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Grieving U.S. Mom Hails Ban By Iraqis

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By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ANTHONY McCARTNEY, The New York Times The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2007

Updated: 09/18/2007 12:34 am

For the mother of Scott Helvenston, the Iraqi government's decision Monday to banish security firm Blackwater USA came nearly four years too late.

Helvenston, a graduate of Winter Haven High School and a Navy SEAL, was among four contractors killed by insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, in March 2004.

He and his comrades' charred, mutilated bodies were hung from a bridge in one of the most disturbing episodes of the Iraq war.

At the time of his death, Helvenston had been with Blackwater only a month.

'He never even got his first paycheck,' his mother, Katy Helvenston-Wettengel, said Monday.

Blackwater, which provides security to top U.S. officials in Iraq, has been banned from working in the country by the Iraqi government after a shooting involving a U.S. diplomatic convoy left eight Iraqis dead.

Helvenston-Wettengel, 61, expressed relief that Blackwater would be barred from further operations in Iraq.

She has sued Blackwater in federal court and testified about her son's death to Congress. She says the company left her son - who became the youngest Navy SEAL at 17 and later helped train Demi Moore for her role in the movie 'GI Jane' - unprepared for his mission in Fallujah.

Blackwater didn't provide Helvenston's convoy with maps, working GPS or allow their contractors to take other security precautions, she has claimed.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf of Iraq's Interior Ministry said the agency canceled Blackwater's license and said the government would prosecute the individuals involved.

But under the rules that govern private security contractors, the Iraqis do not have the authority to do so.

Several contractors said it was doubtful that the Iraqi government would carry through on the threat to expel Blackwater. 'For all intents and purposes they belong to the U.S. Department of State,' one contractor said.

The shooting took place in Baghdad on Sunday, but the details were still unclear. Bombs were going off in the area at the time, and shots were fired at the convoy, U.S. officials said.

'There was a firefight,' said Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman. 'We believe some innocent life was lost. Nobody wants to see that. But I can't tell you who was responsible for that.'

The deaths struck a nerve with Iraqis, who say that private security firms are often quick to shoot and rarely held responsible for their actions.

A law issued by the U.S. authority in Iraq before the United States handed over sovereignty to Iraqis gives the companies immunity from Iraqi law.

Senior officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, expressed outrage.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned al-Maliki late Monday and the two agreed to conduct a 'fair and transparent investigation' and hold any wrongdoers accountable, said Yassin Majid, an adviser to the prime minister. Rice was expected to visit the Mideast today.

'This is a big crime that we can't stay silent before,' said Jawad al-Bolani, the interior minister. 'Anyone who wants to have good relations with Iraq has to respect Iraqis. We apply the law and are committed to it.'

Blackwater Says It Was Attacked

Blackwater defended its actions, saying it had come under attack from militants.

'The 'civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies, and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire,' said Anne Tyrrell, a company spokeswoman, in an e-mail message. 'Blackwater professionals heroically defended American lives in a war zone.'

Initial reports from the U.S. Embassy said that a convoy of State Department vehicles came under fire in Nisour Square, a commercial area in western Baghdad that is clogged with construction, traffic and concrete blocks.

One vehicle became 'disabled' in the shooting. The officials did not say whether any of the convoy's security guards had fired back.

But two bombs exploded around the time of the convoy's passage, and Iraqis who were there said that guards in the U.S. motorcade, which had apparently been stuck in traffic, began shooting in response. That appeared to be confirmed by the embassy's information officer, Johann Schmonstes.

'The car bomb was in proximity to the place where State Department personnel were meeting, and that was the reason why Blackwater responded to the incident,' he said.

'Our people were reacting to a car bombing,' an embassy spokeswoman said.

Blackwater, based in North Carolina, has an estimated 1,000 employees in Iraq. The company has a high profile because it guards U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and other diplomats in the country. The company's black SUVs and agile, armed 'Little Bird' helicopters escort diplomatic convoys throughout Baghdad.

Helvenston Was On Reality Show

Helvenston-Wettengel said her son graduated from Winter Haven High before enlisting in the Navy and becoming part of the elite Navy SEAL unit. He later became a SEAL instructor and after leaving the military recorded fitness training videos and was part of a reality television show called 'Combat Missions.'

He took the Blackwater job, in part, because it is owned by a former SEAL and because it allowed him to sign a two-month contract. He had a job waiting for him in California when he returned, Helvenston-Wettengel said.

But Helvenston also went to Iraq because he thought he could to make a difference, his mother said.

'He thought, 'I can do some good over there,' ' Helvenston-Wettengel said.

He was 38 when he was killed, and left behind two children.

'I want them to be held accountable,' she said of her lawsuit.

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