Is Blackwater Being Framed?

I think something is fishy about this entire story:

The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy’s security provider Blackwater USA.

The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater’s license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country — depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.

"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.

Details of the weekend shootings haven’t been released, but the New York Times reported late Tuesday that a preliminary review by Iraq’s Ministry of Interior found that violence erupted as Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman’s call to stop, killing a couple and their infant.

According to the story on the Times Web site, the report said that Blackwater helicopters had also fired. The Iraqi Ministry of Defense said that 20 Iraqis were killed, higher than the 11 dead reported before.  [Robert Reid & Matthew Lee, AP]

The Interior Ministry’s version of events contradicts with what the Iraqi police and the Blackwater contractors claimed happened at the scene:

The newspaper said the report was presented to the Iraqi cabinet and, though unverified, seemed to contradict an account offered by Blackwater that the guards were responding to militants who had opened fire on State Department personnel. Iraqi police have said a car bomb exploded near a State Department convoy and that Blackwater guards began shooting.

What I think is going on is a disinformation campaign just like what happened with the Marines in Afghanistan and as usual the media is falling for it.   The Iraqi Interior Ministry is well known for its corruption and infiltration by the Mahdi Army.  So does anyone think it is any coincidence that this controversy happens and Al-Sadr is prepared to capitalize on it?:

Al-Sadr’s office in Najaf said the government should nullify contracts of all foreign security companies, branding them "criminal and intelligence firms."

"This aggression would not have happened had it not been for the presence of the occupiers who brought these companies, most of whose members are criminals and ex-convicts in American and Western prisons," the firebrand cleric said in a statement.

Al-Sadr insisted that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prosecute those involved and ensure that families of the victims receive compensation.

The loss of Blackwater would be a huge set back because the State Department contractors would have no security to monitor the reconstruction projects going on around Iraq.  The delay of reconstruction projects would be a loss of creditability to the US and the Iraqi government.  Thus the US military may have to guard the reconstruction teams which may effect the scheduled redeployment of some of the "surge" troops back to America.  That is why it is critical for the US government to get Blackwater’s license to operate in Iraq renewed.    

Al-Sadr is whipping up nationalist sentiment over this manufactured incident which will make it difficult for the Iraqi government to side with the US and the Blackwater contractors over what happened.  Remember, perception is often reality, especially in Iraq, and Sadr and his Interior Ministry goons have already created the perception with the help of the biased and uncritical media.  This manufactured incident will be played over and over again in the media because the media has long been suspicious of the role of security contractors in Iraq and this manufactured incident only plays to those suspicions.  You can see by reading this that the media feeding frenzy over security contractors is about to go into overdrive.

In short brilliant move by Al-Sadr and his Iranian puppet masters to undermine US reconstructions efforts and create a wedge between the coalition and the Iraqi government over this issue that has all been aided by the more than willing US media.