'A wake-up call' for the US

2004-04-02 11:11

Washington - The United States was in shock over four Americans killed in the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah, as graphic photos of their burned and mutilated bodies appeared on newspapers' front pages on Thursday.

The White House said President George W. Bush saw images of the "despicable, barbaric attacks" and that the United States would not be "intimidated".

"We're going to stay the course and finish the job," White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said.

"These thugs and terrorists cannot intimidate us. Our will and our resolve remain firm. This is about helping the Iraqi people realise a better future. We will not let thugs or terrorists prevent that from happening."

Events on Wednesday in Fallujah posed a grim warning to dozens of contractors in Iraq after the bodies of two of four civilian contractors killed in an ambush were mutilated and publicly displayed.

Experts have warned that such civilians will increasingly be targeted in post-war Iraq by hardliners angry at US intervention in the country.

Insurance and security costs have risen in recent weeks.

"We grieve today for the loss of our colleagues and we pray for their families," Blackwater Security Consulting, the company that employed the men, said in a statement.

"The names of the victims will not be released out of respect for their families."

The company, based in North Carolina, also helps to provide security for the US civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer.

The four Blackwater staff targeted in the gruesome incident were in vehicles believed to have been escorting a food delivery to a US military base when they were ambushed in Fallujah.

A crowd of men and boys hung the bodies of two of the victims from a bridge straddling the Euphrates River and hurled rocks at them.

'The enemy'

The attackers viewed US civilians or troops as "the enemy," State Department chief of counterterrorism Cofer Black told Congress.

The CIA veteran, when asked if the attack had the hallmarks of al-Qaeda, replied: "I think it is, from our perspective, it's associated, it's in proximity."

"There's not, specifically, a direct tie between that crowd and al-Qaeda as we know it. They just find themselves with, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

The US government has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to private firms such as Blackwater to defuse roadside bombs, escort food convoys and protect visiting dignitaries.

Civilian security forces can earn more than $15 000 (about R95 000) a month.

Wednesday evening, all three main US networks began their newscasts with video of the grisly aftermath of the attack, warning viewers about the disturbing images.

A Wall Street Journal editorial said the mob killing was a "wake-up call to the occupation forces that democracy will have a hard time taking root in Iraq so long as justice takes a holiday".

- AFP