Iranian Press Condemns Blackwater - Oh No!

The Associated Press isn't the only one abandoning journalistic integrity when it comes to reporting on Blackwater. In fact, AP in very good company: the Iranian state-controlled media.

Iran's Press TV describes Blackwater's operations at Nisoor Square on 17 September last year as "an unprovoked shooting spree." Well I'm glad the Iranians have sorted out this difficult matter for us, a matter the FBI is still investigating. (Though Time magazine has reported that a variety of evidence supports Blackwater's account of events.)

The Iranians' journalism is almost laughable; one doesn't expect much more from the mouthpiece of a terrorist-sponsoring theocratic autocracy. But when the Associated Press (along with Reuters, the New York Times and others) use the same sort of non-nonsensically biased language, it's a cause for concern. It's time for more accountability in American journalism.

Administration misses deadline; jeopardizes private contractors

Despite President Bush's personal support for the private companies that provide security and military support in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush Administration has missed a deadine to provide a federal court with information that would be helpful Blackwater. Trial lawyers are suing the company for a fatal accident that occurred while supporting US troops in Afghanistan.

That failure could be a victory for the trial lawyers and spell defeat for US military forces and diplomats who need private sector support for their wartime operations and safety.

"After the President has said that, as Commander-in-Chief, he is ultimately responsible for contractors on the battlefield it is disappointing that his administration has been unwilling to make that interest clear before the courts," Blackwater CEO Erik Prince tells Time magazine after the administration missed a November 7 deadline. "And this is happening even as our professionals risk their lives every day in support of vital US priorities, while Congress and several federal agencies publicly discuss the issues at stake in this particular lawsuit."

A trial lawyer win would spell doom for the industry and the US government's dependence on it. According to Time, "Blackwater and other contractors say that if the Florida damages case is allowed to proceed, it will expose them to potentially large liabilities that could cripple their ability to play the role for which they're hired by the U.S. government. Blackwater has argued that because [a Blackwater operation in Afghanistan] was under the command and control of the U.S. military, the company should be covered by the same 'sovereign immunity' that protects the U.S. military from lawsuits."

Teamwork expands family aid charity

"The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) has teamed with security contractor Blackwater to expand its programs to provide comfort and care for the families of all deceased contractors who served on reconstruction projects, provided logistics support and personnel security, or were part of other missions in support of the Global War on Terrorism," TAPS announces in a release published by the Earth Times.

TAPS is a nonprofit charity that "has provided front line emotional support services, grief and trauma resources and information and case work assistance to thousands of surviving military families," according to the announcement.