Hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - Blackwater USA; Private Security Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan
Interview
Hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - Blackwater USA; Private Security Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan
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REP. DANNY K. DAVIS (D-IL): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Prince, throughout your testimony and in other comments attributed to you, you have praised the Blackwater personnel on the ground in Iraq, but mistakes do in fact happen. You do admit that Blackwater personnel have shot and killed innocent civilians, don't you?
MR. PRINCE: No, sir. I disagree with that. I think there's been times when guys are using defensive force to protect themselves, to protect the packages, trying to get away from danger, there could be ricochets, there are traffic accidents, yes. This is war. You know, since 2005 we've conducted in excess of 16,000 missions in Iraq, and 195 incidences with weapons discharge. In that time, did a ricochet hurt or kill an innocent person? That's entirely possible. Again, we do not have the luxury of staying behind to do that terrorist crime scene investigation to figure out what happened.
REP. D. DAVIS: Well, according to a document we obtained from the State Department, on June 25th, 2005, Blackwater guards shot and killed an innocent man who was standing by the side of the street. His death left six children alone with no one to provide them support. Are you familiar with this incident?
MR. PRINCE: I'm somewhat familiar with that incident. I believe what happened, there was a car bomb -- or a potential car bomb had rapidly approached our convoy. I believe our (guy/guys ?) shot rounds at the car, not at the driver, to warn them off. One of those rounds, as I understand, penetrated through the far side of the car, ricocheted and injured that innocent -- or killed that innocent man.
REP. D. DAVIS: Well, again --
MR. PRINCE: Let me -- go ahead, sir.
REP. D. DAVIS: According to the State Department document, this was a case, and I'm quoting, "involving the PSD personnel who failed to report the shooting, covered it up, and subsequently were removed from Al Hillah. State Department described the death as, and I quote, "the random death of an innocent Iraqi." Do you know why Blackwater officials failed to report this shooting and later tried to cover it up?
MR. PRINCE: I can clarify that fully, sir. Thanks for asking that question.
There was no coverup, because our people reported it to the State Department. They did look into the shooting and the justification of it, and it was deemed to be an appropriate use of force. The man was fired because he had tried to cover it up. He panicked and had asked the other team members to cover it up and to not report it.
We discovered that through our -- I mean, our policy worked. We reported the incident to the State Department, and that's why you folks have it in the committee, because we fired the guy, and he was terminated not for an inappropriate shooting but for not following the reporting procedure.
REP. D. DAVIS: Well, was there any reason this report was not provided to the committee?
MR. PRINCE: I don't know, sir. I'll have to -- I'll look into that and get back to you.
REP. D. DAVIS: Well, the same document states that the State Department contacted Blackwater headquarters to encourage you to offer this man's family compensation. After this shooting of an innocent man and after the attempted coverup, Blackwater paid $5,000 to the family. Is that not correct?
MR. PRINCE: I believe that was paid to the State Department. That's similar to what DOD does, what the Army does, if there is an accidental death from a -- whether it's an aerial bomb, a tank backs over somebody's car or injures someone. There is compensation paid to try to make amends.
But that was done through the State Department. That was not paid to try to hush it up or cover it up. That is part of the regular course of action. And there was no coverup, because we -- you know, our guys reported the incident, and the company fired him for not reporting the incident.
REP. D. DAVIS: Well, can you tell me how it was determined that this man's life was worth $5,000?
MR. PRINCE: We don't determine that value, sir. That's kind of an Iraq-wide policy. We don't make that one.
REP. D. DAVIS: Do you know how many payments Blackwater has made to compensate innocent Iraqis or their families for deaths or injuries caused by Blackwater personnel?
MR. PRINCE: I do not know that, sir.
REP. D. DAVIS: Do you know what the total value of those statements might be?
MR. PRINCE: No, sir.
REP. D. DAVIS: Could you supply the committee with that information?
MR. PRINCE: Yes, sir, I'll make sure we get it back to you.
REP. D. DAVIS: Thank you very much.
And Mr. Chairman, what I'm concerned about is the lack of accountability. If one of our soldiers shoots an innocent Iraqi, he or she can face a military court martial. But when a Blackwater guard does this, State Department helps arrange a payout to make the problem go away. This seems to be a double standard and it's causing all kind of problems in Iraq.
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