"Blackwater in Iraq"
... It was only two weeks ago, that Blackwater was implicated in the deaths of 11 Iraqis, an event still under investigation. BB --before Bush --this would have been called what it is: cold blooded murder. Blackwater USA, meanwhile, has said its guards reacted lawfully to an attack on a US diplomatic convoy. What does "lawfully" mean in this case? Does "lawfully" mean that Bush may granted to whomever he pleases the power to murder indiscriminately? What "powers" were granted to Blackwater when the contract was executed? This argument sounds rather medieval, unprincipled and archaic to me, a defense Topcliffe must surely have cited to justify his tortures on behalf of Elizabeth I. My position is that the US presence in Iraq is itself illegal. The US, therefore, may not enter legally into any contract with any such sub-contractor. As the US presence itself violates Nuremberg, Geneva, and our own US Criminal Codes, the contracts thus executed are themselves null and void. In effect, I allege that Blackwater's very presence in Iraq is a crime. The killing of 11 Iraqis is therefore cold-blooded murder, in fact, a war crime punishable by death. See US Codes, Title 18, Section 241....
[36745]
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"Blackwater in Iraq"
Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy
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September 28, 2007
The Iraq government is poised to expose the presence of a state-sponsored, terrorist organization: Blackwater in Iraq. Often called Bush's private army, Blackwater in Iraq is sponsored by none other than the US government of George W. Bush, believed to have WMD!
Blackwater in Iraq, lately accused of murdering some 11 Iraqi civilians, has been operating --in Iraq --with impunity under contract to the US government.
Blackwater is not alone --in Iraq. US contractors --in Iraq --operate above the law as does George W. Bush in the US! Granted dubious "immunity" from prosecution, Blackwater in Iraq has been out of control in Iraq, accused of fatal shootings of Iraqi civilians. In the wake of these atrocities, the civilian government in Iraq proposes to end the reign of terror of called: Blackwater in Iraq.
The Iraqi interior ministry has said it has drafted legislation regulating private security companies following a shooting allegedly involving a US firm. --BBC News The new measure is expected to make it clear: US contractors will work within the "rule of law" or they will be thrown out of Iraq. The BBC reports that the Iraqi interior ministry has drafted legislation that will regulate private security firms. A draft measure by the State Shura Council will eventually be submitted to parliament for debate. A period of immunity and thus impunity may be over for good.
This is the only reasonable outcome. The operation of US contractors in Iraq should never have been otherwise. The Bush administration's disregard for Iraqi sovereignty and the rule of law in our own nation may at last catch up with Bush and his paid assassins. Is anyone really surprised, given Bush's record, that US contractors would literally run amok? Reports of seemingly random shootings, often fatal, are, at last, reaching even the US mainstream media for whom the Iraq war has been their nadir.
With any luck, this may signal an end to the GOP gravy train [See: The Pure Pork Gravy Train: How the Government Robs the Social Security Trust Fund and Gives it to the Military/Industrial Complex ], the "private contractor" mechanism by which the corrupt Bush administration rewards no-bid contractors like Halliburton, et al. The US position in Iraq is legally indefensible and Bush himself is subject to prosecution. The expulsion of just one outlaw contractor seems a small victory given the magnitude of US crimes. But I will take it.
 At the very least, an odious symbol of Bush's illegitimate power will have fallen and Bush will have been revealed to the world a paper tiger. In the vacuum, a "government" might fill a void. As Iraq takes the lead, the US Congress must now follow up with its own investigation of Bush in Iraq, a critical re-evaluation of the Military/Industrial complex itself.
By Military/Industrial complex we mean the Pentagon Bureaucracy, the Military Command, the vast network of defense contractors, and the branches of government that must interface with this leviathan --primarily the President as "Commander-in-Chief" and those committees in congress charged with appropriations and oversight.
It was only two weeks ago, that Blackwater was implicated in the deaths of 11 Iraqis, an event still under investigation. BB --before Bush --this would have been called what it is: cold blooded murder. Blackwater USA, meanwhile, has said its guards reacted lawfully to an attack on a US diplomatic convoy. What does "lawfully" mean in this case? Does "lawfully" mean that Bush may granted to whomever he pleases the power to murder indiscriminately? What "powers" were granted to Blackwater when the contract was executed?
This argument sounds rather medieval, unprincipled and archaic to me, a defense Topcliffe must surely have cited to justify his tortures on behalf of Elizabeth I. My position is that the US presence in Iraq is itself illegal. The US, therefore, may not enter legally into any contract with any such sub-contractor. As the US presence itself violates Nuremberg, Geneva, and our own US Criminal Codes, the contracts thus executed are themselves null and void. In effect, I allege that Blackwater's very presence in Iraq is a crime. The killing of 11 Iraqis is therefore cold-blooded murder, in fact, a war crime punishable by death. See US Codes, Title 18, Section 241. Additional Resources
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:: Article nr. 36745 sent on 28-sep-2007 18:49 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=36745
Link: existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2007/09/blackwater-in-iraq.html
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.
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