NPR: Maliki Again Questions Future of Blackwater in Iraq

Maliki Again Questions Future of Blackwater in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (right) speaks as Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi looks on during a press conference today in Baghdad.

Hadi Mizban/Getty Images

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seemed to toughen his stance against the U.S. security firm Blackwater USA today, questioning whether the company has any future in Iraq after being involved in a number of shooting incidents.

"I believe the big numbers of accusations directed against (Blackwater) do not make it valid to stay in Iraq," Maliki told a news conference in Baghdad, according to Reuters.

On Tuesday, Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder, defended his company before a House committee. "I believe we acted appropriately at all times," he said. "We're the targets of the same ruthless enemies that have killed more than 3,800 American military personnel and thousands of innocent Iraqis."

But a report in today's Washington Post quotes former Blackwater guards who said security contractors fired their weapons far more often than has been previously reported. One former Blackwater guard told the Post that "his 20-man team averaged 'four or five' shootings a week, or several times the rate of 1.4 incidents a week reported by the company. The underreporting of shooting incidents was routine in Iraq, according to this former guard."

1:43 PM ET | 10- 3-2007 | permalink

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