Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of theWar on Terror (51 page)
Authors: Erik Prince
“fair and transparent investigation”
: “Iraq Battle Was Self-Defense, Security Firm Says,” CNN, September 18, 2007.
“If Blackwater left at this moment”
: Alissa J. Rubin and Andrew E. Kramer, “Al-Maliki Protests Killings,”
New York Times
, September 24, 2007.
“We have revoked Blackwater’s license”
: “Iraq Battle Was Self-Defense, Security Firm Says,” CNN, September 18, 2007.
“at the request of the incoming Interim Government of Iraq”
: “Security Council Endorses Formation of Sovereign Interim Government in Iraq; Welcomes End of Occupation by 30 June, Democratic Elections by January 2005,” United Nations, www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sc8117.doc.htm, captured August 10, 2013.
SOFAs between the United States and countries
: R. Chuck Mason, “Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Has It Been Utilized?,” Congressional Research Service, March 15, 2012.
“The issue most commonly addressed in a SOFA”
: Ibid.
“cancer that has spread and must be removed”
: Anthony H. Cordesman and Jose Ramos, “Sadr and the Mahdi Army: Evolution, Capabilities, and a New Direction,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, August 4, 2008.
“deeply affect Iraqi sovereignty”
: “Maliki Says Talks on Iraq-US Pact Deadlocked,” Agence France Presse, June 13, 2008.
lawyers “had some issues”
: “Blackwater’s 2005 Cameras Request Denied,”
Washington Times
, October 23, 2007.
“almost all global observers expressed anger”
: “Editorial: The Blackwater Lynching,”
Washington Times
, January 7, 2010.
Presidency Council of Iraq officially approved the SOFA
: “Sources: Five Blackwater Guards Charged,” Associated Press, December 5, 2008.
“a government has finally been formed”
: “Iraq: The Transition from a Military Mission to a Civilian-Led Effort,” Report to the Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, January 31, 2011.
“Secure ground and air movements”
: Ibid.
across Iraq for the foreseeable future
: Anna Fifield, “Contractors Reap $138bn from Iraq War,”
Financial Times
, March 18, 2013.
CHAPTER 14:
COLD AND TIMID SOULS
“The hearing will focus on the mission”
: Letter from Henry Waxman to Erik Prince, http://oversight-archive.waxman.house.gov/documents/20070920144454.pdf, captured August 10, 2013.
“nicotine is not addictive”
: “Tobacco CEO’s Statement to Congress, 1994 News Clip: ‘Nicotine Is Not Addictive,’” http://senate.ucsf.edu/tobacco/executives1994congress.html, captured August 10, 2013.
Valerie Plame spoke for the first time
: Andrea Seabrook, “The Public Debut of Valerie Plame Wilson,” NPR, March 17, 2007.
Waxman grilled former defense secretary
: Paul von Zielbauer, “Panel Queries Rumsfeld on Tillman Battle Death,”
New York Times
, August 2, 2007.
“FEMA’s toxic trailers”
: “Committee Holds Hearing on Manufacturers of FEMA’s Toxic Trailers,” Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, http://oversight-archive.waxman.house.gov/story.asp?id=2069, captured August 10, 2013.
2006 profile of the new committee chairman
: Karen Tumulty, “The Scariest Guy in Town,”
Time
, November 27, 2006.
wonderful speech at the Sorbonne
: Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic,” speech delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910.
No sooner had the congressional invitation
: Peter Spiegel, “Blackwater Told to Clear Disclosures,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 26, 2007.
“This letter serves to advise”
: Letter from Kiazan Moneypenny to Fred Roitz, accessible at http://iraqnam.blogspot.com/2007/09/house-oversight-committee-chair-state.html, captured August 10, 2013.
It is plain from the cited clause
: Ibid.
reached out to my personal counsel
: Author interview with Joseph Schmitz, July 2013.
“bury” its bad press
: Robert D. Novak, “Playing Politics with Blackwater,”
Washington Post
, October 8, 2007.
“I went to prison voluntarily”
: Tim Weiner, “Charles W. Colson, Watergate Felon Who Became Evangelical Leader, Dies at 80,”
New York Times
, April 21, 2012.
“You’re a SEAL”
: Author recollection.
“like life had taken a toll on him”
: Andrea Simakis, “Reasons and Closure Are Elusive, Even Four Years After Four Men Died,”
Plain Dealer
, May 30, 2008.
“no objection to Blackwater providing unclassified documents”
: Letter from Kiazan Moneypenny to Victor Esposito, accessible at http://iraqnam.blogspot.com/2007/09/house-oversight-committee-chair-state.html, captured August 10, 2013.
this awkward addendum
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
Waxman said to conclude his opening statement
: Ibid.
“Waxman of the Week” honors
: Mary Ann Akers and Paul Kane, “While Nevada Caucuses, the Senate Can Wait,”
Washington Post
, January 17, 2008.
“a remarkably unprecedented experiment”
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“We have to question in this hearing”
: Ibid.
“troubled that taxpayers have been taken for a ride”
: Ibid.
“Is that your idea, Mr. Prince, of corporate accountability?”
: Ibid.
“Where is the presumption of innocence?”
: Rick Anderson, “Welcome Aboard Blackwater Airlines,”
Seattle Weekly
, November 13, 2007.
randomly lit into right-wing radio personality
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“I am offended”
: Ibid.
“a fascinating, but also disturbing”
: P. W. Singer, “Blackwater Hearings Ain’t No
Superbad
,”
Wired
, October 2, 2007.
Back on November 27, 2004
: “Aircraft Accident Brief: CASA C-212-CC, N960BW,” National Transportation Safety Board, November 27, 2004.
loaded with four hundred pounds
: Ibid.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Travis Grogan and Specialist Harley Miller
: “The Crash of Blackwater Flight 61,” Memorandum to the Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
aircraft was flagged down as it taxied
: Rick Anderson, “Welcome Aboard Blackwater Airlines,”
Seattle Weekly
, November 13, 2007.
Blackwater 61 flew away from Bagram
: “Aircraft Accident Brief: CASA C-212-CC, N960BW,” National Transportation Safety Board, November 27, 2004.
“I hope I’m goin’ in the right valley”
: “Transcript: The Last Flight of Blackwater 61,”
Virginian-Pilot
, http://hamptonroads.com/2006/07/transcript-last-flight-blackwater-61, captured August 10, 2013.
a box canyon
: “Aircraft Accident Brief: CASA C-212-CC, N960BW,” National Transportation Safety Board, November 27, 2004.
“OK, we’re comin’ up to a box here”
: “Transcript: The Last Flight of Blackwater 61,”
Virginian-Pilot
, http://hamptonroads.com/2006/07/transcript-last-flight-blackwater-61, captured August 10, 2013.
“Yeah [the map] shows us”
: “The Edge of Reason: The Transcript of the Deadly Flight,”
Der Spiegel
, www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-edge-of-reason-the-transcript-of-the-deadly-flight-a-509853.html, captured August 12, 2013.
“It was good while it lasted”
: Ibid.
“I swear to God”
: Ibid.
“OK—yeah, you’re”
: Ibid.
“Call it off—help him out!”
: Ibid.
Investigators found that Blackwater 61 had impacted
: “Aircraft Accident Brief: CASA C-212-CC, N960BW,” National Transportation Safety Board, November 27, 2004.
English and Hammer were thrown
: Ibid.
Rowe’s remains
. . . strapped in their seats
: Ibid.
Two frozen urine stains
: Ibid.
“was concluded in only two weeks and contains numerous errors”
: Leo Shane III, “Report Blames Firm’s Training, Procedures for Fatal Crash in Afghanistan,”
Stars and Stripes
, October 6, 2005.
a deep conflict of interest
: “Executive Summary: CASA 212, N960BW,” Collateral Investigation Board, http://oversight-archive.waxman.house.gov/documents/20071012205257.pdf, captured August 12, 2013.
succeeded McMahon as executive
: “Colonel John Lynch,” U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, www-rucker.army.mil/usaace/directorates/cdid/tcm-ra/bio/director.html, captured August 12, 2013.
hovered over the site for approximately ten minutes
: “Aircraft Accident Brief: CASA C-212-CC, N960BW,” National Transportation Safety Board, November 27, 2004.
“begin the investigation of a major accident”
: “The Investigative Process at NTSB,” National Transportation Safety Board, www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process.html, captured August 12, 2013.
“the bulk of the so-called investigative work”
: Del Quentin Wilber, “A Crash’s Echoes, from War Zone to Washington,”
Washington Post
, October 17, 2007.
A memo the chairman circulated
: “The Crash of Blackwater Flight 61,” Memorandum to the Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
Their communication with Bagram
: Author copy of BW61 air traffic control transcripts.
“reconstruction and educational initiatives”
: “History of the 4th US Cavalry,” 3/4 Cavalry Chapter, www.3-4cav.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70, captured August 12, 2013.
“Task Force Saber remained”
: Ibid.
I acknowledged the obvious
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“Richard Pere pulled me into his office”
: “The Flight and Crash of ‘Blackwater 61,’”
60 Minutes
, June 27, 2010.
“I don’t think he could believe it himself”
: Ibid.
flying a thousand missions a month
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
renewed and expanded our contract
: “The Crash of Blackwater Flight 61,” Memorandum to the Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“I want to see”
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“We were hired”
: Ibid.
Commander’s Emergency Response Program
: “Military Operations: Actions Needed to Better Guide Project Selection for Commander’s Emergency Response Program and Improve Oversight in Iraq,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 23, 2008.
began with a lucky accident
: Donald P. Wright and Timothy R. Reese, “On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign—The United States Army in Operation
Iraqi Freedom,” www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2008/onpoint/chap09-02.htm, captured August 12, 2013.
American government and CPA
: Ibid.
“Where we think we have been wrong”
: “Interview: Gen. James Conway,” PBS
Frontline
, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/haditha/themes/civilians.html, captured August 12, 2013.
“We . . . see sort of a unique thing”
: Ibid.
this example of the unfortunate math
: “Military Operations: The Department of Defense’s Use of Solatia and Condolence Payments in Iraq and Afghanistan,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, May 31, 2007.
The blogosphere inevitably responded
: “How Much It Costs to Kill Someone in Afghanistan,”
Law in Action
blog, www.alphabetics.info/international/2012/03/16/how-much-it-costs-to-kill-someone-in-afghanistan/, captured August 12, 2013.
“The Army does not target civilians”
: Paul von Zielbauer, “Civilian Claims on U.S. Suggest the Toll of War,”
New York Times
, April 12, 2007.
Pentagon itself estimated $42.4 million
: Sharon Behn, “U.S. Paid $42.4 Million to Iraqis; Sum Covers ‘Collateral’ Damage; Number Compensated Unknown,”
Washington Times
, February 27, 2008.
“What I’m concerned about”
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2, 2007.
“That [payment] is similar to what DoD does”
: Ibid.
“Did you feel that [$20,000] was a satisfactory level”
: Ibid.