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U.S. Restricts Diplomats As Iraq Reacts To Shootings

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By ROBERT H. REID and MATTHEW LEE, The Associated Press

Published: September 19, 2007

BAGHDAD - The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

The move comes amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider, Blackwater USA.

The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country, depriving U.S. diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.

'We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely, but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq,' government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.

The U.S. order confines most U.S. officials to a 3.5-square-mile area in the center of the city, meaning they cannot visit U.S.-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter. The notice did not say when the suspension would expire.

The Iraqi Cabinet decided Tuesday to review the status of all foreign security companies. Still, it was unclear how the dispute would play out, given the government's need to appear resolute in defending national sovereignty while maintaining its relationship with Washington at a time when U.S. public support for the mission is faltering.

Exploiting public rage over the killings of what police said were 11 civilians by Blackwater guards, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that the government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors.

Al-Sadr's office in Najaf said the government should nullify contracts of all foreign security companies, branding them 'criminal and intelligence firms.'

'This aggression would not have happened had it not been for the presence of the occupiers who brought these companies, most of whose members are criminals and ex-convicts in American and Western prisons,' the firebrand cleric says in a written statement.

Al-Sadr insisted that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prosecute those involved and ensure that families of the victims receive compensation.

Many Iraqis, who long have viewed security contractors as mercenaries, dismissed Blackwater's contention that its guards were attacked by armed insurgents and returned fire only to protect State Department personnel.

'We see the security firms ... doing whatever they want in the streets. They beat citizens and scorn them,' Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor said. 'If such a thing happened in America or Britain, would the American president or American citizens accept it?'

Blackwater is among three private security firms employed by the State Department to protect employees in Iraq, and expelling it would create huge problems for U.S. government operations in this country.

In a notice sent to Americans in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said it had taken the step to review the security of its personnel and possible increased threats to those leaving the Green Zone while accompanied by such security details.

The two other firms, both of which are based in Washington suburbs, are Dyncorp, based in Falls Church, Va., and Triple Canopy, based in Herndon, Va.

Neither has the resources of Blackwater, which includes a fleet of helicopters that provides added security for State Department personnel traveling through Baghdad's dangerous streets.

Details of the incident remain unclear.

Blackwater says State Department personnel came under attack from insurgents and that its guards returned fire. Iraqi police say a car bomb exploded near a State Department convoy and that Blackwater guards opened fire and 11 people were killed.

Also Tuesday, three U.S. soldiers were killed by an explosion near their patrol northeast of Baghdad, the military said.

A fourth soldier was killed in a vehicle accident in the northern province of Ninevah, according to the military.

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