Polish Ambassador Praises Blackwater

Yesterday the Polish ambassador to Iraq, Lt. Gen. Edward Pietrzyk (pictured), gave an address at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington where he praised Blackwater, the private security contractor that rescued him after a terrorist attack last October.

The Polish government has already bestowed the Bronze and Silver Star awards upon Blackwater employees - the first awards given by the Poles to foreigners since World War II.

Video of the rescue can be found on this blog, while video of the AEI lecture can be found on their website. (Just click on the "Video" option in the upper right corner.)

Poland Decorates Blackwater Men for Valor - First Awards to Foreigners Since World War II

The government of Poland has bestowed its Silver Star and Bronze Star combat medals on foreigners for the first time since World War II - and Blackwater security men were the recipients.

Polish Ambassador to Iraq Edward Pietrzyk (fourth from right) presented the awards on behalf of his government in a January, 2008 ceremony to recognize the Blackwater guards for evacuating him by helicopter after an October 2007 assassination attempt. Poland is one of the most important NATO allies in Iraq.

The State Department's internal State Magazine has the story in its April, 2008 issue. The award ceremony was considered so important that US Ambassador Ryan Crocker (third from right) and General David Petraeus (left) attended and posed for pictures with the contractors. The above photo, picturing some of the Blackwater men, appears in the magazine.

Here's how the State Department describes the event:

"On January 25, Poland's ambassador to Iraq, Edward Pietrzyk, honored the heroism of 18 members of the US Embassy in Baghdad's regional security office who helped rescue his motorcade when it came under attack in Baghdad in October.

"The motorcade was struck by four roadside bombs and a barrage of small-arms fire from more than two dozen assailants. One member of the Polish Special Forces security detail was killed, several were wounded and Pietrzyk was severely burned.

"During the midday attack, the Polish security detail contacted the RSO's tactical operation center, which dispatched two helicopters. The arriving personnel found the motorcade group sheltering in a residential compound and provided first aid while evacuating the wounded. Ambassador Pietrzyk was flown to a combat surgical hospital and later to Poland. After several months of treatment, he returned to Iraq.

"In the award ceremony, with gloves still protecting his badly burned hands, the ambassador pinned on the shirts of his rescuers Poland's Silver and Bronze Star medals, the first time these awards had been given to foreigners since World War II.

"Attending were US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Forces - Iraq. Ambassador Crocker noted the long history of Polish-US mutual assistance.

"The award recipients are employees of the contractor Blackwater and work with the RSO to protect Mission Iraq staff."

Click here for a PDF of the April 2008 State Magazine. Scroll down to page 3 for the Blackwater rescue story.

Petraeus Presence with Blackwater Lays Criticisms to Rest

The presence of General David Petraeus at the Polish Embassy event to bestow combat medals on Blackwater security contractors in Iraq puts an end to the validity of criticisms that the military is at odds with the diplomatic security provider.

Petraeus is one of the busiest men in Iraq, and his time is at a premium. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker, as the supervisor of the Blackwater guards, was already at the event, ensuring a proper level of official recognition from a protocol standpoint. The Blackwater men were not under Petraeus' command. There was no need for Petraeus to attend, but he did it anyway. That's an important indication of his support for Blackwater and its mission.

Though under contract with the State Department, Blackwater has assisted the US military on many occasions in Iraq, and performed a number of unheralded evacuations and rescues of American troops.

(Photo: Petraeus, left, with Blackwater security contractors at Polish Embassy ceremony. Cropped from larger State Department photo from State Magazine, April 2008, p. 3.)

Poland decorates Blackwater men for saving ambassador's life

Poland's ambassador to Iraq has decorated Blackwater security professionals for their role in rescuing him and his aides after an October 3 assassination attempt in Baghdad.

Ambassador Edward Pietrzyk was badly burned in the ambush, and one of his guards was killed. He is pictured, bandaged, being rescued by troops. A Blackwater guard is shown at center-left in the blue-gray tee shirt, to place the ambassador on one of the company's "Little Bird" helicopters.

Speaking with reporters on February 4, US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker revealed that the Ambassador Pietrzyk bestowed medals on the Blackwater men: "Last week, the Polish Ambassador decorated about a dozen of them for saving his life back in October."

Wounded Polish ambassador makes slight recovery

Poland's Ambassador to Iraq, whom a Blackwater helicopter team rescued last week after an assassination attempt in Baghdad, is starting to recover from his injuries.

Ambassador Edward Pietrzy is suffering burns on 25 percent of his body and in his respiratory tract after terrorists bombed and shot up his diplomatic convoy October 3.

Polish external radio says Pietrzy is being awakened from an induced coma and is in "serious but stable" condition.

Since the attack, Poland has moved its Baghdad embassy into the Green Zone, AHN reports.

The US Embassy in Baghdad called Blackwater to send in one of its "Little Bird" helicopters to rescue Ambassador Pietrzy and his aides immediately after learning of the attack (see picture). The US military had no available aircraft or crew in the area who could land a helicopter in the street to recover the diplomat.

Photos show pilot skill in rescuing Polish envoy

Photos of the dramatic October 3 rescue of Polish Ambassador Edward Pietrzy show just how risky the maneuver was for the skilled Blackwater helicopter pilot.

It's no small thing to land a helicopter with its spinning rotor blades into a city street. Apart from possible terrorists and insurgents, the real dangers to the crew were the many lightposts and telephone and electrical lines that bordered the landing area.

In the top photo, the Blackwater "Little Bird" is shown landing, with high lamp posts on the right and what appear to be telephone or electrical poles on the left. The lower photo shows phone or electrical wires strung across the street. The slightest pilot error, shift in weight or unexpected wind could have caused havoc with the helicopter and with the people on the ground. The mission, however, was a complete success.

Video: Blackwater 'saved the day' for US ally

Blackwater helicopter crews "saved the day" for a key American ally in Iraq - the Polish ambassador to Baghdad, who was the target of an assassination attempt on October 3.

In a Fox News segment on October 5, the wounded ambassador is shown being escorted aboard a Blackwater "Little Bird" helicopter that landed on a street. The landing, amid high lamp posts on either side of the street that posed a danger to the helicopter's spinning blades, took a combination of guts and skill that have made Blackwater pilots famous worldwide.

The video shows both sides of the story, quoting top Iraqi officials and US lawmakers who harshly criticize the company, as well as statements from Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), who has visited Iraq 18 times and attests personally to the many times Blackwater protected his life.

Click here for the video. A sudden and annoying advertisement precedes the news segment.

(Pictured: Ambassador Pietrzyk being rushed to helicopter)

Positive press amid the feeding frenzy

While the press piles on Blackwater, usually ignoring or minimizing the company's unmatched accomplishments in Iraq, we find some bright spots in the media reporting and commentary. They include:

Bob Orr, "Blackwater: Who are these guys?" CBS News, October 5. Weighing what Blackwater's detractors and supporters say, Bob Orr of CBS News (pictured) writes, "Blackwater is effective. No Blackwater client has ever been killed. And the fact is there aren’t enough soldiers to do the jobs taken on by Blackwater and other security contractors. Add to that Blackwater’s intense training program and the fact that its employees are not amateurs – most come from elite military commando units, like Delta Force and Navy SEALS."

Even a Blackwater arch-critic, bestselling author of a book on the company, concedes a positive word. As Orr reports on CBS Evening News, "Some on Capitol Hill want Blackwater to be reined in. But, Jeremy Scahill, who wrote a book on the rise of Blackwater, says it's doing the jobs an already-stretched military can't handle. 'It's become one of the most powerful private actors in the so-called war on terror,' Scahill said."

Oliver North, "Henry Waxman should suspend vendetta against Blackwater," Fox News, October 4.

"Blackwater credited with diplomatic rescue," AeroNews.com, October 4. "Accused of cowboy tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan, the subject of Congressional hearings and the most despised private US security firm operating in American theaters of operations, Blackwater USA demonstrated Wednesday that even under fire, it can still get it right," the aviation industry news service reports.

"Witness the extraction of the critically wounded Polish ambassador to Iraq, blasted along with a member of his staff by a roadside bomb in downtown Baghdad.

"Gen. Edward Pietrzyk, Poland's ambassador to Baghdad, was suffered burns to his head, arms and hands as well as wounds to his leg in a blast that killed one of his employees and an Iraqi civilian. He and the other wounded members of his party were airlifted from the bomb site by helicopters operated by Blackwater USA."

"CBS News reports Blackwater's helos landed in the narrow street and picked up all the wounded, even though the contractor wasn't involved in protecting the Polish convoy. In spite of the effort, Blackwater is still under heavy fire from Iraqi government officials."

Greg Pollowitz, "Blackwater in the news, rescuing Polish ambassador from a horrific car bombing," National Review Online, October 3. Caption on article: "Underreported news."

CBS News carries solid report on Blackwater's rescue of Polish diplomats

CBS News ran a solid segment at the top of its October 4 program about Blackwater's dramatic rescue of the wounded Polish ambassador to Iraq who survived an assassination attempt. More on the report later. In the meantime, click here to view the video of an unusually balanced story.

Also see blogger Johnny Waltz, a disabled Navy veteran, for his take on the general news coverage of Blackwater, in his piece titled "Blackwater USA deeds usually go unnoticed."

Blackwater rescues Polish ambassador after assassination attempt

Elite Blackwater security men rescued Poland's ambassador to Iraq after a deadly terrorist attack trapped the NATO diplomat near the Polish embassy in Baghdad.

Click on the image to view a EuroNews video of the extraction.

Initial reports conflict or contain different details, but the Associated Press reports that three bombs exploded near or under the convoy of Polish Ambassador Edward Pietrzyk, destroying three armored vehicles and setting the ambassador's car afire. The terrorists then shot at the vehicles in what appeared to be a well-planned attack in one of Baghdad's safest neighborhoods.

At least 10 people were wounded, in the October 3 incident, including four members of Pietrzyk's Polish security detail, according to early reports. One of the ambassador's security guards died of his wounds. Polish guards reportedly wounded an Iraqi taxi driver when they returned fire.

The American Embassy dispatched a Blackwater helicopter team to save Ambassador Pietrzyk and his people. Reuters also shows the Blackwater rescue in a video report, but does not credit the company. The above photo is of a Blackwater "Little Bird" similar to the craft used in the rescue.

Readers of the Washington Post would have no idea the incident even occurred. Today's paper has a headline splashed across the top of the front page with a heartbreaking story about people who died in the September 16 incident in Baghdad. Buried back on page 16 is a three-paragraph item about the ambassador being attacked, but not a word about the rescuers. Kind of telling for a newspaper that has invested so many resources into reporting negatively about Blackwater.