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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 9th,
2008 - Blackwater Unlikely to Face Charges in Iraq Shooting |
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Blackwater Unlikely to Face Charges
in Iraq Shooting By Matt Apuzzo & Lara Jakes Jordan Associated Press May 9, 2008 Washington - Blackwater
Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for
the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected to face criminal charges
- all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to
protect U.S. diplomats. Instead, the seven-month-old
Justice Department investigation is focused on as few as three or four
Blackwater guards who could be indicted in the Sept. 16 shootings, according
to interviews with a half-dozen people close to the investigation. The final decision on any
charges will not be made until late summer at the earliest, a law enforcement
official said. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. The State Department
publicly raised the question of Blackwater's corporate liability last month
when it extended the company's contract by one year. The contract could still
be canceled if criminal charges are brought, but the department said it was
unlikely to penalize the corporation if only its employees were charged. "I think that's really
what the FBI investigation needs to look at: Is the company culpable or are
the individuals culpable?" Greg Starr, the department's top security officer,
said last month. Justice Department spokesman
Dean Boyd declined to comment. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne
Tyrrell said, "If it is determined that there are any individuals who
need to be held accountable, we support that." The shootings began when a
Blackwater convoy, which was responding to a Baghdad car bombing, entered the
Nisoor Square traffic circle. Blackwater says the convoy was ambushed by
insurgents, touching off a firefight. Iraqi witnesses, however, described an
unprovoked attack in which security guards fired indiscriminately, killing
motorists, bystanders and children in the square. The shooting enraged the
Iraqi government, which originally sought to expel the company from the
country, and strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Baghdad.
The shooting also raised questions at home and abroad about the U.S. reliance
on heavily armed private contractors in war zones. With nearly 1,000
personnel working in Iraq, Blackwater is the largest State Department
security contractor; critics have compared its guards to mercenaries. Since the shooting,
Blackwater has also come to symbolize the legal gray area in which such
security contractors operate. Iraqi officials wanted to charge Blackwater
guards in Baghdad, but U.S. contractors are immune from prosecution in Iraqi
courts. U.S. prosecutors believe they have jurisdiction to bring a case in
Washington, but that's an untested legal theory. This week, the Justice
Department continued its secret grand jury interviews in the case with the
testimony of a U.S. military official. An estimated 40 witnesses have so far
been brought before the grand jury in Washington, including Blackwater
security guards and company managers. Iraqi witnesses also are expected to
testify in coming months, according to people close to the case. Companies are sometimes
charged for the wrongdoing of their employees, but the standard is high.
Prosecutors must prove that the corporation - not just the employees -
intended to break the law. One recent example is Chiquita Brands
International, which was fined $25 million after admitting it paid Colombian
terrorists to protect its most profitable banana-growing operation. "The law tries to get
at the idea of moral responsibility," said longtime Washington corporate
lawyer Thomas F. Cullen. "To be morally responsible for someone else's
criminal act, you need to be somehow involved in their criminal intent. Did
you direct it?" Blackwater could still face
charges if, for example, prosecutors conclude the company lied to
investigators, destroyed documents or obstructed the probe. Blackwater says
it is fully cooperating with the Justice Department. The Department gives
credit for such cooperation when deciding whether to bring charges. Even if Blackwater avoids
prosecution for the shooting, its legal problems will continue. Families of the Nisoor
Square victims are suing Blackwater under a wrongful death claim in civil
court. The lawsuit does not specify how much money they are seeking from
Blackwater, its 11 subsidiaries and founder, Erik Prince, all of whom are
named as defendants. The standard of proof needed to win is lower in civil
cases than in criminal cases, which require proof beyond reasonable doubt. Separately, federal
prosecutors in North Carolina are investigating whether Blackwater played a
role in a weapons smuggling case linked to the Kurdish militant group PKK, a
U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Blackwater denies involvement in the
case. © 2008 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5767998.html |