Iraq Pushes For Quicker Removal Of Blackwater

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Immunity for Blackwater ... and NO SOFA .....

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One remedy is not being discussed: the State Department can waive immunity for contractors and let the case be tried in the Iraqi courts under Order 17, which is the section of the Transitional Administrative Law approved in 2004 that gives contractors immunity.

L. Paul Bremer III, who supervised the drafting of the immunity order as administrator of the United States occupation authority, said: "The immunity is not absolute. The order requires contractors to respect all Iraqi laws, so it's not a blanket immunity."

The order was intended as a substitute for a status of forces agreement, which can be made only with a sovereign country, Bremer said. While the military has immunity from Iraqi law, it agrees in exchange to subject its members to American military law. In contrast, civilian contractors have immunity, but it is unclear which laws, if any, can be used to hold them to account.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/11/africa/11legal.php
Understand now ... the blanket immunity that Blackwater operates under, was written/agreed to prior to there being an Iraqi Provisional Government. Thus there could NOT be a SOFA because the IPG didn't exist at that time.

I can see where this places the US Government and military commanders in Iraq between a rock and a hard spot. Danged if you do turn violators over to the tender mercy of Iraqi justice, and danged if you don't at least try them in our own courts for violation of Iraq law. The real problem has more twists and turns than a gordian knot and will be more difficult to untie than the knot.
 
Americans being tried in American courts for violating the law of another country, I don't think there is any precedent for such a move. I for one would be hard pressed to allow this to happen. Bad juju that.
 
I can see the difficulties here, but to just turn our back on them is only going to bury us deeper in a grave of our own making. Unfortunately the people who allowed this to come about will never put their hand up.

The whole shemozzle was bought about by people seeking an easy answer to a complex problem, the resolution of that problem is going to be a every bit as difficult. If we wish to retain some credibility in the world, it would not be wise to try to solve this problem in the same manner.

Someone is going to have to bite the bullet. But it'll never happen.
 
Our entire western culture vis a vis Madison Avenue is about the quick and easy fix. Why should this be any different? How many people have posted on this forum alone asking how they can lose weight? They're all looking for the easy quick fix. Its a pandemic.
 
Hey Bulldogg - save me some time reading - what's the secret on the weight thing?
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Honest question - lets say a CIA or DEA operative kills a civilian, who are they answerable to? Are they brought back and tried in US Courts?
I really don't know - anybody?
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That doesn't answer the bloody question kid. Why not stick to the lighter forum threads and leave this more complex stuff to the adults? You're not adding anything here.
 
Thanks for the civics lesson - means a whole lot coming from for a Kuci lover.
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Lets say a CIA paramilitary agent shoots into a crowd intending to take out a bad guy and clips a few civilians in the process. Does the DOJ step in and prosecute?
 
In Australia, any cop who kills, wounds or injures a person in the performance of his duties is firstly interviewed by members of the Internal Investigation Department their findings and recommendations are passed to a number of other regulatory bodies who again have the right to interview the officer concerned and ultimately make a decision as to whether he is charged in the courts, reprimanded in writing, cautioned or cleared. All of this material is available to the public in one form or another.

Security guards are put through the regular justice system as any other civilian, with preliminary hearings before a court and so on from there. If he is found to have acted within the law it goes no further. This is not a rubber stamp process and may take years., just like any other major case.
 
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