From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Are private security contractors out of control?

Hello again, I'm all in Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

All U.S. diplomats

are banned from leaving the green zone by land, as Iraq's prime minister tells the State Department

to fire Blackwater USA security guards. Iraq says 10 civilians were killed on Sunday when

Blackwater guards fired indiscriminately into a crowd. Blackwater says they shot it armed enemies.

On to the point,

it's the latest in a long series of incidents that have infuriated Iraqis from the streets to the corridors of power. Why is the State Department so dependent on private guards as it failed to

exercise appropriate oversight? On reporter's notebook later on, if you live in Orham, Utah,

you'd better water your lawn.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Mormon. I'll

be back with To the Point. A deadly shooting incident involving Blackwater USA has the U.S. and Iraq at odds

over security for American diplomats. On To the Point, why is the State Department so dependent on private

contractors? Are they out of control? On reporter's notebook, a great grandmother faces charges for failing to water the lawn, not to mention a resisting arrest. We'll hear about Orem Utah's most sensational court case. First, this news update. As Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem today on a peacekeeping mission, Israel declared the Gaza Strip an enemy entity. Ken Ellingwood reports.

For the Los Angeles Times, Ken Ellingwood, welcome.

Thanks, Warren.

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