The New York Times reported in an article dated November 13, 2007, that the FBI has concluded that the Blackwater employees who killed 17 civilians on September 16,
2007 were not fired upon by Iraqis before opening fire. Consequently, the FBI's report concludes that at least 14 of the Iraqis were killed without "just cause." Assuming that this report is true, the question becomes whether the Blackwater employees can be successfully prosecuted.
The reason why there is a question about whether the Blackwater employees can be prosecuted is explained by the following paragraph from the article:
"Some lawmakers and legal scholars said the Sept. 16 case dramatized the need to clarify the law governing private armed contractors in a war zone. Workers under contract to the Defense Department are subject to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, or MEJA, but many, including top State Department officials, contend that the law does not apply to companies like Blackwater that work under contract to other government agencies, including the State Department."
The issue of whether to prosecute will be the call of the new Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. Prosecutors have an ethical obligation not to bring charges that they don't believe can be successfully prosecuted. Thus, the newly confirmed AG could find himself in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Given the media attention that this event has generated, and given the reported anger in Iraq at the actions of private security contractors like Blackwater, our bet is that he authorizes a criminal prosecution. We wouldn't bet the family farm on it, though, given the fact that the Bush Administration doesn't seem to have a very high regard for the rule of law.
Showing posts with label Blackwater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blackwater. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
How Can Iraqis Respect Government That Allows Foreigners to Kill Them?
At the hearing that was held by Henry Waxman's committee into the operations by Blackwater in Iraq, every Republican defended Blackwater. One of them brought up the Move-On ad about General Petraeus. Not one Republican seemed bothered by the fact that an American company was allegedly killing Iraqis citizens and not being held accountable.
Now the Washington Post is reporting that the Pentagon report on the Blackwater incident will say that the Blackwater employees were at fault in an incident that took place on September 16, 2007. In that incident at least 11 Iraqis were killed. This is from a Reuters article about the Post article:
Citing a senior U.S. military official, the Post said the military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault.
"It was obviously excessive. It was obviously wrong," a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the newspaper.
"The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. And none of the IP (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them," the official was quoted as saying
This report, assuming that the Bush Admnistration doesn't pressure the Pentagon to change it, obviously makes those Republicans who rushed to Blackwater's defense at the Waxman hearing look ridiculous. Just as obviously most of them won't have the self-awareness to understand that it makes them look ridiculous. Here is a question, though: Don't they understand that having a American corporation kill and wound ordinary Iraqis without accountability hurts the American efforts in Iraq?
How would we feel if there was a foreign corporation, say a Chinese corporation, running around the U.S. killing American civilians while protecting Chinese diplomats? Our guess is that we would be really ticked off, and if our government couldn't stop it, we would be angry at our government. If it kept happening, we would lose respect for our government. Why do Republicans assume that Iraqis are any different?
On the one hand they claim to want to create a government in Iraq that has the support of the Iraqi people. On the other hand, they don't want to hold American corporations operating in Iraq accountable for their activities. It just doesn't make any sense, but, of course, this isn't the first time that Republican actions belie Republican words.
Now the Washington Post is reporting that the Pentagon report on the Blackwater incident will say that the Blackwater employees were at fault in an incident that took place on September 16, 2007. In that incident at least 11 Iraqis were killed. This is from a Reuters article about the Post article:
Citing a senior U.S. military official, the Post said the military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault.
"It was obviously excessive. It was obviously wrong," a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the newspaper.
"The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. And none of the IP (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them," the official was quoted as saying
This report, assuming that the Bush Admnistration doesn't pressure the Pentagon to change it, obviously makes those Republicans who rushed to Blackwater's defense at the Waxman hearing look ridiculous. Just as obviously most of them won't have the self-awareness to understand that it makes them look ridiculous. Here is a question, though: Don't they understand that having a American corporation kill and wound ordinary Iraqis without accountability hurts the American efforts in Iraq?
How would we feel if there was a foreign corporation, say a Chinese corporation, running around the U.S. killing American civilians while protecting Chinese diplomats? Our guess is that we would be really ticked off, and if our government couldn't stop it, we would be angry at our government. If it kept happening, we would lose respect for our government. Why do Republicans assume that Iraqis are any different?
On the one hand they claim to want to create a government in Iraq that has the support of the Iraqi people. On the other hand, they don't want to hold American corporations operating in Iraq accountable for their activities. It just doesn't make any sense, but, of course, this isn't the first time that Republican actions belie Republican words.
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