Washington: October 6, 2007 - The story of Blackwater armored vehicles, which unfearingly and regularly used to carry out the operations of killing innocent Iraqi people, while moving on the vehicles, stirred the State Department.

As a reaction, the State Department has now declared to adopt stringent control over Blackwater USA, in and around Baghdad and further decided to send its own personnel as monitors on all Blackwater security convoys.

The department has further planned to install video cameras in Blackwater armored vehicles to produce a record of all operations that could be used in investigations of the use of force by private security contractors.

In addition, the State Department will also save recordings of all radio transmissions between Blackwater convoys and military and civilian agencies supervising them in Iraq.

In outlining the measures announced Friday, a State Department spokesman said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice  has approved the controlling and monitoring operations based on the initial recommendations of Patrick F. Kennedy, the department’s director of management policy.

Mr. Kennedy shall be the leader of a team Ms. Rice appointed to look at the way Blackwater and other private security contractors operate in Iraq. General public, who had strongly opposed this sort of mercilessly killings of innocent Iraqi people as reported by the New York Times seem to be satisfied by this new measures approved by the State Department.

Blackwater is one of three private companies providing security services to the State Department in Iraq, running heavily-armed escorts every time a prominent American civilian leaves the protected Green Zone. 

The requirement for ride-along monitors does not apply to the other two security contractors, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, the State Department said. Blackwater runs roughly 60 security convoys a week in central Iraq. (IR Summary).

Mr. Kennedy had originally selected Blackwater to provide security for top American civilian officials in Baghdad, when he served as chief of staff to L. Paul Bremer III, the administrator of the United States occupation authority in 2003 and 2004, Mr. Bremer said in an interview on Friday. That mission grew into a $1.2 billion multiyear security contract with the State Department for the company.

Blackwater is one of three private companies providing security services to the State Department in Iraq, running heavily-armed escorts every time a prominent American civilian leaves the protected Green Zone. The requirement for ride-along monitors does not apply to the other two security contractors, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, the State Department said. Blackwater runs roughly 60 security convoys a week in central Iraq.

The State Department measures announced on Friday are the first concrete response by the American government to the violent episode on Sept. 16 in central Baghdad involving several Blackwater teams that left as many as 17 Iraqis dead. Officials said the State Department would send dozens of its diplomatic security service agents to Baghdad so that there would be enough people in place to accompany every Blackwater convoy.

The State Department was facing new questions on Friday about its handling of another case, involving a former Blackwater guard who is suspected of shooting a bodyguard to an Iraqi vice president while drunk last Christmas Eve.

Full Story:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/washington/06blackwater.html?th&emc=th