The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior U.S. official said Friday.
The official told The Associated Press that the contract will expire because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate. The Iraqis informed the State Department last week of the cancellation, which was made amid lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.
"The Blackwater contract for Iraq will not be renewed," the official said, adding, however, that it was "basically a moot point because they were not going to be allowed to operate in Iraq anyway."
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has yet to be announced.
WASHINGTON - The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama signed a series of executive orders Friday that he said should "level the playing field" for labor unions in their struggles with management. Obama also used the occasion at the White House to announce formally a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans. He named Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman
WASHINGTON - The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior U.S. official said Friday. The official told The Associated Press that the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate.
Jan. 27: Embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich explains to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that in spite of his political stunts and media tour he's not confident of the outcome of his trial in the Illinois Senate - though unlike Richard Nixon, he wants all of his tapes to be made public.
CHICAGO - With Gov. Rod Blagojevich entering what could be his final hours in office, some politicians are watching closely to see whether he attempts some last-minute mischief by spending state money, issuing executive orders or granting pardons.
"I try never to be surprised anymore by anything he does," said Republican former Gov. Jim Edgar.
The Illinois Senate could vote as early as Thursday on whether to remove the governor by impeachment on charges that include trying to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job for himself.
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