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Trucks' Repairs Hinder Blackwater Probe

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By LARA JAKES JORDAN And MATT APUZZO, The Associated Press

Published: January 13, 2008

WASHINGTON - Blackwater Worldwide repaired and repainted its trucks immediately after a deadly September shooting in Baghdad, making it difficult to determine whether enemy gunfire provoked the attack, said people familiar with the government investigation of the incident.

Damage to the vehicles in the convoy has been held up by Blackwater as proof that its security guards were defending themselves against an insurgent ambush when they fired into a busy intersection, leaving 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

U.S. military investigators initially found "no enemy activity involved," and the Iraqi government concluded the shootings were unprovoked.

The repairs destroyed evidence Justice Department investigators hoped to examine in a criminal case that has drawn worldwide attention. The Sept. 16 shootings have strained U.S. relations with Iraq's government, which wants Blackwater expelled. They also have become a flash point in the debate over whether contractors are immune from legal consequences for their actions in a war zone.

Blackwater's four armored vehicles were repaired or repainted within days of the shootings, and before FBI teams went to Baghdad to collect evidence, people close to the case said.

The work included repairs to a damaged radiator that Blackwater says is central to its defense.

The damage and repairs were described to The Associated Press by five people familiar with the case. All wanted to speak on condition of anonymity, they said, because of the sensitivity of the case.

The repair work is a hurdle for prosecutors as they consider building a case against any of the 19 guards in the Sept. 16 convoy. It also makes it harder for Blackwater to prove its innocence as it faces a grand jury investigation and multiple lawsuits over the shooting.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said repairs "would have been done at the government's direction." The contract with the State Department requires Blackwater to maintain vehicles and keep them on the road.

The State Department would not comment on whether it ordered repairs to the vehicles in the shooting.
Blackwater chief executive Erik Prince has cited the damaged trucks to counter accusations his contractors acted improperly.

He said in the fall that three of Blackwater's armored vehicles were hit by gunfire and the radiator of one was "shot out and disabled" in Baghdad's Nisoor Square.

An early State Department report supports Prince's statements. The report said the Blackwater command vehicle was "disabled during the attack" and had to be towed.

Evidence gaps will force investigators to rely more on testimony and statements from witnesses. Those efforts have been hampered by a State Department deal giving Blackwater guards limited immunity for their statements after the incident.

As a result, the Justice Department cannot use those interviews in its criminal investigation.

North Carolina-based Blackwater is the largest private security company protecting U.S. officials in Iraq. It has been paid more than $1 billion since 2001.

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