Private Guards Repel Attack on U.S. Headquarters

[kalian]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53059-2004Apr5.html

An attack by hundreds of Iraqi militia members on the U.S. government's headquarters in Najaf on Sunday was repulsed not by the U.S. military, but by eight commandos from a private security firm, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Before U.S. reinforcements could arrive, the firm, Blackwater Security Consulting, sent in its own helicopters amid an intense firefight to resupply its commandos with ammunition and to ferry out a wounded Marine, the sources said.

The role of Blackwater's commandos in Sunday's fighting in Najaf illuminates the gray zone between their formal role as bodyguards and the realities of operating in an active war zone. Thousands of armed private security contractors are operating in Iraq in a wide variety of missions and exchanging fire with Iraqis every day, according to informal after-action reports from several companies.

In Sunday's fighting, Shiite militia forces barraged the Blackwater commandos, four MPs and a Marine gunner with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 fire for hours before U.S. Special Forces troops arrived. A sniper on a nearby roof apparently wounded three men. U.S. troops faced heavy fighting in several Iraqi cities that day.

...more...

I know this article is a tad dated but its interesting to note how
they're trying to "justify" the mercs' presence in Iraq. By some
estimates, there are about 15,000 mercs working in and around Iraq.
That makes them the second largest military force after the US
military personnel. The Brits are then next in line with only 8,000
men total...

IMHO, this is proving that Iraq was (IS) about OIL. Its a private
army for Halliburton and other corporations that are there bcause
of the black gold. Something tells me that this is the future....