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US Will Appeal Blackwater Court Ruling - Biden
BAGHDAD - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday his government would appeal against a court decision to dismiss charges against Blackwater security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians.
The U.S. federal court decision last month, which found that the defendants' constitutional rights had been violated, angered Iraqis. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has hired U.S. lawyers to prepare a law suit against Blackwater, a security contractor now called Xe Services.
"The United States will appeal this decision," Biden said on a visit to Baghdad. Referring to the court ruling, he said "a dismissal is not an acquittal," and that the U.S. government would lodge the appeal next week.
The former Blackwater security guards were accused of killing the Iraqis at a Baghdad traffic circle in September 2007.
The incident came to symbolise for Iraqis what they saw as foreigners' disregard for their lives after private guards protecting U.S. personnel were given immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
It also threw a critical light on the U.S. use of private security contractors in Iraq.
The guards say they fired in self-defence in the incident, which occurred during some of the worst sectarian violence in Iraq.
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Show AllThe Iraq War is a poster child for privatization of military operations, a process that began in the early 1990s with the first war in Iraq (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm). More than a decade later, the Pentagon (and, by extension, the White House) has no idea how many contractors are operating on behalf of the US.
Last December, the GAO reported that the Army alone had "almost 60,000 contractor employees currently support ongoing military operations in Southwest Asia. By way of contrast, an estimated 9,200 contractor personnel supported military operations in the 1991 Gulf War."
A May estimate was 126,000 private contractors, one-fifth of them US citizens. Others estimate 200,000 -- a number equal to or exceeding US troops. And "some in Congress estimate that up to 40 cents of every tax dollar spent on the war goes to corporate war contractors."
I believe the process began several decades ago, except we were hiring off shore mercenaries rather than American ones. What has changed is the fact that we're authorizing the development of a private army/navy/air force within our own borders. I suspect that the beast will some day turn on the master, but we'll have to wait and see. Company A will hire Xe Services to 'contain' company B, the US will get involved and Xe will have to fire upon American citizens. The DEA and CIA however have hired local thugs to fight all the way back to Viet Nam that I'm aware of
Ol' Joe will need a fig leaf bigger than a lie.
I'll believe this when the murderous scum, and their boss, are behind bars
I'm with ya on this.... One of the BIG failures of this administration is that there has been ZERO accountablility for the crimes committed during and by the past administration.... just business as usual.
Since the charges were dismissed on the basis that the defendents had the right to avoid self-incrimination isn't an appeal a waste of time?
Surely they prosecuters can refile charges and do their job properly. Perhaps the employee who plead guilty would be a willing prosecution witness.
Of course an appeal is a waste of time. Certainly Biden isn't so stupid as to not know that.
Sorry Joe, but this is grandstanding at the expense of the Iraqi people and the American taxpayer. You are meddling in Iraq's internal affairs at President Obama's behest. Next time your administration criticizes China for meddling in other country's affairs I will fart on that statement.
I am pleased to see that the inflammatory and inaccurate article on Xe/Blackwater published yesterday by the know-nothing Jeremy Scahill was removed by CD editors.
'Blackwater' is an apt name to those who know the difference between black water and gray water.