Eugene Robinson: Sweeping Blackwater Under the Rug

[babylonsister]

Sweeping Blackwater Under the Rug

Posted on Dec 9, 2008

By Eugene Robinson


The federal manslaughter indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards for the horrific massacre of more than a dozen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad may look like an exercise in accountability, but it’s probably the exact opposite—a whitewash that absolves the governmental and corporate officials who should bear ultimate responsibility.

If what Justice Department prosecutors allege is true, the five guards—Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough—should have to answer for what they did on Sept. 16, 2007. The men, working under Blackwater’s contract to protect State Department personnel in Iraq, are charged with spraying a busy intersection with machine-gun fire and grenades, killing at least 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 20 others. One man, prosecutors said Monday, was shot in the chest with his hands raised in submission.

The indictment, charging voluntary manslaughter and weapons violations, demonstrates that those who engage “in unprovoked attacks will be held accountable,” Assistant Attorney General Patrick Rowan claimed.

But it demonstrates nothing of the sort. As with the torture and humiliation of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison, our government is deflecting all scrutiny from the corporate higher-ups who employed the guards—to say nothing of the policymakers whose decisions made the shootings possible, if not inevitable.

more...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081208_robinson_blackwater_indictments/

[Solly Mack]

1. Yep..it's the "a few bad apples" shit all over again

I watched the press conference and said "oooh...it's a few bad apples...not Prince...not the government...a few bad apples"

But of course! Because if it's just a case of a few people gone rogue then how can government or Prince possibly share in the blame?

[babylonsister]

2. I'm hoping these trials will be delayed until after January. Maybe some justice

will come from this.

And :hi:, Solly. You're still 'over there'?

Any word on a return date?

Hope you are well, and Happy Holidays!

[Solly Mack]

3. Happy Holidays, babylonsister. Still here. No return date yet.

Still got a few more years...

The guards should have long been prosecuted....as well as the entire company investgiated... and the policies and practices involved in the use of contractors investigated and exposed. (and some accountability there too)

I snarled through most of the press conference.

[babylonsister]

6. I've got a lot of hope that Holder can do something about Blackwater.

Yep, that's me, eternally optimistic. :D

[Solly Mack]

10. Yeah - but you can't help it.

:P

Just born that way I suppose

Some of my best friends are optimists

I delight in life too much to ever truly be without hope :) (but don't tell anyone)

[sofa king]

4. And the bad apples are gonna roll free, too.

They were granted immunity by the State Department within hours of the incident, in return for their testimony.

The Department of Justice has to try to build a case without using that testimony or any evidence which might have come from that testimony. On a good day they can't and in the cold, dark and shitty days of the Bush Administration, they'll tank it on purpose.

[Solly Mack]

5. Yep and contractors had immunity from Bush/Bremer early on

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/10/04/private_military_in_iraq/


One of the final acts of the CPA, Order 17 declared that foreign contractors within Iraq, including private military firms, would not be subject to any Iraqi laws -- "all International Consultants shall be immune from Iraqi legal process," it read.

and here's what you're talking about in case anyone needs a link

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3795318&page=1

It's not just a few bad apples..it's an atmosphere of do anything you want fostered by the US government..but now it is let's try and look like accountability is taking place....a few convictions to give the appearance...make people feel better about it all...without actually exposing the full story...and all the guilty.

[malaise]

7. I pointed that out on another thread

that since the entire war was illegal, all the deaths in Iraq are genocide.

[bvar22]

8. Is it possible to file a Class Action Civil Lawsuit....

...naming Blackwater and Prince asking for Punitive Damages?
They were in Iraq representing Americans, especially if they wore a flag on their uniforms.
Can I claim that my reputation and standing in the World has been damaged by their criminal behavior?

Alan Shore could win that case.
(God I'm going to miss that show.
One of the few reasons to own a TV....and now it is gone :cry:)

[babylonsister]

9. I'd happily sign one. nt

[robinlynne]

11. That was my first reaction too.