The top security official at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq refused to punish Blackwater security guards for making false statements about an unjustified 2005 shooting in Baghdad because he didn't want to lower the morale of those contracted to work security, according to newly released State Department records.
Investigators from the department's Diplomatic Security Service concluded that four guards were not justified in spraying an Iraqi's car with more than 70 bullets, according to reports released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by USA TODAY. The fate of the car's driver was unknown because the security convoy left after the shooting.
The previously unreported Feb. 16, 2005, shooting occurred more than two years before a highly publicized incident in which Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad in September 2007.
So let's see if I've got this straight; a bunch of Blackwater goons blew the hell out of a car -- for no real reason -- they left the guy for dead, lied about the incident, and no one was punished for this because State Department didn't want security contractors to feel bad.
Is that about right?
Yeah, I'm afraid it looks like that's exactly right. Leave it to the Bush administration to get all touchy-feely about mercenaries' emotional health. You can kill and torture innocent people, but you can't hurt hired gunmen's feelings.
