THE TENSION: Joint Commission to Look at Security Issues in Iraq

Blackwater Helicopter
News in Balance:

News outlets reported that a joint U.S.-Iraq commission will focus on security contractors in Iraq after an uproar over a Baghdad firefight involving Blackwater USA, the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday.

AP notes that the size and composition of the commission have yet to be determined but its members are charged with assessing the results of both U.S. and Iraqi investigations of Sunday's incident, reaching a common conclusion about what happened and recommending possible changes to the way in which the embassy and its contractors handle security, it said.

Here is the official statement from Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman U.S. Department of State:

U.S.-Iraq Joint Commission
September 19, 2007

The Governments of the United States and Iraq agreed today to establish a joint commission of inquiry to examine issues of security and safety related to U.S. Government-affiliated personal security detail operations in Iraq following the loss of life that resulted from an incident involving a Department of State personal security detail in the Mansour district of Baghdad on September 16, 2007.

The commission will make joint policy recommendations, including specific suggestions for improving U.S. and Iraqi procedures regarding U.S. Government-affiliated personal security details.

The commission will also receive the findings of the U.S. review of the incident which occurred in the Mansour district of Baghdad on September 16.

The United States regrets the loss of life as a result of this incident and reiterates its commitment to a comprehensive and transparent investigation of the incident and to full participation in the activities of the commission