Blackwater: Onward Through the Fog
The fog surrounding a weekend incident in which Blackwater USA security guards allegedly killed at least 11 Iraqis and wounded others grows thicker.
There have been these developments:
* A preliminary review by Iraq’s Ministry of Interior found that Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman’s call to stop, killing a couple and their infant. The report said that Blackwater helicopters also had fired, a finding the North Carolina-based company denies.
* The bombing that Blackwater cited as the reason that its security guards fired was so far away from the scene as to not be a factor.
* The Iraqi Ministry of Defense said that 20 Iraqis were killed, considerably higher than the 11 dead reported earlier.
* Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the shooting was “the seventh of its kind” involving Blackwater.
* U.S. diplomats were confined to the Green Zone for the second straight day. Blackwater provides security for high-ranking American officials, diplomats and their staffs.
* An earlier statement by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior that Blackwater’s license to operate was softened. It now appears that even if Blackwater is licensed, one of many points of contention, that license has been merely suspended.
* There were new calls for investigations into Blackwater’s murky status, which apparently allows it to operate without impunity and outside of Iraqi, U.S. and international law.
The shooting has touched off a debate about American security companies, which were exempted from being liable for their actions by L. Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority while Iraq’s government was still under American administration. The CPA was abolished the day after the order was issued.
Blackwater has about 1,000 employees in Iraq. There are about 48,000 security contractors in country overall, and 160,000 private contractors in all, more than the number of U.S. troops.
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4 Responses to “Blackwater: Onward Through the Fog”
I wouldn’t give automatic credence to Iraqi claims.
I wouldn’t give automatic credence to claims by US officials, either.
Murky, murky, murky.
domajot:
Absolutely. Neither side can be trusted. Sad.
Mr. Mullen, you are very well written and curiously informed. I too am curious. I am curious why you loathe Blackwater and other PMC’s to the degree you do. You continually write that they operate above the law with complete impunity. I know you have read order 17 and I assume you understand it. Just because agents of the state which include PMC’s, cannot be prosecuted by local courts of the host nation, it does not insulate them from military prosecution. As I understand it, Order 17 basically provides for theoretically a fair, or at least fairer trial, than one would likely receive in the potentially corrupt court of a host nation. It also only has jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed while exercising in their official capacity. They are not immune to local laws regarding crimes committed in an unofficial capacity. As I understand it, they can be prosecuted for rape, robbery, and other such crimes by local courts, and in that way are bound by the laws of the land. This is one way that differentiates their protection from that of active service personnel. Order 17 is also a mechanism which also gives their official activities a legal legitimacy, almost like deputizing . PMC activities would be regarded as outlaw and they would be considered renegades unless provisions were made to protect them. PMC’s could not operate unless this legal mechanism was in place. I am not suggesting that the system is perfect, but they can be prosecuted in the same fashion as active service members and are bound by the same code of military conduct.
Mr. Mullen
It was not my intent to be disrespectful or condescending as I did not want our blogs to deteriorate into personal attacks