Published: 10/19/07, 6:46 PM EDT
By RICHARD LARDNER


WASHINGTON (AP) - Blackwater USA tried to take at least two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq two years ago and refused to give the planes back when Iraqi officials sought to reclaim them, according to a congressional committee investigating the private security contractor.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants the company to provide all documents related to the attempted shipment and to explain where the aircraft are now.

In a letter sent Friday to Erik Prince, Blackwater's top executive, Waxman said he learned of the 2005 attempt from a military official who contacted the committee. That official is not identified in the letter, nor is the type of aircraft.

Waxman also is seeking a sweeping amount of information about Blackwater's business, including its contracts with the federal government, profits made since the company was founded a decade ago, Prince's personal earnings since 2001, and details about the payments to the families of Iraqis killed by Blackwater personnel.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company is cooperating with the committee but declined to comment further.

When Prince testified before the oversight committee on Oct. 2, he was asked to disclose financial data but declined to do so in an open setting, noting it would give his competitors an unfair edge.

"We're a private company and there's a key word there - private," Prince said.

In addition to his seven-page letter to Prince, Waxman also sent letters Friday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seeking more information on Blackwater and its overseas operations.

Blackwater and two other security contractors share a $571 million annual contract to protect diplomats and others in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and other countries. The Iraq share of the contract accounts for about $520 million and the bulk of that total goes to Blackwater.

Waxman wants Rice to supply the oversight committee with particulars about a 2004 contract Blackwater received from State on a noncompetitive basis in 2004. He also wants investigative reports and any other documents related to the discharge of weapons and improper or unprofessional behavior by Blackwater personnel.

From Gates, Waxman wants records and individuals with specifics about a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater guards that left 17 Iraqis dead and a Dec. 24, 2006, incident in which a Blackwater guard killed an Iraqi security worker.

The guard, Andrew Moonen, was subsequently flown out of Iraq and fired by Blackwater. The Justice Department is continuing to investigate the case.

In all three letters, Waxman wants the information provided by Nov. 2.



What the hell is going on here???

should be obvious...this is Bush's private army...his brown shirts...
apparently they fear no one because they are protected from the
upper levels of the government...

these are the same guys that went into new orleans to collect
guns & keep the peace....yeah right...

The way they refused to answer questions. I was waiting on Prince to declare executive privlage!!

If you saw the interview on 60 mins it was very apparent where
their attitude lies...the interviewer was trying to get him to admit
he felt "bad" about innocent Iraqi casualties...the best she could
pry out of that monsters mouth was that it was unfortunate about
the "collateral" damage...and she baited him a number of times...

wait till Blackwater comes home and is used here...and it will happen..

You are probably right, but I just cant fiqure out why they need the airplanes. Are they planning on bombing someone or flying in their own supplys?

if you wanted to manipulate the war theatre it would come in handy to
have a couple planes to make combat runs that you can blame on the enemy...
conspiratorial yes...but it fits pretty nicely

yes it does......Hmmmmmmmmmm

Blackwater on Shaky Ground in Iraq
Contractor likely to be phased out in the aftermath of civilian killings, officials say.
By WARREN P. STROBEL
McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON |
Troubled military contractor Blackwater USA is likely to be eased out of its role of guarding U.S. diplomats in Iraq in the aftermath of a shooting last month that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, U.S. officials said Friday.

While no decisions have been finalized, Blackwater's role in Baghdad is likely to be taken over by one of two other contractors who provide security for the State Department in Iraq, the officials said. They are Triple Canopy andDynCorp International.

"There will be some sort of disengagement process, but it won't be that they're shown the door," a State Department official said.

"As one builds down, another builds up."

He and other U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hadn't received an oral report from a four-person team led by Patrick Kennedy, the department'sdirector of management policy. The team reviewed State Department security operations in Iraq.

Blackwater has denied wrongdoing in the Sept. 16 shooting, the latest deadly incident involving its employees in Iraq, saying the guards were defending themselves. But reports by the U.S. military and the Iraqi government say the Blackwater guards fired without provocation.

Iraq's government has demanded that Blackwater leave Iraq within six months.

A company spokeswoman, Anne Tyrrell, didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Blackwater's current work order under a State Department contract worth$834 million reportedly runs out in May 2008.

It's unclear whether Blackwater employees in Iraq could simply switch employers.

And, according to congressional officials, the State Department's Diplomatic Security service argues that it cannot operate without the helicopters that Blackwater provides for escort and rescue efforts.

In a related development Friday, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said in a letter that Blackwater attempted to transport two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq without official permission.

In the letter to Blackwater founder Erik Prince, Waxman said that an unnamed military official told his House Oversight Committee that "the Iraqi ministry of defense attempted to reclaim the aircraft, but that Blackwater would not comply."

Waxman also alleged that Prince had misled the committee in testimony earlier this month.

Prince had said that the company's early contracts with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and the State Department were competitively bid, when in fact they were sole-source contracts.

Waxman demanded that Prince turn over a wealth of company information to the committee, including contract documents, Blackwater's profit data and information about Prince's compensation.

In the letter, and in a separate one to Rice, he asked for details about payments that the company has given to the families of Iraqis whom Blackwater employees had killed.
Last modified: October 20. 2007 12:00AM

I was reading that earlier woman!!!

Hard luck, read it again and stop complaining

Hard luck, read it again and stop complaining

Hard luck, read it again and stop complaining

You must have really wanted to say that....

if you wanted to manipulate the war theatre it would come in handy to
have a couple planes to make combat runs that you can blame on the enemy...
conspiratorial yes...but it fits pretty nicely

----------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds like Operation Northwoods all over again.

Good point, Davinci

Ah I see it's the same old group feeding one each other's paranoia Been away for a while did you all remember to chance the aluminum foil in your hats?

Whats up gardenforge

Im suited up!!

Welcome back, Forge .

All rested up and ready for this war zone again?

Strap-on that lead vest forge and jump in!!

I am sure there wont be a long wait.

IRAN IS CALLING....