The most annoying thing about these indictments, addressing the symptom but not the cause.
quote:
Blackwater Guards Indicted for Role in Nisoor Square Massacre
Five Blackwater security guards were charged on Monday for their role in the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre in Baghdad that left seventeen Iraqis dead and more than twenty wounded. The federal prosecutors accused the Blackwater guards of opening machine gun fire on innocent Iraqis and launching a grenade into a girls’ school. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. [includes rush transcript]
that's "great" news. finally some of the private soldiers are answering for their crimes. i wasn't sure whether it would ever happen :/
Q5echo
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
that's "great" news. finally some of the private soldiers are answering for their crimes. i wasn't sure whether it would ever happen :/
it only took a year for DoJ to hand out the indictments. it's a murder investigation on foriegn soil. these things take time.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by Q5echo
it only took a year for DoJ to hand out the indictments. it's a murder investigation on foriegn soil. these things take time.
oh, i wasn't referring to this incident in particular. i was more worried about (what seemed like a) perpetual grey area regarding the application of law against civilian military contractors in iraq, as raised by just about every news outlet i can think of.
Q5echo
IMO grey areas are created by the media.
in Justice though, you are either (after a criminal case has been made), wanted for questioning, a suspect under investigation, or defendant under criminal indictment.
now you could say that while the criminal case is being made, that time could be seen as a grey area but the fact Blackwater was even over there in the first place and under those circumstances there is no grey area. they were there under contract.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by Q5echo
IMO grey areas are created by the media.
in Justice though, you are either (after a criminal case has been made), wanted for questioning, a suspect under investigation, or defendant under criminal indictment.
now you could say that while the criminal case is being made, that time could be seen as a grey area but the fact Blackwater was even over there in the first place and under those circumstances there is no grey area. they were there under contract.
ok, well it wasn't just the media. everywhere i looked the same questions were being asked and the same questions weren't being answered by anyone. not to mention bush's "i have absolutely no idea" when questioned by that school student.
Q5echo
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
not to mention bush's "i have absolutely no idea" when questioned by that school student.
what was the question?
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by Q5echo
what was the question?
forgive me if this isn't the right footage, i cant use youtube at work anymore
im sure there was a thread on here with a long list of documentation.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Early today, George W. Bush fielded questions about the "war on terror" at Johns Hopkins University, and was asked about contractor impunity. This issue was addressed in DOGSPOT#200
Q Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law?
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that very much. I wasn't kidding -- (laughter.) I was going to -- I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, I've got an interesting question. (Laughter.) This is what delegation -- I don't mean to be dodging the question, although it's kind of convenient in this case, but never -- (laughter.) -April, 2006
The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act doesn't apply to these employees (because they were hired by the interior department to dodge the law that applies to the DOD, see previous story): some of whom were notorious in the recent torture scandal. Thanks to an order by Paul Bremer, civilian employees were granted immunity to Iraqi law. This order was extended by Bremer's last act in office- until a new government is elected in January.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. It's an honor to have you here. I'm a first-year student in South Asia studies. My question is in regards to private military contractors. Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply to these contractors in Iraq. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions.
THE PRESIDENT: I was going to ask him. Go ahead. (Laughter.) Help. (Laughter.)
Q I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. (Laughter.) Mr. Rumsfeld answered that Iraq has its own domestic laws which he assumed applied to those private military contractors. However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against -- over our American military contractors. I would submit to you that in this case, this is one case that privatization is not a solution. And, Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law?
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that very much. I wasn't kidding -- (laughter.) I was going to -- I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, I've got an interesting question. (Laughter.) This is what delegation -- I don't mean to be dodging the question, although it's kind of convenient in this case, but never -- (laughter.) I really will -- I'm going to call the Secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? That's how I work. I'm -- thanks. (Laughter.)
thats exactly the gray area you were talking about. my bad.
actually it took an act of the US Congress after the fact of those shootings to make all US contractors overseas accountable in their actions to US civilian law. >LINK< prior to that was a gray area. a lot of that was left over after the Iraqi Provisional Authority handed over resposibilities to Iraqi Congress.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by Q5echo
thats exactly the gray area you were talking about. my bad.
actually it took an act of the US Congress after the fact of those shootings to make all US contractors overseas accountable in their actions to US civilian law. prior to that was a gray area. a lot of that was left over after the Iraqi Provisional Authority handed over resposibilities to Iraqi Congress.
cheers, didnt realise anything had been done.
Clovis
I wish the investigation went more into Blackwater's overall operating procedures (or lack, therof) and not just what happened on that day. So far I haven't read anything that would indicate that.
