Iraqis give Blackwater six months

It seems that the Iraqi Government is not giving up in its efforts to get rid of Blackwater. It will be interesting to see how this plays on Capitol Hill, given the way Henry Waxman’s committee has targeted this issue:

Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in
Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to
pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people
killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun
fire last month.

The demands – part of an Iraqi government report examined by The
Associated Press – also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the
Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face
possible trial in Iraqi courts.

The tone of the Iraqi report appears to signal further strains
between the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the White
House over the deaths in Nisoor Square – which have prompted a series
of U.S. and Iraqi probes and raised questions over the use of private
security contractors to guard U.S. diplomats and other officials. (AP via Huffington Post)