To the Point
Private Security Guards and the War in Iraq
On Capitol Hill today, Blackwater USA got a grilling about its private security guards. Are they highly-paid mercenaries out of control or skilled professionals taking on risky assignments so Marines and soldiers can focus on combat? Also, a historic meeting in North Korea, and the latest on Israel’s midnight raid in Syria.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenOn Capitol Hill today, Blackwater USA got a grilling about its private security guards. Are they highly-paid mercenaries out of control or skilled professionals taking on risky assignments so Marines and soldiers can focus on combat? Also, a historic meeting in North Korea and, on Reporter's Notebook, Israel has officially conceded midnight raid last month on Syrian territory.
Erik Prince, chairman of the Prince Group, LLC and Blackwater USA, testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.
Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesKorean Leaders Meet in Historic Summit
For the second time in the past 50 years, the leaders of North and South Korea met today in Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il was subdued, but South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun waved to cheering crowds in North Korea's capital city.
Read the story6 minPrivate Security Guards and the War in Iraq
Blackwater USA —with more than a billion dollars in federal contracts—was on the carpet today on Capitol Hill. Congressional investigators claim that Blackwater guards shot first in almost 200 shootouts and killed innocent Iraqis in incidents the State Department helped cover up.
Read the story34 minIsrael Admits Bombing Syrian Military Target
Both Israel and Syria officially conceded today what everyone already knew. In a midnight raid last month, Israeli planes struck deep inside Syrian territory. What were they after and what did they hit? Gideon Lichfield, correspondent for the Economist magazine in Jerusalem, has more on a mission still shrouded in secrecy.
Read the story10 min
