Condi Rice

11/07/2007 -- Legislation that would phase out the use of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan was unveiled Wednesday by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jan Schakowsky. The bill would restore vital military functions to the military, reducing the reliance on unaccountable private security contractors in the war zones. As many as 48,000 heavily armed guards are among the private security contractors now operating in Iraq, performing sensitive functions that should be undertaken by U.S. military personnel.    » read more »

11/01/2007 -- WASHINGTON—Today Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) pressed the Bush Administration for more information about how size determinations were made before awarding Blackwater USA federal contracts. Last week, Senator Kerry inquired about a Small Business Administration (SBA) size ruling referenced in a Blackwater press release defending its classification of workers as independent contractors, not employees. The SBA provided some information on the size determination, but Senator Kerry says details on how the determination was made are still needed.    » read more »

01 November 2007 -- The U.S. State Department Thursday defended plans to begin forced assignments of diplomats to Iraq because of a lack of volunteers willing to serve there. It is the first time the U.S. diplomatic service has faced involuntary assignments since the Vietnam war.

Only about 50 positions in Iraq are to be filled through involuntary assignments out of a U.S. diplomatic corps that numbers more than 11,000 foreign service officers.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Reps. David E. Price (D-NC) and Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Peter Keisler and Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice requesting more information about the immunity deal for Blackwater guards involved in the shooting deaths of 17 civilians in Iraq, which was reported in today's Washington Post. Text of the letter is attached (pdf file).    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) sent the following letter today to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, asking for specific answers regarding the Blackwater investigation and about the Department’s reliance on security contractors in Iraq and elsewhere:

October 30, 2007

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- An Iraqi government spokesman says Iraq's Cabinet has approved draft legislation that lifts immunity from prosecution for private security firms in Iraq.

The spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said on Tuesday the measure will subject all security companies to Iraqi law and revoke the immunity given to foreign security contractors by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004.

He says the legislation will be sent to the parliament for ratification.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- The State Department said Tuesday that U.S.-hired private security guards accused of killing Iraqi civilians in September may still be subject to prosecution, despite a promise of immunity given by investigators. The case, involving contractors from the U.S. security firm Blackwater USA, has become a major irritant in U.S.-Iraqi relations.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- The U.S. Departments of State and Defense are moving toward a new system to control the activities of security contractors working for the two departments in Iraq. The department secretaries met Tuesday to review the issue, and are expected to make a final decision next month.    » read more »

Rather Than Hide Behind Bush Administration, Blackwater Should Come Clean on Taxes

10/26/2007 -- WASHINGTON—Today Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), pressed for more information about Blackwater USA’s alleged tax evasion. The private security firm has been under fire for hiding behind a Bush Administration business size ruling that classified some of their workers as independent contractors rather than employees to avoid paying at least $31 million in taxes.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, United States Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sent the following letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers on reports that State Department officials offered Blackwater guards immunity from prosecution, which may hinder a criminal investigation into the September shooting that killed at least 17 Iraqis.    » read more »

Blackwater May Have Misclassified Workers; Cheated American Taxpayers

October 26, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson asking for a full investigation and audit of how Blackwater USA classifies its workers.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- U.S. officials say a State Department promise of immunity to Blackwater USA guards may have compromised the probe into last month's shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi citizens.

Blackwater guards are accused of deliberately killing the civilians in Baghdad on September 16. The security firm says the Iraqis were killed when guards responded lawfully to an attack on a U.S. diplomatic convoy.

FBI investigators say the investigation has been hampered because the State Department gave guards immunity for statements, although the State Department had no authority to do so.    » read more »

25 October 2007 -- U.S. lawmakers have sharply questioned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about allegations that the State Department withheld information of corruption in Iraq, and steps by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to deal with it.

The appearance by Secretary of State Rice came after months of refusing to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee because of disagreements with the panel chairman, Democrat Henry Waxman.    » read more »

10/23/2007 -- WASHINGTON – In response to reports that Blackwater USA – the embattled private security firm providing protection for State Department officials in Iraq and Afghanistan – may have relied on information from the Bush Administration to evade payroll taxes, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) called on the Small Business Administration (SBA) to explain its potential involvement.    » read more »

October 22, 2007 -- New documents suggest that Blackwater may have engaged in significant tax evasion, failing to withhold and pay millions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, and related taxes, and sought to conceal its conduct from Congress and law enforcement officials.

In a letter to Eric Prince, the Chairman of the Prince Group, which owns Blackwater, House Oversight Committee Chairman Waxman writes:    » read more »