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Blackwater Blamed for Fallujah Bloodshed

Murder of unprepared patrol sparked battle

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 28, 2007 4:05 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Blackwater, the private security firm under investigation for a dozen civilian deaths in Iraq last week, is now being faulted for actions that led to a 2004 battle in which 36 US soldiers and 600 civilians were killed.  Blackwater is charged with sending a disorganized, unprepared four-man team into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, resulting  their murder and mutilation by insurgents, AP reports. That in turn triggered a bloody, month-long offensive by US forces.

The criticism comes in a report from a Democratic congressional committee investigating the incident. A Blackwater spokesman rejected the findings. "The terrorists determined what happened that fateful day in 2004," she said. The committee is chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, a longtime Blackwater critic. Blackwater founder Erik Prince is scheduled to testify before the panel next week.

Blackwater CEO and Founder Erik Prince (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)
Blackwater CEO and Founder Erik Prince (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)   (Associated Press)
Iraqis watch a passing U.S. Marine patrol next to a bridge across the Euphrates River in Fallujah, the site of the largest U.S. battle in Iraq, 65 kilometers (40 miles), west of Baghdad, Iraq, in this Monday, May 1, 2006 file photo. An angry mob strung the charred...
Iraqis watch a passing U.S. Marine patrol next to a bridge across the Euphrates River in Fallujah, the site of the largest U.S. battle in Iraq, 65 kilometers (40 miles), west of Baghdad, Iraq, in this...   (Associated Press)
U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski stands at the bridge in the western part of Fallujah, Iraq, where the bodies of two American contractors killed by militants were strung up in March, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2004. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski stands at the bridge in the western part of Fallujah, Iraq, where the bodies of two American contractors killed by militants were strung up in March, Sunday, Nov....   (Associated Press)
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Iraq • insurgents • Henry Waxman • State Department • Blackwater • contractors • Fallujah • David Marin • Donna Zovko • Wesley Batalona • Michael Teague • Scott Helvenston • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

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