Blackwater In Iraq: Won't Be Allowed To Work There

BAGHDAD — Gunmen apparently targeting political candidates staged attacks around Iraq on Thursday, leaving at least three people dead as Iraqi forces began imposing a full-scale security clampdown in advance of voting for provincial council seats.

The level of violence around Iraq is significantly lower than in past years, but Saturday's election is seen as an important test of Iraqi self-reliance and competence as the U.S. military turns over more authorities to local forces.

Blanket security measures were scheduled to take effect beginning Friday, including closing Iraq's international borders, ordering traffic bans across Baghdad and major cities and halting air traffic. Hundreds of women, including teachers and civic workers, have been recruited to help search women voters after a rise in female suicide bombers last year.

In Baghdad, a Sunni candidate, Omer Farooq al-Ani, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he stepped from his home in the western Amiriya neighborhood, said a police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Al-Ani, a member of his neighborhood council, was running for the provincial seat under the biggest Sunni political group, the Islamic Iraq Party.

Northeast of Baghdad, another Sunni candidate was killed in a shooting ambush as he walked from a rally in Mandli in Diyala Province. The candidate, Abbas Farhan, was killed along with two others.

In the northern city of Mosul, gunmen fired from a passing car and killed a candidate and former army officer, Hazim Salim, a member of the Unity List, a group of independent Sunni politicians.

The two attacks were reported by police in Diyala and Mosul, also speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give the information.

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The U.S. military is taking a sideline role in direct security for the elections, but plan to send heavy troop deployments into the streets during the voting.

A military spokesman, Maj. Gen. David Perkins, said there is always the risk of attacks by groups "who see the progress of democracy as a threat to them" _ a reference to insurgent groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq that have been weakened but are still active.

"They want an Iraq that is divided according to sectarian lines, an Iraq that is ruled by fear, they want an Iraq that does not know the rule of law, so these are the groups that do not want democracy to move forward," he told a news conference.

In another possible flashpoint before the vote, Iraqi security forces detained three candidates loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr following a political rally in Baghdad.

Al-Sadr controls the powerful Mahdi Army militia and is desperate to maintain a strong political hand despite pressures from Iraq's government.

"Detaining the candidates is a serious precedent," said a parliament member in the Sadrist bloc, Baha al-Araji.

More than 14,400 candidates are competing for 440 seats in 14 of the country's 18 provinces.

Comments

[Okay]

And Blackwater has what to do with this story? I read and reread the article....the only part about Blackwater was in the title... I really get perturbed when Huffposters dupe me into reading a benign article like this. Come on you folks...you can do better than this.

[Dane LaBonte]

what does this article have to do with blackwater?

[sixx]

Private armies bad idea from the Rome Empire, still bad.

[Randolph Peters]

Talk about burying the lede. Blackwater is not even mentioned once in this entire post, except the headline.

[PlayTOE]

Headline about Blackwater providing gunmen to Iraq.

Article about some drive by political assassinations.

? Are we supposed to put two and two together ?

[blastit]

Blackwater are terrorist..plan and simple killers for hire, they can be used against us too.

[ProfessorDuh]

Exactly. And they were in New Orleans.

[bubbuh]

BTW, what does this article have to with Blackwater unles they are providing the gunmen?

[bubbuh]

Now Blackwater Jack, he bought a shotgun
'Cause he was in the mood for a little confrontation
He just let it all hang loose
He thought he had the juice
To deal random abuse
So he shot down the congregation

You can't talk to a man
With a grenade in his hand
Shotgun

Now Big Dick the chief stood for law and order
He called for the guard to come and surround the warder
Now from his bulldog mouth
As he led the posse south
Came the cry, we got to ride
Clean up the proofs for our lives and our lawyers.

You can't talk to the man
When he wants it all buried in sand
No, no, no, no, no, no

The account of the capture was in the papers
But you know, they let ole Black go then instead of later
You know the people were bemused
'Cause the outlaw had been loosed
And on the whole, it was a very good year
For the undertaker

But now it's a different year and we're dealing in prose.

[ProfessorDuh]

Filthy, mercenary slime.

[DoctorWhoDat]

Black Water can now work directly for Cheney

[lynettema]

And probably will.

[darter22]

When I saw the headline, "Blackwater in Iraq" it made me think I was about to read an article about Blackwater. Am I imagining things or was this an article about the upcoming Iraqi elections with no mention of Blackwater?

[acacia72]

Maybe the webmaster at the Huffington Post wanted to see if folks were reading the articles before commenting? heh

[blurredtruth]

The problem that the previous administration should have resolved rather than sticking to American tax payers. This is good.

[motoGpifupleez]

Believe it when it actually happens. The "sovereign" nation of Iraq has tried to rid itself of these pathetic parasites for years only to be told by America that Iraq has no say regarding the workings within the Iraqi borders. Maybe Blackwater will be held accountable for their crimes when they "accidentally" harm the relative of the American administration.

[davidwayneosedach]

They'll come back to San Diego for some R&R before returning to Iraq in 6 months.

[motoGpifupleez]

While I am glad the Iraqis are looking to assert themselves when it comes to making the decisions regarding their own country, I'll believe the Blackwater mercenaries are gone when they actually leave.
Iraq has tried to rid themselves of these murderous parasites for quite a while and have been reminded that they never really were sovereign. Now that Barack Obama is President, maybe America will finally allow Iraqis to be fully in charge of Iraq and let Iraqi decisions about Iraq have some iron.
Best of all, maybe now the Iraqis can prosecute Blackwater for the Nisor Square murders.
As an American, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the Iraqi people for the misdeeds of Blackwater against your country and your people. I hope you're reading this site because you sure aren't ever going to get an apology from those rotten cowards.