from the audience, but hopefully next time he'll use his 41 year old wife instead, because she's kinda hot and has a nice rack.