Paul Simon
2008-11-16 17:47:04 UTC
Blackwater Busted? Six Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Massacre
By Jeremy Scahill, TheNation.com. Posted November 15, 2008.
Critics still fear reckless behavior by the 140,000 private corporate
contractors in Iraq will continue.
After more than five years of rampant violence and misconduct carried
out by the massive army of private corporate contractors in Iraq --
actions that have gone totally unpunished under any system of law --
the US Justice Department appears to be on the verge of handing down
the first indictments against armed private forces for crimes
committed in Iraq. The reported targets of the "draft" indictments:
six Blackwater operatives involved in the September 16, 2007, killing
of seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square.The Associated
Press reports, "The draft is being reviewed by senior Justice
Department officials but no charging decisions have been made. A
decision is not expected until at least later this month." The AP,
citing sources close to the case, reports that the department has not
determined if the Blackwater operatives would be charged with
manslaughter or assault. Simply drafting the indictments does not mean
that the Blackwater forces are certain to face charges. The department
could indict as few as three of the operatives, who potentially face
sentences of five to twenty years, depending on the charges.
If the Justice Department pursues a criminal prosecution, it would be
the first time armed private contractors from the United States face
justice.
But that is a very big "if."
"The Justice Department has had this matter for fourteen months and
has done almost everything imaginable to walk away from it --
including delivering a briefing to Congress in which they suggested
that they lacked legal authority to press charges," says Scott Horton,
distinguished visiting professor of law at Hofstra University and
author of a recent study of legal accountability for private security
contractors. "They did this notwithstanding evidence collected by the
first teams on the scene that suggested an ample basis to prosecute.
The ultimate proof here will be in the details, namely, what charges
are brought exactly and what evidence has Justice assembled to make
its case. Still, it's hard to miss Justice's lack of enthusiasm about
this case, and that's troubling."
Even if some Blackwater operatives face charges, critics allege it is
the company that must be held responsible. "I am encouraged that the
Justice Department is finally making progress in the investigation,
but I am disappointed that it took over a year and a lot of pressure
for the department to take any action," says Illinois Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky, who introduced legislation that seeks to ban using
Blackwater and other armed security companies in US war zones. (She
was also the national campaign co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential
campaign and is a top candidate to replace him in the US Senate.)
"While it is important to hold these individual contractors
accountable for their actions, we must also hold Blackwater
accountable for creating a culture that allows this type of reckless
behavior," adds Schakowsky. "The indictments do nothing to solve the
underlying problem of private security contractors performing critical
government functions. The indictments will likely get rid of a few bad
apples, but there will be no real consequences for Blackwater. This
company is going to continue to do business as usual -- the solution
is to get them out of this business."
News of potential indictments over the Nisour Square shootings comes
as the State Department is reportedly preparing to hit Blackwater with
a multimillion-dollar fine for allegedly shipping as many as 900
automatic weapons to Iraq without the required permits. Some of the
guns may have made their way to the black market.
Blackwater has served as the official bodyguard service for senior US
occupation officials since August 2003, when the company was awarded a
$27 million no-bid contract to guard L. Paul Bremer, the original head
of the Coalition Provisional Authority. To date, the company has raked
in more than $1 billion in "security" contracts under its arrangement
with the State Department.
Despite widespread accusations of killings of civilians and other
crimes, not a single armed contractor from Blackwater -- or from any
other armed war corporation -- has faced charges under any legal
system. Instead, they have operated in a climate where immunity and
impunity have gone hand in hand. At present, private contractors --
most of them unarmed -- outnumber US troops in Iraq by roughly 50,000
personnel.
There is no doubt that the Bush administration will continue
enthusiastically to use armed private forces until the second Bush
leaves office. This means that the future of Blackwater and the
hundreds of for-profit war corporations servicing the Iraq occupation
will lay with President-elect Barack Obama. This includes Blackwater
and at least 300 other companies, which have been hired by the US
government for privatized armed services in Iraq to the tune of about
$6 billion in taxpayer money.
"One of the biggest problems that Barack Obama is going to have is
turning the government back into a civil service and getting rid of
all the private contractors," says Washington Democratic
Representative Jim McDermott. "The private contracting thing is the
most erosive thing that this administration has done. You look at all
the things that are being run by private contractors, you simply
cannot be handing money to a private contractor who is not under the
law of that country or the law of this country and can do anything
they want. They're really -- they're rogue outfits."
Obama has been a passionate critic of the war industry and is the
sponsor of the leading Democratic legislation in the Senate to bring
more effective regulation and oversight to it. But he has stopped
short of supporting Schakowsky and Senator Bernie Sanders's
legislation seeking a ban on using Blackwater and other armed
contracting companies in Iraq. One of his top foreign policy advisers
told The Nation earlier this year that Obama "can't rule out [and]
won't rule out" using these companies in Iraq.
In a brief interview with Democracy Now! in February, Obama
explainedhis position when asked about the report in The Nation.
"Here's the problem: we have 140,000 private contractors right there,
so unless we want to replace all of or a big chunk of those with US
troops, we can't draw down the contractors faster than we can draw
down our troops," Obama said. "So what I want to do is draw -- I want
them out in the same way that we make sure that we draw out our own
combat troops."
As Obama's inauguration day draws near, he is facing increased calls
from Democrats who have spent years investigating Blackwater to ban
the company. Most prominent among these is Henry Waxman, chair of the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He called on Obama
to cancel Blackwater's security contracts. "I don't see any reason to
have a contract with Blackwater," says Waxman. "They haven't lived up
to their contract, and we shouldn't be having these private military
contracts. We should use our own military."
As of now, Blackwater's Iraq contract expires in April (it was
extended for a year by the State Department despite numerous
investigations). "I think there should be very strong handcuffs put on
this whole outsourcing question, but particularly with these private
security contractors like DynCorp and Blackwater," says Vermont
Democrat Peter Welch, who serves on the Oversight Committee with
Waxman and supports the calls for Obama to cancel Blackwater's
security contracts. "It's just an incredible waste of taxpayer money.
It dishonors the Code of Military Conduct. Our soldiers are over
there. They abide by rules. Blackwater doesn't."
But not all Democrats agree. Senator John Kerry, who is reportedly
among the people being considered for Secretary of State in the Obama
administration, shares the president-elect's view. "I don't think they
should be banned," says Kerry. "I think they need to operate under
rules that apply to the military and everybody else."
As of January 20, 2009, if Obama decides to keep Blackwater and other
armed war corporations on the US payroll, these private forces would
go from being Bush's mercenaries in Iraq to Obama's. As commander in
chief, he would be responsible for their crimes. As for the
accountability issue, many critics allege that the most serious
problems in holding contractors responsible for their crimes stem from
the Bush administration's covering-up of their misconduct and
immunizing them from prosecution, and the total lack of political will
to bring them to justice. When Obama appoints a new attorney general,
there will be more than five years' worth of crimes to investigate --
and prosecute.
Jeremy Scahill, an independent journalist who reports frequently for
the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, has spent extensive
time reporting from Iraq and Yugoslavia. He is currently a Puffin
Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill is the author of
Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.
By Jeremy Scahill, TheNation.com. Posted November 15, 2008.
Critics still fear reckless behavior by the 140,000 private corporate
contractors in Iraq will continue.
After more than five years of rampant violence and misconduct carried
out by the massive army of private corporate contractors in Iraq --
actions that have gone totally unpunished under any system of law --
the US Justice Department appears to be on the verge of handing down
the first indictments against armed private forces for crimes
committed in Iraq. The reported targets of the "draft" indictments:
six Blackwater operatives involved in the September 16, 2007, killing
of seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square.The Associated
Press reports, "The draft is being reviewed by senior Justice
Department officials but no charging decisions have been made. A
decision is not expected until at least later this month." The AP,
citing sources close to the case, reports that the department has not
determined if the Blackwater operatives would be charged with
manslaughter or assault. Simply drafting the indictments does not mean
that the Blackwater forces are certain to face charges. The department
could indict as few as three of the operatives, who potentially face
sentences of five to twenty years, depending on the charges.
If the Justice Department pursues a criminal prosecution, it would be
the first time armed private contractors from the United States face
justice.
But that is a very big "if."
"The Justice Department has had this matter for fourteen months and
has done almost everything imaginable to walk away from it --
including delivering a briefing to Congress in which they suggested
that they lacked legal authority to press charges," says Scott Horton,
distinguished visiting professor of law at Hofstra University and
author of a recent study of legal accountability for private security
contractors. "They did this notwithstanding evidence collected by the
first teams on the scene that suggested an ample basis to prosecute.
The ultimate proof here will be in the details, namely, what charges
are brought exactly and what evidence has Justice assembled to make
its case. Still, it's hard to miss Justice's lack of enthusiasm about
this case, and that's troubling."
Even if some Blackwater operatives face charges, critics allege it is
the company that must be held responsible. "I am encouraged that the
Justice Department is finally making progress in the investigation,
but I am disappointed that it took over a year and a lot of pressure
for the department to take any action," says Illinois Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky, who introduced legislation that seeks to ban using
Blackwater and other armed security companies in US war zones. (She
was also the national campaign co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential
campaign and is a top candidate to replace him in the US Senate.)
"While it is important to hold these individual contractors
accountable for their actions, we must also hold Blackwater
accountable for creating a culture that allows this type of reckless
behavior," adds Schakowsky. "The indictments do nothing to solve the
underlying problem of private security contractors performing critical
government functions. The indictments will likely get rid of a few bad
apples, but there will be no real consequences for Blackwater. This
company is going to continue to do business as usual -- the solution
is to get them out of this business."
News of potential indictments over the Nisour Square shootings comes
as the State Department is reportedly preparing to hit Blackwater with
a multimillion-dollar fine for allegedly shipping as many as 900
automatic weapons to Iraq without the required permits. Some of the
guns may have made their way to the black market.
Blackwater has served as the official bodyguard service for senior US
occupation officials since August 2003, when the company was awarded a
$27 million no-bid contract to guard L. Paul Bremer, the original head
of the Coalition Provisional Authority. To date, the company has raked
in more than $1 billion in "security" contracts under its arrangement
with the State Department.
Despite widespread accusations of killings of civilians and other
crimes, not a single armed contractor from Blackwater -- or from any
other armed war corporation -- has faced charges under any legal
system. Instead, they have operated in a climate where immunity and
impunity have gone hand in hand. At present, private contractors --
most of them unarmed -- outnumber US troops in Iraq by roughly 50,000
personnel.
There is no doubt that the Bush administration will continue
enthusiastically to use armed private forces until the second Bush
leaves office. This means that the future of Blackwater and the
hundreds of for-profit war corporations servicing the Iraq occupation
will lay with President-elect Barack Obama. This includes Blackwater
and at least 300 other companies, which have been hired by the US
government for privatized armed services in Iraq to the tune of about
$6 billion in taxpayer money.
"One of the biggest problems that Barack Obama is going to have is
turning the government back into a civil service and getting rid of
all the private contractors," says Washington Democratic
Representative Jim McDermott. "The private contracting thing is the
most erosive thing that this administration has done. You look at all
the things that are being run by private contractors, you simply
cannot be handing money to a private contractor who is not under the
law of that country or the law of this country and can do anything
they want. They're really -- they're rogue outfits."
Obama has been a passionate critic of the war industry and is the
sponsor of the leading Democratic legislation in the Senate to bring
more effective regulation and oversight to it. But he has stopped
short of supporting Schakowsky and Senator Bernie Sanders's
legislation seeking a ban on using Blackwater and other armed
contracting companies in Iraq. One of his top foreign policy advisers
told The Nation earlier this year that Obama "can't rule out [and]
won't rule out" using these companies in Iraq.
In a brief interview with Democracy Now! in February, Obama
explainedhis position when asked about the report in The Nation.
"Here's the problem: we have 140,000 private contractors right there,
so unless we want to replace all of or a big chunk of those with US
troops, we can't draw down the contractors faster than we can draw
down our troops," Obama said. "So what I want to do is draw -- I want
them out in the same way that we make sure that we draw out our own
combat troops."
As Obama's inauguration day draws near, he is facing increased calls
from Democrats who have spent years investigating Blackwater to ban
the company. Most prominent among these is Henry Waxman, chair of the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He called on Obama
to cancel Blackwater's security contracts. "I don't see any reason to
have a contract with Blackwater," says Waxman. "They haven't lived up
to their contract, and we shouldn't be having these private military
contracts. We should use our own military."
As of now, Blackwater's Iraq contract expires in April (it was
extended for a year by the State Department despite numerous
investigations). "I think there should be very strong handcuffs put on
this whole outsourcing question, but particularly with these private
security contractors like DynCorp and Blackwater," says Vermont
Democrat Peter Welch, who serves on the Oversight Committee with
Waxman and supports the calls for Obama to cancel Blackwater's
security contracts. "It's just an incredible waste of taxpayer money.
It dishonors the Code of Military Conduct. Our soldiers are over
there. They abide by rules. Blackwater doesn't."
But not all Democrats agree. Senator John Kerry, who is reportedly
among the people being considered for Secretary of State in the Obama
administration, shares the president-elect's view. "I don't think they
should be banned," says Kerry. "I think they need to operate under
rules that apply to the military and everybody else."
As of January 20, 2009, if Obama decides to keep Blackwater and other
armed war corporations on the US payroll, these private forces would
go from being Bush's mercenaries in Iraq to Obama's. As commander in
chief, he would be responsible for their crimes. As for the
accountability issue, many critics allege that the most serious
problems in holding contractors responsible for their crimes stem from
the Bush administration's covering-up of their misconduct and
immunizing them from prosecution, and the total lack of political will
to bring them to justice. When Obama appoints a new attorney general,
there will be more than five years' worth of crimes to investigate --
and prosecute.
Jeremy Scahill, an independent journalist who reports frequently for
the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, has spent extensive
time reporting from Iraq and Yugoslavia. He is currently a Puffin
Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill is the author of
Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.