Blackwater USA - Close Ties to Bush/Cheney

Here is the local media spin on the evolving Blackwater USA investigation (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=133711&ran=173114&tref=po). Note the statement that Blackwater Chairman, Erik Prince (pictured at left), has close ties to the Bush administration. That most likely this cronyism explains why Blackwater has been allowed to run amok to date with few consequences:

A congressional panel that is to hear testimony today from Blackwater USA Chairman Erik Prince released data Monday showing that the company’s contractors have been involved in nearly 200 shooting incidents in Iraq since Jan. 1, 2005. In 84 percent of those incidents, the data show, Blackwater personnel were the first to fire. Under the terms of Blackwater’s security contract with the State Department, the company’s operators are restricted to defensive use of force to prevent “imminent and grave danger” to themselves or others. In practice, however,” a committee Democratic staff analysis found, “the vast majority of Blackwater weapons discharges are preemptive. ”

It will be a rare public appearance for Prince, who has close ties to the Republican administration. He is sure to face aggressive questioning from the Democrat-led panel after a Sept. 16 shooting incident involving Blackwater contractors in Baghdad in which at least 11 Iraqis died. “We look forward to setting the record straight on this issue and others,” Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said Monday in an e-mail statement.

Blackwater’s internal reports document 16 confirmed Iraqi deaths or injuries in 195 shooting incidents since the beginning of 2005, not including the Sept. 16 incident. The total could be higher, the committee staff noted, because in the vast majority of cases the contractors were firing from moving vehicles and did not stop to determine whether there were casualties.

Why stop? These are Iraqi, non-Christians, so why would the Chimperator (or his supporters like Daddy Dobson) care how many are being killed and/or whether or not they were civilians.