Appealing for Justice in KBR/Halliburton Case

The Federal District Court in Houston, Judge Gray Miller presiding dismissed the Good Friday Massacre case today saying that KBR/Halliburton's actions are not reviewable by the Courts as a "political question." This decision is devastating to not only my clients but for all civilian employees.

The case concerns an incident, detailed in Robert Greenwald's new documentary Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, in which a convoy was sent into a known battle zone by KBR/Halliburton. Last Monday my client Ed Sanchez, one of the surviving truck drivers in the convoy, and I testified about the case before the Democratic Policy Committee.

I remember Senator Dorgan's well- intentioned comment that "...we are not here to try a case." As it stands now, the Courts will not review Halliburton/ KBR's conduct, the Congress can't, and nobody (I mean no government authority) will see the evidence or evaluate how seven CIVILIANS were killed. The men who were killed that day are not even a 'statistic' because they are not part of the 'official death count.' As it stands now this ruling means the truth about how and why civilians were sent into a massive kill zone that Halliburton/ KBR knew was present will never come out.

Seriously, where do United States citizens turn to be heard? I thought we were fighting this war, and all wars, to preserve the rights of citizens, including the right to trial by jury within our judicial system. This, in my view, is a sad day not only for the families and men I represent but for our future. We strongly disagree with the decision and intend to appeal.