Iraq bans Blackwater

According to the N.Y.Times, after eight Iraqi civilians were killed over the weekend by shots fired from a diplomatic motorcade under the protection of agents of the mercenary organization Blackwater, the Iraqi government revoked Blackwater's license to operate anywhere in Iraq.

Jeremy Scahill, author of the invaluable expose, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army ,

previously said:

While the initial inquiries into Blackwater have focused on the complex labyrinth of secretive subcontracts under which it operates in Iraq, a thorough investigation into the company reveals a frightening picture of a politically connected private army that has become the Bush Administration's Praetorian Guard.

At this point it's not entirely clear how much authority the Maliki government has to outlaw Blackwater, since the "White House outsourced the job of protecting America's most senior officials in Iraq to Blackwater beginning in 2003" and the company ostensibly works for the State Department.

In its article the Times quotes an American official in Baghdad saying

This incident will be the true test of diplomacy between the State Department and the government of Iraq,

And that State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that

In an effort to defuse the situation, ...Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to call Mr. Maliki to express regret and assure him that the United States had begun an investigation of the shooting.

It's not yet clear how this will affect the presidential Bush's ability to market his war.

(also see Blackwater Banned After Deadly Firefight by Daniel Luban on AntiWar.com)