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- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
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Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
April 02, 2009 3:45 PM
ABC News' Kirit Radia Reports: There was at least one lighter moment as President Obama joined other world leaders for the G20 meeting in London this week to address the worldwide financial crisis.
In the photo below, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gives a big thumbs-up as he drapes his arms around President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
What caught our eye was not only Berlusconi's big grin, but seeing the American and Russian presidents joking around together. Earlier in the week, the former Cold War adversaries agreed to a continue reducing their nuclear arsenals.
G20 leaders (first row from left to right) include: Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, (second row from left to right) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Thai Prime Minister and chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Abhisit Vejjajiva, U.S. President Barack Obama, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and New Partnership for Africa's Development Meles Zenawi. World leaders meet Thursday for the G-20 summit aimed at fixing the crisis-wracked global economy.
(FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)
April 2, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (35)
Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
April 01, 2009 3:22 PM
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports:
The controversial private security firm Blackwater's contracts in Iraq have been replaced by Virginia-based Triple Canopy, the State Department said today.
"[On] March the 31st the department awarded Triple Canopy the ground task order for protective security details in Baghdad after a thorough evaluation of proposals from each company that had submitted bids," State Department acting deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said.
Duguid said the transition process will begin immediately and Blackwater, now rebranded as Xe (pronounced "Zee"), will leave Iraq once its contract expires in May. He could not provide the value and length of Triple Canopy's contract.
Earlier this year the Iraqi government expelled Blackwater in large part due to controversy surrounding the deadly September 2007 shooting in a crowded Baghdad traffic circle during which Blackwater guards allegedly killed several Iraqi civilians. Following the Iraqi decision to expel Blackwater, the State Department said it would not renew their contract.
Triple Canopy and a third Company, Dyncorp, have been providing similar security in Iraq, mainly in the north and south, for years while Blackwater mainly held contracts in Baghdad.
No replacement has yet been named for air assets including helicopters that Blackwater provided through its subsidiary Presidential Airways. Xe has been notified by the State Department that this contract will not be renewed given the Iraqi government's decision, Duguid said.
April 1, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (3)
