World | Blackwater Fire Blackwater: State Dept. Panel Security firm's contract should not be renewed, advisory group says By Nick McMaster Posted Dec 17, 2008 1:03 PM CST Copied The family of Ibrahim Abid, who was killed when Blackwater guards opened fire at a Baghdad square more than a year ago, visit his grave in Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) The US military should stop using contractors from Blackwater Worldwide, concludes a report by a State Department advisory panel, obtained by the AP. In light of numerous allegations of violent misconduct, Blackwater’s contract to defend American diplomats should not be renewed when it expires next year, the panel recommends. Five Blackwater contractors currently face manslaughter charges for killing 17 people in Baghdad. The report was commissioned by Condoleezza Rice last September, after the Baghdad incident. Read These Next 11 people hurt in a "brutal act of violence" in Michigan. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. A new book argues the Sacagawea legend is all wrong. Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error