Today was a good day:
Blackwater: Agency can leave Iraq in 72 hours
U.S. embassy told to find new security after contractors' 'improper conduct'
BAGHDAD - Blackwater Worldwide, which guards American diplomats in Iraq, said Thursday it would be prepared to leave that country within 72 hours after Iraqi officials denied the North Carolina-based company an operating license because of a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad.
Of course Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, has decided to play the "fear and smear" card. What a shock:
"Our abrupt departure would far more hurt the reconstruction team and the diplomats trying to rebuild the country than it would hurt us as a business," Prince said Thursday in an exclusive interview with the AP.
Blackwater's unprofessional actions and civilian shootings were the cause of the Iraqi government's decision to kick Blackwater out.
Iraqi officials said the lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead led to its decision.
The shooting strained relations between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, where many Iraqis saw the bloodshed as a demonstration of American brutality and arrogance. Five former Blackwater guards have pleaded not guilty to federal charges in the United States that include 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter.
More change we can believe in.