Kristal Batalona, whose father, Wesley Batalona, was among four workers killed in Iraq while on a mission for security contractor Blackwater USA, sat about four rows behind the company's chairman during his congressional testimony yesterday.

She said she wanted to hear legislators question Erik Prince about the company, which she wants held accountable for its actions in Iraq.

"I've never seen this man before, I've never met him, he's never called me, he's never written me a letter, and I wanted to see him," said Batalona, whose father was a retired Army Ranger from the Big Island. "I just wanted to hear what he had to say, and what Congress was going to ask him."

A mob dragged the bodies of her father and three other contractors through the streets after an attack in Fallujah, Iraq on March 31, 2004. The mob hanged two burned corpses from a bridge over the Euphrates River. Images of the aftermath of the ambush were televised around the world.

The Iraqi government has accused Blackwater of killing at least 11 Iraqis during a Sept. 16 incident in Baghdad.

Prince yesterday urged Congress not to "rush to judgment" in connection with the allegations.

"I believe we acted appropriately at all times," Prince told the House Oversight Committee.

Blackwater says its guards acted only after coming under fire. The Iraqi government says the shooting was unprovoked.

Although the Baghdad incident triggered yesterday's hearing, the committee agreed not to discuss specifics during the hearing after a request from the Justice Department. The incident is under FBI investigation.

The U.S. and Iraqi government have established a commission to investigate issues of accountability regarding the use of contractors.

Batalona said she believes Congress is heading "in the right direction" by pressing Blackwater for more answers, but "they could have pushed more questions, and I think they could have gotten more answers."

The families of the Blackwater contractors slain in Fallujah in 2004 have sued the company, claiming the victims were sent out with inadequate equipment and protection.

The men were ambushed and killed while escorting a convoy of three empty trucks to pick up kitchen equipment for a food company.

The families' lawsuit alleges the men should have been traveling in armored vehicles, and should have had additional crew members in each vehicle acting as rear gunners.

The U.S. military estimates there are about 7,300 private security contractors working for the Defense Department in Iraq. They are part of a force of more than 130,000 private contractors in Iraq who perform a variety of jobs.

Blackwater has a contract with the State Department to protect American diplomats in Iraq. The company has about 1,000 personnel in Iraq, Prince said. Prince, a former Navy Seal, founded the company in 1997.

The company, based in Moyock, N.C., has received more than $1 billion in federal contracts since 2000, Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said.

Contractors working in Iraq are immune from local law but can be prosecuted under federal law under a rarely used statute that applies to civilians accompanying military forces overseas.

One case that has drawn scrutiny involves an off-duty Blackwater worker who allegedly shot and killed an Iraqi bodyguard after a Christmas Eve party last year in the Green Zone, a fortified area that houses Iraqi and U.S. government offices. The Iraqi guard worked for Iraq's vice president.

The Blackwater guard has returned to the United States, and the case has been referred to the Justice Department. No charges have been filed.

"If he lived in America, he would have been arrested, and he would be facing criminal charges," Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said.

Nearly 30 Blackwater guards have been killed, Prince has said, but the company has never lost anyone under its protection. The company says it has conducted 16,000 protective missions in Baghdad since June 2005, including safeguarding congressional delegations visiting Iraq.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.