This is good news. The former Blackwater mercenary conspiracy was that the US’ privatized military were not accountable for war crimes. They claimed that because they were part of the US’ total force their quasi military status made them exempt from civil prosecution. Then they argued that since they were civilians they were not subject to military discipline. These two legal loop holes gave them a free license to rape murder and torture without any legal accountability whatsoever. The new agreement simply states that the privatized military in Iraq are accountable if they commit crimes. That is a very important correction to make. God bless Barack Obama.
US contractors lose immunity in Iraq
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqd4ahie0zliIzNPYl_0PT92GHMgD94IV4EG0Contractors in Iraq could face charges in earlier incidents
"Private security contractors operating in Iraq could face Iraqi prosecution for acts committed when they supposedly had immunity from Iraqi law, U.S. officials said Thursday.
A new U.S.-Iraq security agreement doesn't specifically prevent Iraqi officials from bringing criminal charges retroactively in cases such as the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians by contractors protecting a State Department convoy, officials told security company officials during meetings in Washington Thursday.
The news caught company officials by surprise. "
"We are still trying to make sense of it," said Anne E. Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater Inc.
Iraq contractors make billions
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/12/iraq.contractors/index.html
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