CBS: Three weeks after Blackwater shooting, FBI ignores key evidence

What a surprise - NOT- in Bush's Amerika. As I have previously posted, Blackwater USA has high level ties to the Bush/Cheney regime. Why be surprised that a white wash may be going on in respect to the investigation into Balckwater's possible misdeeds. This RawStroy report (http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CBS_Blackwater_shooters_have_scattered_to_1009.html), highlights of which are set out below, raises unsettling questions:

CBS News reported on Tuesday that the FBI's investigation of last month's Blackwater shooting incident in Baghdad appears to be ignoring evidence that might support the Iraqi government's version of events and hold Blackwater at fault. "The FBI investigation is supposed to wrap up in days, not weeks, but there's still a lot of work to do," reports CBS. "Our investigation turned up many witnesses who haven't yet been interviewed, not to mention vehicles that are key evidence still driving around the streets of Baghdad."

According to the CBS reconstruction of events, based on "remarkably consistent" eyewitness accounts, the September 16 incident began when a four-vehicle Blackwater convoy heading around a traffic circle found its way blocked by a barrier protecting a maintenance crew. The convoy tried to warn nearby cars to stop but also opened fire on one car that continued to inch forward, instantly killing the driver. The Blackwater vehicles then pushed the barrier aside and moved ahead, firing on other cars and a city bus as they went.

Military analyst Col. (ret.) Steve Lyons said there is little chance the US government will meet Iraqi demands either by severing all ties with Blackwater, which is by far the largest and most competent of the many security contractors in Iraq, or by turning over the gunmen responsible for the shooting. Even the Iraqi demand of $8 million in compensation for each of the victims is uncertain. "These contractors are long gone," Lyons stated. "They're back in the United States. They've scattered, really, to the four winds. ... They're not going to get any money from those individuals."

When the FBI team set off for Baghdad last week, Senator Patrick Leahy made a special request that they not be guarded by Blackwater, writing to Secretary of State Rice, “This step would help alleviate the appearance of a conflict of interest and hopefully contribute to the credibility of this investigation in the eyes of the people of Iraq."