BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki asked the U.S. State Department to "pull Blackwater out of Iraq," saying the private contractors committed unprovoked and random killings in a September 16 shooting, an adviser to al-Maliki told CNN.
Adviser Sami al-Askari told CNN the Iraqis have concluded their investigation into the shooting at Nusoor Square in Baghdad.
Al-Askari said the United States is still waiting for the findings of the American investigation, but al-Maliki and most Iraqi officials are "completely satisfied" with the findings of their probe and are "insisting" that Blackwater leave the country.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Natango told CNN by telephone that the Iraqi-U.S. joint commission met and is proceeding with its work on the matter.
"We need to let the joint commission do its work," she said, adding that once the joint commission has finished, it will make policy recommendations.
More at http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/16/iraq.blackwater/index.html Robert Paul ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
