A State Department panel is recommending that Blackwater be dropped as the main security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq. The report, which was commissioned by Condoleezza Rice, recommends that Blackwater’s contract not be renewed when it expires next year. The company has been unpopular in Iraq ever since five of its contractors were accused of murdering 17 civilians in Baghdad last year. It’s unclear exactly how the U.S. would replace Blackwater. The report recommends increasing the presence of the Diplomatic Security Service in Iraq.
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