Iraqis: Video shows Blackwater guards fired 1st
The Iraqis are claiming that they have a video tape which proves that Blackwater guards opened fired on civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11 people died.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 20 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths.
He told The Associated Press that the conclusion was based on witness statements as well as videotape shot by cameras at the nearby headquarters of the national police command. He said eight people were killed at the scene and three of the 15 wounded died in hospitals.
Blackwater, which provides most of the security for U.S. diplomats and civilian officials in Iraq, has insisted that its guards came under fire from armed insurgents and shot back only to defend themselves.
There are reports that Mailiki's government intends to prosecute the Blackwater guards responsible for the incident, but I am not sure how this can actually happen as all US "civilian contractors" have immunity from prosecution in Iraq.
Time will tell whether or not anyone is actually prosecuted in this case but I would be extremely surprised if the US allow any prosecution to take place. After all the US have become increasingly reliant on these mercenaries and one of the ways that the US encourages people to sign up for this task - apart from the obvious financial incentive - is to guarantee that they will never be prosecuted.Although al-Waili did not spell out exactly what the investigative committee would recommend to the Iraqi courts, a preliminary report of findings by the Interior Ministry, National Security Ministry and Defense Ministry stated that "the murder of citizens in cold blood in the Nisour area by Blackwater is considered a terrorist action against civilians just like any other terrorist operations."
"The criminals will be referred to the Iraqi court system," the report stated.
Iraqi investigators have videotape showing Blackwater guards opening fire on civilians without provocation in the shooting last week, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.
Of course, to most sensible people, the notion that you can tell someone in a war zone that they are immune from prosecution is an almost guaranteed recipe for disaster. Awful things take place in war zones and crimes are committed by people who know full well that they may one day have to answer for what they have done, so giving certain people immunity is almost asking for the kind of incident which is reported to have taken place in Nisoor Square.
The whole notion of immunity from prosecution, which was derived from a 2004 law imposed by the occupation army, must surely now come under review. There is talk that three of the Blackwater employees were Iraqi's so perhaps it is with this in mind that that Maliki's government are talking about prosecutions.
For I notice that, having recently demanded that Blackwater stop all work in Iraq and leave, Maliki's government are now saying they want an "apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held accountable." That's quite a lowering of the stakes.
But, the notion that certain people can be allowed to work in a war zone with immunity is an obscenity, and it is an obscenity that the Iraqi government should quickly insist be brought to an end.
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