Oh, Blackwater!

And the hits keep coming for Blackwater. An article in today's NY Times relates another incident of the out-of-control private contractor pulling a stunt that this time turns out to be a violation of an international treaty signed by the US.

Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas, a riot-control substance the American military in Iraq can use only under the strictest conditions and with the approval of top military commanders. An armored vehicle on the ground also released the gas, temporarily blinding drivers, passers-by and at least 10 American soldiers operating the checkpoint. ...

Both the helicopter and the vehicle involved in the incident at the Assassins’ Gate checkpoint were not from the United States military, but were part of a convoy operated by Blackwater Worldwide, the private security contractor that is under scrutiny for its role in a series of violent episodes in Iraq, including a September shooting in downtown Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead. ...

Officers and noncommissioned officers from the Third Infantry Division who were involved in the episode said there were no signs of violence at the checkpoint. Instead, they said, the Blackwater convoy appeared to be stuck in traffic and may have been trying to use the riot-control agent as a way to clear a path. [Emphasis added]

Now the military had several grounds to complain about the incident. First, US soldiers charged with the checkpoint were affected by the chemical which left them temporarily blinded and gasping for breath. It must have been pretty hard to do the jobs of checking for car bombs and snipers in that condition. Second, Blackwater was using a chemical forbidden by use by the military for crowd control unless authorized by the President or the senior officer in the region.

Blackwater's response to the story is just as charming as it usually is when the company has been busted. This time it was "Oops, our bad!"

Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater, said the CS gas had been released by mistake.

“Blackwater teams in the air and on the ground were preparing a secure route near a checkpoint to provide passage for a motorcade,” Ms. Tyrrell said in an e-mail message. “It seems a CS gas canister was mistaken for a smoke canister and released near an intersection and checkpoint.”

She said that the episode was reported to the United States Embassy in Baghdad, and that the embassy’s chief security officer and the Department of Defense conducted a full investigation. The troops exposed to the gas also said they reported it to their superiors. But military officials in Washington and Baghdad said they could not confirm that an investigation had been conducted. Officials at the State Department, which contracted with Blackwater to provide diplomatic security, also could not confirm that an investigation had taken place. [Emphasis added]

The excuse offered by Ms. Tyrrell seems to corroborate the soldiers' contention that the Blackwater people were hell-bent on clearing a path of its convoy with no regard for the soldiers doing the job they were assigned at the checkpoint.

What is so disturbing about the incident is that neither the military nor the State Department apparently did anything about it, even after the incident was reported. It's not hard to see why the private contractor continued to run amok for the next several years: no one seemed to care what Blackwater employees did and how they did it.

Shameful.