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    Blackwater's Blood Money; How Much for a Dead Son?
    By Aadel Faiq and Brian Ross
    ABC News

    Friday 08 February 2008

Blackwater works behind the scenes to settle with survivors and victims' families of the September 16 shooting.

    The father of a 9-year-old Iraqi boy killed by Blackwater security guards says the company has offered to build a monument and make an unspecified cash payment to compensate him for the death of his son, Ali.

    The boy was one of 17 civilians killed when Blackwater security guards, escorting a diplomatic convoy, opened fire at Baghdad's Nisour square Sept. 16.

    While a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. investigates the deaths, Blackwater has been operating behind the scenes in Iraq to settle with the survivors and families of the dead.

    Officials familiar with the case told ABCNEWS.com that Blackwater had resisted U.S. government demands that the company pay at least $100,000 per death, claiming the U.S. government has not paid that much in similar situations in Iraq.

    Iraqi prosecutors reportedly are urging Blackwater to pay at least between $20,000 and $80,000. The dead boy's father, Mohammed Abdul Razak, told ABCNEWS.com he had been approached by an Iraqi prosecutor who conveyed Blackwater's offer.

    Razak said the company was offering to build a monument in the square to all of the victims, pay medical costs for those injured and make cash payments.

    A Blackwater spokesperson declined comment but pointed to a U.S. government document indicating U.S. personnel would help with the distribution of "condolence payments."

    The document states "such payments will be based on Iraqi cultural norms and will not be viewed as an admission of guilt."

    Another victim, Adel Jabur Shamma, says he too has been contacted by an Iraqi judge who assured him Blackwater would cover his medical expenses.

    Shamma says he cannot understand why it has taken so long for Blackwater to help him. He says he has been bed-ridden and is nearly handicapped after being shot in both legs during the incident.

    As ABCNEWS.com has reported, the federal grand jury criminal investigation is focusing on two or three Blackwater guards who opened fire, claiming they perceived a threat.

    Other Blackwater guards have testified to federal agents, however, they saw no such threat. Several of the Iraqi families have already filed lawsuits against Blackwater in U.S. courts, alleging Blackwater guards were guilty of "war crimes."