New York Times

By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: September 22, 2007

BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 — American diplomats on Friday resumed travel in convoys escorted by Blackwater USA, the private American security contractor, three days after the Iraqi government banned the company following a shooting in which at least eight Iraqis were killed.

It was not clear if the resumption of convoys was a signal of some political compromise between the State Department and the Iraqi government, which had demanded that the United States drop Blackwater as its protector, or whether it simply meant that American officials felt they could not afford to remain grounded. The State Department relies on Blackwater for its security outside the fortified Green Zone.

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Mirembe Nantongo, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy, said a limited number of diplomats traveled outside the Green Zone on Friday. They were likely to be accompanied by Blackwater guards, she said but declined to give details. “As a general rule, in a limited manner, Blackwater is operating,” she said.

Ms. Nantongo said the decision to resume diplomatic convoy traffic had been taken “in consultation with the Iraqi authorities,” but she would not elaborate on whether the Iraqis had approved the Blackwater escorts, after the din of official Iraqi criticism toward the company earlier this week.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/world/mi...