U.S. Soldier’S Family Sues British Security Firm Protecting Iraqi Oil

The lawsuit appears to be the first filed against a security firm by those acting on behalf of a slain American soldier.U.S. Soldier’s Family Sues British Security Firm Protecting Iraqi OilBy Cliff Montgomery – Oct. 31st, 2007An American soldier’s family has filed suit against a British-based security firm protecting Iraqi oil installations for negligence leading to his death.The Erinys security company is said to be closely tied to former Iraqi exile–and former Bush Administration darling–Ahmed Chalabi. The lawsuit appears to be the first filed against a  security contractor in Iraq by those acting on behalf of an American soldier.It perhaps is one more proof of the rising public outrage over the use of private security companies in Iraq. The suit comes after 17 Iraqi citizens were killed in a September melee by Blackwater USA guards hired to protect a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad.Specialist Christopher Monroe’s father filed the Erinys lawsuit last week in Houston, TX. Monroe was hit by an Erinys vehicle convoy on October 25th, 2005, while serving in southern Iraq. A speeding company vehicle killed the American soldier, alleges the lawsuit.”The family just didn’t have the answers that they were seeking,” Tobias Cole, the family’s  lawyer, told The London Guardian.”For example, why did their son die on a non-combat mission? There was no reason to have extreme driving, no reason to drive without headlights, no reason to drive at speed through a parked convoy,” he added.The 19-year-old Monroe was eager to serve as a U.S. soldier. Two generations of the Monroes had proudly served their country in uniform; Christopher gladly became the third. He enlisted while still in high school, at the tender age of 17.The Erinys four-vehicle convoy was reaching speeds of up to 80 m.p.h. while traveling a badly-lit road and only employing their parking lights, the lawsuit alleges. The vehicles weren’t under attack, nor were they transporting high-profile passengers.Monroe was thrown 40ft off the ground by the collision. His right leg was torn off by the sheer force of the impact.The Erinys convoy had gone through two American checkpoints just moments before hitting Monroe. Erinys employees had been told that more U.S. soldiers were ahead, according to the suit.The Erinys team flatly ignored these warnings, and drove their convoy at such a high rate of speed that they could see neither Monroe nor the five-ton truck the American soldier was guarding, states the lawsuit.”Although extreme driving maneuvers may be appropriate for private security contractors at certain times, driving recklessly at a high rate of speed with no headlights through a parked U.S. convoy after being specifically warned is not,” the lawsuit stated.Erinys at that time was contracted to provide security for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The firm denies any wrongdoing, adding that it was found innocent of the U.S. soldier’s death by a Bush Administration military investigation.”It was a very tragic accident for which Erinys and its employees have been thoroughly exonerated,” a company spokesman told the Guardian on Monday.Perhaps the British firm doesn’t know this, but employing the Bush Administration as a character witness doesn’t exactly serve as a proof of innocence for the majority of Americans.Regardless, this lawsuit comes just as the Bush Administration is facing growing outrage over the use of private security firms in Iraq, and the granting of immunity to those corporations. The Iraqi cabinet yesterday approved a new draft law which revokes prosecution immunity for security companies contracted to operate in the country.Erinys first became the subject of much attention in 2003, after the company won an $80 million, 18-month contract to protect Iraq’s oil pipelines and refineries. The firm soon created a subsidiary company called Erinys Iraq.The first guards hired to make up the 14,000-strong oil security force of Erinys Iraq also belonged to the so-called “Iraqi Free Forces”–an American-trained militia then headed by Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile and Bush protege whom the administration thought would rally all Iraqis to America’s cause, as Charles de Gaulle rallied Frenchmen during WWII.But of course, WWII was a real war, based on actual evidence. Iraq is not WWII.Many individuals belonging to Chalabi’s inner circle helped found Erinys Iraq. Erinys currently has about 1,000 workers in the country, a spokesman told the Guardian. Most are those are British nationals.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!