At first, it seemed to be a random attack. But now the security firm — Blackwater USA — said the workers were lured into a planned ambush by men they thought were friendly members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
A Blackwater official told The New York Times that the company doesn’t know if the men were active members of the corps or impostors wearing corps uniforms.
Another interesting detail to add to the growing collection of examples showing that the ICDC and Iraqi “Police” have turned on their “coalition” masters and are actively engaged in the insurgency.
You may have noticed that when the US marines first announced the siege of Fallujah, they claimed that there were Iraqi ICDC with them, some stories saying two battalions. All mention of Iraqis fighting for the coalition has disappeared.
Here is a story rather amusing in hindsight, of the last ICDC payday before the siege.
After walking out the gates of the Marines’ base on Saturday with wads of Iraqi dinars —- the local currency —- in their hands, many of the troops could be seen shedding their uniforms and donning civilian clothes for the ride back into town. They are not yet ready to come out as America’s allies, some of the Marines said.
From the NYTimes story, Security Firm Says Its Workers Were Lured Into Iraqi Ambush
Imposters or not, he said, the incident underscored deepening concern about the reliability of the Iraqi civil defense forces at a time when allied troops are fighting in many parts of Iraq to suppress militant Sunni and Shiite groups.
Mr. Toohey’s account, if confirmed, could deflect blame for the incident from Blackwater, which is based in Moyock, N.C. And the company’s initial findings are in line with recent complaints from senior American officials about Iraqi forces.
In testimony last month to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top American commander in the Middle East, spoke openly of his worries about the Iraqi security and police forces, now numbering more than 200,000.
“There’s no doubt that terrorists and insurgents will attempt to infiltrate the security forces,” he said. “We know it’s happening, and we know it has happened. We attempt to do our best with regard to vetting people.”
Also, the Pentagon has received new intelligence reports warning that Sunni and Shiite militia groups have been ransacking Iraqi police stations in some cities, and then handing out both weapons and police uniforms to angry mobs, government officials said.
Yesterday, the interim interior minister of Iraq, the official responsible for the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, resigned, citing criticism from L. Paul Bremer III, the American administrator. Although Blackwater provides for Mr. Bremer’s personal security detail, it is not clear whether Mr. Bremer’s criticism specifically related to the Falluja attack on the Blackwater team.
“There’s a question about whether they were set up and whether it was an inside job by Iraqi civil defense people,” one American intelligence official said. “That’s a problem across Iraq, knowing which of the so-called Iraqi police forces are on our side and on their side. There’s no question there is information flowing out to the bad guys.”
UPDATE – On the NYTimes article linked above, Jim Henley directs us to this post by flit, who makes a devastating observation.
The drivers and other witnesses, he said, described “a classic, well-planned vehicle ambush” in which the five-vehicle convoy was suddenly blocked from the front and the rear by vehicles.
“The ICDC blocked the road, and the ambush happened,” he said, referring to the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, a force trained by the United States to guard roads and utilities and to fight insurgents. The assailants first “opened up at point-blank range” on the rear car in the convoy, he said, then fired on the lead vehicle.
* The Times doesn’t explicitly say it, but the implication is clear: they trapped them all, and then let the Iraqis go. (Remember, this is allegedly the same Fallujah ICDC who Reynolds and Sullivan and many others praised last month as the new minutemen, too.)
A couple other things are clarified now:
- The three flatbed trucks being guarded were for moving kitchen equipment, presumably for Regency Hoteliers. No food involved.
- The convoy met their “escorts” at the intersection of Highways 10 and 1, but the ambush itself occurred deeper inside the city proper.