October 3, 2007 5:09

Blackwater CEO Defends his Troops

Blackwater USA CEO Erik Prince defended his employees on Capitol Hill yesterday, saying his contractors have "distinguished records and have never intentionally killed civilians".

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince defends his troops - Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty

Prince accused Congress and the news media of a “rush to judgment” about Blackwater shootings, reports the New York Times.

So what did happen during the fatal Baghdad exchange that left 17 dead and 24 injured? The NYT talks with "12 Iraqi witnesses, several Iraqi investigators and an American official familiar with an American investigation".

It reports an "intense barrage of gunfire in several directions, striking Iraqis who were desperately trying to flee," and puts together a picture that "difficult to square with the explanation offered initially by Blackwater officials that their guards were responding proportionately to an attack".

Top House Democrats want a war surtax to pay for the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. They also pushed through a bill demanding the Bush Administration provide Congress with details on how it would redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq.

Back in Baghdad, the Polish Ambassador was wounded today when his convoy of vehicles was hit by roadside bombs.

World - Korea Talks Continue

After a day of pleasantries, the hard talks began between South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. There are no details of the discussions but Roh is expected to "announce considerable financial support to the North".

"Looking slightly tired and with his trademark beige worker's suit straining around his belly, Kim greeted the more nattily dressed Roh with a handshake," the LA Times noted about yesterday's meeting. With comments like that it's not wonder Kim Jong-il is normally so "reclusive".

Say what you want about these jumpsuits, at least they're comfortable - Photo: Getty

Israel gave up the worst-kept diplomatic secret yesterday when it admitted striking a military target in Syria last month. Syrian President Bashar Assad said "we have our means to retaliate, maybe politically, maybe in other ways. But we have the right to retaliate in different means."

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are getting together to talk over negotiating terms ahead of a next month's US-led Middle East Summit.

Big day for President Pervez Musharraf yesterday as he smoothed his transition to a civilian leader by naming Pakistan's spy chief his successor as head of the army. The "new democrat" also granted amnesty to political rival/potential ally Benazir Bhutto and still got no respect....80 opposition members resigned from parliament in an attempt to undermine Musharraf re-election plans.

Politics - All Aboard the Clinton Express

The Clinton presidential Surge has started. Not only is she now leading Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination by a whopping 33 percentage points according to a new Washington Post - ABC News poll, but she also trumped the Illinois Senator's $20 million third-quarter cash haul by a cool seven mil.

Capital Hill - Photo: Chip East / REUTERS

Over at the Grand Old Party, another New Yorker, Rudy Giuliani sits atop of the heap....but a very wobbly heap it is says the WPost. Giuliani has "double the support of his nearest rival, but a majority of those who support him do so only 'somewhat'" according to that said same Post-ABC poll.

Senator John Edwards has stuck his finger into the political air and come up with a new policy - rein in those trigger-happy security contractors.

Not to be left out of demonstrating political wisdom, Barack Obama says he told you so on Iraq back in 2002.

National - Texas Stays Executions

A Texas court stayed the lethal injection of a Honduran man late yesterday, "signaling an indefinite halt to executions" in the state that leads the nation in executions. The decision suggests that all states will now wait for a Supreme Court ruling on lethal injection before carrying out any more executions.

Five workers died yesterday during a chemical fire at a Colorado hydroelectric power plant. The employees of Xcel Energy perished after becoming trapped more than 2,000 feet underground in a water tunnel.

A murder mystery on the high seas next. CNN reports that the two men found floating in a life raft in the Florida Straits last weeks are now suspected of having murdered the crew of the boat they chartered.

We all like to travel business class but federal employees from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State and Treasury and particularly partial to the perks. A new GAO report says workers are costing the taxpayer $146 million a year by abusing federal rules on business class travel.

Celebrity - Britney Free Day (Sort of)

Imagine we didn't have Britney detritus to document everyday....okay so that's talk of a sex-tape out of the window then.

All we'd be able to tell you about celeb coverage is that Nicolas Cage found an intruder in his home who seems to have broken in to try on Nic's own leather jacket.

Hey, get your own jacket - Photo: Evan Agostini / ImageDirect / Getty

Or the fact that Eva Longoria is embroiled in a sex tape that has hit the Internet - and that's she's really excited about it. Here's why:

Or that, a la Menudo, America's boy band heroes of the 1990s, including the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync probably had to put up with sexual advances from their manager/svengali Lou Pearlman, or so Vanity Fair alleges.

See you've forgotten about Britney already, haven't you?