Blackwater "has a client who will support them no matter what they do" (WAPO)

[kpete]

Where Military Rules Don't Apply
Blackwater's Security Force in Iraq Given Wide Latitude by State Dept.

By Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, September 20, 2007; Page A01

..........

Blackwater "has a client who will support them no matter what they do," said H.C. Lawrence Smith, deputy director of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq, an advocacy organization in Baghdad that is funded by security firms, including Blackwater.

The State Department allowed Blackwater's heavily armed teams to operate without an Interior Ministry license, even after the requirement became standard language in Defense Department security contracts. The company was not subject to the military's restrictions on the use of offensive weapons, its procedures for reporting shooting incidents or a central tracking system that allows commanders to monitor the movements of security companies on the battlefield.

"The Iraqis despised them, because they were untouchable," said Matthew Degn, who recently returned from Baghdad after serving as senior American adviser to the Interior Ministry. "They were above the law." Degn said Blackwater's armed Little Bird helicopters often buzzed the Interior Ministry's roof, "almost like they were saying, 'Look, we can fly anywhere we want.' "

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091902503.html?hpid=topnews

[rodeodance]

1. cspan WJ talking of his issue now. Very good

[mod mom]

2. Bremer's Memo # 17 gave immunity-then he left Iraq the next day.

from the article:

Coalition Provisional Authority he wrote the initial drafts of Memorandum 17, dated June 26, 2004, which established operating guidelines for security companies and remains "the extant law for private security contractors in Iraq."

The rules on use of force are introduced in capital letters with the statement: "NOTHING IN THESE RULES LIMITS YOUR INHERENT RIGHT TO TAKE ACTION NECESSARY TO DEFEND YOURSELF."

A separate document, CPA Order 17, dated June 27, 2004, granted the private security companies immunity from Iraqi law.

The CPA administrator, L. Paul Bremer, left Iraq the next day after transferring authority to an interim Iraqi government.

IT APPEARS THAT 8 WANT HIS OWN PRIVATE MILITARY FUNDED WITH TAXPAYERS $, TRAINED THROUGH OUR MILITARY AND TOTALLY DEVOTED TO HIM. NO WONDER HE GAVE THEM IMMUNITY. THE SCARY PART WILL BE IF WE EVER ATTEMPT TO BRING 8 TO JUSTICE-WHAT WILL THIS PRIVATE bUSH ARMY DO?

[Stalwart]

3. Cheney; One Percent Rule of Engagement

The rule that got the US in is probably the same rule that Blackwater applies: If there is only 1 percent chance that any threat represents the intent to attack then immediate unilateral overwhelming force is justified.

A formal definition of trigger happy.

There must have been some US officials in the cars that Blackwater was escorting. I have not seen any reference to them or what they saw or said. Are US officials also exempt from any rules in Iraq? A congressional subpoena? Who are they and what did they see? How willing would they be to see anything if their lives depend on Blackwater the next time they go out of the Green Zone.

Witness protection for testifying?

Somebody has to be willing to prosecute first.