Lynn C. Woolsey: “this week, we heard reports that private military contractor Blackwater has been ordered out of Iraq and had its license…”

“this week, we heard reports that private military contractor Blackwater has been ordered out of Iraq and had its license revoked after a shootout that took the lives of at least eight Iraqi civilians. This didn't happen in the ``wild west'' of Iraq, not even in the so-called ``triangle of death.'' Mr. Speaker, it happened within the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad. That's the area where the so-called surge was supposed to bring peace and stability. One account of the scene goes like this: a witness, Muhammad Hussein, saw his brother killed in the gunfight. Muhammad said, I was driving behind my brother's car and suddenly there was an explosion and firing. I tried to figure out what was happening when I saw a black convoy ahead of us, he told an international news agency, and went on to say, Soon after, I saw my brother slumped in the car. I dragged him out of the car and tried to hide to avoid the firing, but realized that he had been shot in the chest and he was already dead. That's what he said. So, Mr. Speaker, one week after General Petraeus came up to the Hill to brief Members of Congress, we are seeing private military contractors killing civil civilians in the streets of Baghdad. Is this the measure of success of the escalation? I should hope not. I should think not. To this date, the administration has either been unwilling or unable to account for all the private military contractors in Iraq. Contractors have their own rules.…”