WASHINGTON - The FBI Wednesday dropped plans to have Blackwater guards protect a team of agents probing the security firm's alleged murders of at least 11 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.
Responding to a Daily News exclusive yesterday about the eyebrow-raising arrangement, a spokesman acknowledged the bureau dumped Blackwater "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict."
"The FBI team deployed from Washington to assist the State Department in the investigation of the events of Sept. 16 will have any additional security needs provided by U.S. government personnel," said FBI spokesman John Miller.
"The plan had been for Blackwater to fill this role," an official briefed on the FBI mission said.
The FBI's about-face also followed a letter from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) demanding Secretary of State Rice give Diplomatic Security Service protection to the FBI. That agency is leading the probe of the killings, which Blackwater says were justified because its employees were ambushed.......
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