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Blackwater Families Fight Back accountability from the US government," Katy Helvenston, whose But while Blackwater enjoyed its new status as a hero in the son Scott was one of the Blackwater contractors killed, told the "war on terror" within the Administration and the Republican- committee. "Therefore, Blackwater can continue accepting controlled Congress, the families of the four men killed at hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money from the Fallujah say they were being stonewalled by Blackwater as they government without having to answer a single question about its attempted to understand the circumstances of how their loved security operators." ones were killed. After what they allege was months of effort to Citing the pending litigation, Blackwater's general counsel, get straight answers from the company, the families filed a Andrew Howell, declined to respond to many of the charges groundbreaking wrongful death lawsuit against Blackwater in levied against his company by the families and asked several January 2005, accusing the company of not providing the men times for the committee to go into closed session. "The men who with what they say were contractually guaranteed safeguards. went on the mission on March 31, each had their weapons and Among the allegations: the company sent them on the Fallujah they had sufficient ammunition," Howell told the committee, mission that day short by two men, with less powerful weapons adding that the men were in "appropriate" vehicles. That was than they should have had and in Pajero jeeps instead of armoured sharply disputed by the men's families, who allege that in order to vehicles. This case could have far-reaching reverberations and is save $1.5 million Blackwater did not provide the four with being monitored closely by the war- armoured vehicles. "Once the men signed on contractor industry. Former Halliburton with Blackwater and were flown to the Middle subsidiary KBR [previously Kellogg, Brown East, Blackwater treated them as fungible and Root] has even filed an amicus [amicus commodities," Helvenston told lawmakers in curiae] brief supporting Blackwater. If the her emotional testimony, delivered on behalf lawsuit is successful, it could pave the way of all four families. for a tobacco litigation—type scenario, where "Private contractors The issue that put this case on Waxman's war contractors find themselves besieged by . radar was the labyrinth of subcontracts legal claims of workers killed or injured in like Blackwater work underpinning the Fallujah mission. Since war zones. outside the scope of November 2004, Waxman had been trying to As the case has made its way through the 1 . pin down for whom the Blackwater men were court system, Blackwater has enlisted the military's chain of ultimately working on the day of the ambush. powerhouse Republican lawyers to defend command and can Bo over cightcen months, the Defense it: among them Fred Fielding, who was a epartment wouldn't even respond to my recently named by Bush as White literally do whatever inquiry," said Waxman. "When it finally House counsel, replacing Harriet h | with replied last July, it didn't even supply the Miers; and Kenneth Starr, former t ey Pp ease . t out breakdown I requested. In fact, it denied Whitewater prosecutor investigating any liability or that private security contractors did any accountability from the US government." President Clinton and the company's work at all under the [Pentagon's current counsel of record. Blackwater contracting program]. We now know that has not formally debated the specific isn't true." Waxman's struggle to follow allegations in the suit, but what has the money on this one contract involving emerged in its court filings is a series powerful war contractors like KBR of legal arguments intended to bolster provides a graphic illustration of the Blackwater's contention that it is secretive nature of the whole war essentially above the law. Blackwater contracting industry. claims that if US courts allow the What is not in dispute regarding the company to be sued for wrongful Fallujah incident is that Blackwater was death, that could threaten the nation's working with a Kuwaiti business called war-fighting capacity: "Nothing could be more destructive of the Regency under a contract with the world's largest food services all-volunteer, Total Force concept underlying US military company, Eurest Support Services. ESS is a subcontractor for manpower doctrine than to expose the private components to the KBR and another giant war contractor, Fluor, in Iraq under the tort liability systems of fifty states, transported overseas to foreign Pentagon's LOGCAP contracting program. One contract covering battlefields," the company argued in legal papers. In February Blackwater's Fallujah mission indicated the mission was [2007], Blackwater suffered a major defeat when the Supreme ultimately a subcontract with KBR. Last summer, KBR denied Court declined its appeal to hear the Fallujah case, paving the way this. Then ESS wrote to Waxman to say the mission was for the state trial—where there would be no cap on damages that a conducted under Fluor's contract with ESS. Fluor denied that, and jury could award—to proceed. the Pentagon told Waxman it didn't know to which company the Congress is beginning to take an interest in this potentially mission was ultimately linked. Waxman alleged that Blackwater groundbreaking case. On February 7, Representative Henry and the other subcontractors were "adding significant markups" to Waxman chaired hearings of the Oversight and Government their subcontracts for the same security services that Waxman Reform Committee. While the hearings were billed as looking at _ believes were then charged to US taxpayers. "It's remarkable that US reliance on military contractors, they largely focused on the world of contractors and subcontractors is so murky that we Blackwater and the Fallujah incident. For the first time, can't even get to the bottom of this, let alone calculate how many Blackwater was forced to share a venue with the families of the millions of dollars taxpayers lose in each step of the men killed at Fallujah. "Private contractors like Blackwater work —_ subcontracting process," said Waxman. outside the scope of the military's chain of command and can While it appeared for much of the February 7 hearing that the literally do whatever they please without any liability or contract's provenance would remain obscure, that changed when, outside the scope of the military's chain of _command and can literally do whatever they please without any liability or accountability from ab. IA wo. a 14 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2007 "Private contractors like Blackwater work the US government." www.nexusmagazine.com