Bush Administration Promised Blackwater Immunity Over Shooting Of 17 Iraqis

AP:

The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

As a result, it will likely be months before the United States can--if ever--bring criminal charges in the case that has infuriated the Iraqi government.

"Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

A State Department spokesman did not have an immediate comment Monday. Both Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd and FBI spokesman Rich Kolko declined comment.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

05:20 PM on 11/01/2007

So they walked into the room (figuratively) and granted Everybody immunity....What?

It isn't done.....Ever. Granting immunity is a tool to get a suspect to reveal info and probably implicate co-suspects.

To grant it to every participant tells me it wasn't an error, but a deliberate decision to Shut Down Prosecution.

[javagirl322]

02:39 PM on 10/30/2007

I'm sure this administration made promises to Scooter Libby as well. When Bush said he would hold people accountable, they were just words.

[laocoon]

02:16 PM on 10/30/2007

there is something I dont understand. Does it cost substantially more for the US to pay for a blackwater contractor than for a US soldier. If so why are we paying more for less control. What is the motivation. How does it benefit the US?

[IzaakSzerman]

11:07 AM on 10/30/2007

Blackwater crimes and atrocities are the direct result of worshipping the unbridled greed of Capitalism.

This is one of hundreds of specific reasons why the 5 years olds running this government MUST be impeached.

I will not be a happy person until Bush and his co-sociopaths are swinging from a rope -- preferably the very same one used to lynch Saddam Hussein.

[andyboy]

11:52 AM on 10/30/2007

Tough talk but it only amounts to empty rhetoric. Impeachment is off the table. I don't see any indication whatsoever that anyone is going to stop the government from going totally despotic.

I am curious what do you really think should be done? If you had your way but knowing that you can't get Congress to impeach or otherwise rein itself in.

Do you resign yourself to a life of unhappiness? Leave the country? What? I am very interested in your response. I just want to know in real terms what you think we should do.

[HumeSkeptic]

10:57 AM on 10/30/2007

S. Africa's silent war in Iraq
Apartheid-era hired guns drawn by money
By Paul Salopek | Tribune foreign correspondent
October 7, 2007

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-mercenaries_salopek_bdoct07,1,2988737.story?page=1


"...And in that hush lies a clue to this African nation's murky and angst-ridden participation in America's military adventure in the Middle East: Durant is one of thousands of South African police officers and soldiers, most of them white veterans of the old apartheid regime, who have left their jobs to work as private security contractors in Iraq -- a semiclandestine exodus of hired guns that has alternately embarrassed and alarmed the pacifist government here."
...
-----------------------------

Where else would we fing such haters, torturers and killers than from the pool of "white veterans of the old apartheid regime"?


So, hiring these goons to torture and kill innocent civilinas is now part of our Great American Values?

[Ramirez]

11:51 AM on 10/30/2007

Blackwater.
General Contract Requirements:

Must be willing and able to deploy for 6 months.
Must be a U.S. Citizen, proof of citizenship is required.
Weight must be proportionate to height.
Must maintain a neat and clean appearance.
Must be in good health and pass a physical test.
Most positions require ability to obtain/maintain a secret or higher clearance.
No history of major illness or mental disorder.
Must have an Honorable Discharge and DD-214.
No felony, violent crimes, spouse or child abuse convictions(NO WAIVERS)
No personal bankruptcy or significant credit problems with past seven (7) years.

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/employment/contract.asp

[HumeSkeptic]

10:51 AM on 10/30/2007

Kudos to Blackwater. They know where to find the most depraved and mindless killers. Condi should be proud of them:

------------------------

"Blackwater has a contract of training 15,000 commandos for Iraq. In 2003 the American Defense Department made a contract worth $7.35 million for the training of 10,000 commandos. The price for the remaining 5,000 will be set in June this year. Including Chile, Blackwater will engage young people from South Africa, Italy, Brazil, Afghanistan, and from some of the Central Asian countries. The company is also training naval personnel from Virginia, Texas, and California in combat, but it is still not clear where these commandos will be deployed."
...
American Mercenaries
By Yasir Muhammad Khan

http://theunjustmedia.com/Mercenaries/American%20Mercenaries.htm

[Ramirez]

11:50 AM on 10/30/2007

Interesting link, Hume. Here's some other articles on that same website you provided:
****************
Sheikh Usama latest Audio message to the Mujahideen October 2007 The message is in Arabic with English subtitles.

An interview of Sheikh Usama bin Mohammed bin Ladin two months after the crusader ferocious attack on Islam The interview is in Arabic with English subtitles.

The Advice of one concerned Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri: another excellent documentary prepared by Mujahideen In English and Arabic with English subtitles

The martyr of Islam, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam (may Allah have mercy on him) and Sheikh Usama bin Mohammad bin Ladin (may Allah protect him) on the condition of Muslim scholars Video is in Arabic with English subtitles.

The power of truth: a must watch documentary In English and Arabic with English subtitles

A must watch video .. Theunjustmedia presentation of the reasons behind Mujahideen 9-11 attacks in the words of Sheikh Usama bin Mohammad bin Ladin with English Subtitles

Sheikh Usama Bin Ladin message to the Pakistani People with English Subtitles And now also in Urdu

In Iraq Martyrdom attack and Mujahideen firefight

Mujahideen in Afghanistan firing BM's at the enemy

Algeria Mujahideen training, analyzing intelligence, planning then executing operations against the Munafiqs

Islamic State of Iraq Mujahideen Snipers taking out American Terrorists with a touch of perfection

Islamic State of Iraq Mujahid Martyrdom attack totally demolishes the enemies of Islam terrorists Headquarter building

Ansar al-Sunnah Expedition of Abu Riyaadh al-Mubaarakah

Islamic State of Iraq Patrol Clash with the Murtadeen in Diyaalah

http://theunjustmedia.com/

[Ramirez]

12:27 PM on 10/30/2007

And here is another article by the esteemed Yasir Muhammad Khan, whose words were cited by HumeSkeptic in the comment above:
***

America Exposed
by Yasir Muhammad Khan

Closing graf:

"Instead of begging the world nations, we [Muslims] should learn to speak in an unequivocal term. The time demands that we strengthen our belief in Islam's supremacy over all religions, civilizations and nations of the world. Let us now start implementing the political, military and economic orders of Islam. All the Muslim countries should strengthen their relations with one another instead of promoting political and trade relations with the enemies. If the Muslim rulers show a little bit of courage and vision, nothing can stop the Muslims from emerging as the most powerful nation of the world."

http://abuusman01.tripod.com/

[fourex]

10:42 AM on 10/30/2007

"Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.

Aren't there circumstances where it is taken away, perjury, and obstruction?

[HumeSkeptic]

10:38 AM on 10/30/2007

A great nation would not have invaded a defenseless country that had done it no harm. Once it did, a great nation would not have treated its adversaries with vengeance and torture.

A great nation does not hire goons to kill defenseless civilians.

In fighting terrorists, a great nation does not itself become a terrorist country.

We are the mightiest nation ever to exist on earth. We have to learn to be a great nation.

We have lost our way.

[BushJustdrivesdemscrazy]

10:40 AM on 10/30/2007

"We have lost our way."

You've never been on the right track in your life.

"Your way" is not a path that leads to a bright future for America or Americans.

[innerpeace]

10:42 AM on 10/30/2007

bushdrives-None of your posts contain any facts.All you are doing is putting posters down by making generalized statements that have no relevance to the topic.

[HumeSkeptic]

10:43 AM on 10/30/2007

I can see that you are desperate for my attention. Some other day, trollie. Wait in line.

[queeraz]

10:35 AM on 10/30/2007

Anyone else would be called an insurgent. Someone has to fan the flames to keep the "war" going. If the US military cannot provide security for all the washington brass visiting, then something is terribly wrong. Isn't a unit of the national gaurd available?

[LaFeminazi]

10:34 AM on 10/30/2007

Get Yer

Blackwater

Lapel pins here.

Show your support

For patriotic mercenaries.

Made in India by children forced by our own loving guards.

Support your Corporate murderers now.

[HumeSkeptic]

10:29 AM on 10/30/2007

We have hired Pinochet's goons, White supremacists from South Africa, and a variety of other torturers and killers to bring democracy to Iraq. And this has been going on for a long time. Read this:


---------------------------

"In February, Blackwater USA, a North Carolina-based Pentagon contractor, began hiring former combat personnel in Chile, offering them up to $4,000 a month to guard oil wells in Iraq. The company flew the first batch of 60 former commandos to a training camp in North Carolina. These recruits will eventually wind up in Iraq where they will spend six months to a year.

"We scour the ends of the earth to find professionals -- the Chilean commandos are very, very professional and they fit within the Blackwater system," Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater USA, told the Guardian."
...

"Apart from Chile, the other popular source for military recruits is South Africa. The United Nations recently reported that South Africa "is already among the top three suppliers of personnel for private military companies, along with the UK and the US."

...
------------------------
Mercenaries 'R' Us

By Bill Berkowitz, AlterNet. Posted March 24, 2004.
http://www.alternet.org/story/18193/

-----------------------

[LaFeminazi]

10:41 AM on 10/30/2007

Pinochets men guarding the stadium.

Angry Boers doing what they do best, shooting kaffirs.

I suppose they will hire Taleban soon.

[HumeSkeptic]

10:47 AM on 10/30/2007

I hear we are arming ex-AQI. Does that count?

[LaFeminazi]

10:29 AM on 10/30/2007

They may be killers

But they are our killers.

God bless our hired killers

***snif***

Signed

The trolls.

[LaFeminazi]

10:25 AM on 10/30/2007

Since when was.

Firing indiscriminately at innocent men and women in a crowded street NOT an act of terrorism?

Did someone just change the definition?

[cryingeagle]

10:23 AM on 10/30/2007

Blackwater, doesn't that just mean "oil".

Immunity, doesn't that just mean "we can do anything we want to".

As in "we can do anyting we want to for oil".

[LaFeminazi]

10:16 AM on 10/30/2007

Hey trolls

Get your own Blackwater costume complete with semi automatic water rifle that goes off when you least expect it.

Play Mercenaries and terrorists.

Impress your friends, and scare mommy.

http://www.bigboygames.com

[Firaxis]

10:20 AM on 10/30/2007

Thalia's favorite radio personality Ranting Rhodes has accused Blackwater of setting the wildfires in California to punish liberals.

Go figure.

[LaFeminazi]

10:27 AM on 10/30/2007

Rhodes/Rush same moronic twaddle.