Iraq‘s prime minister on Wednesday disputed Blackwater USA‘s version of a weekend shooting that left at least 11 people dead and declared he would not tolerate "the killing of our citizens in cold blood."
However, the article does not discuss that incident, instead it switches to discussing a family shot in a car.
Quote:
But The New York Times reported late Tuesday that a preliminary review by Iraq‘s Ministry of Interior found that Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman‘s call to stop, killing a couple and their infant.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the Sunday shooting was "the seventh of its kind" involving Blackwater "and these violations should be dealt with."
Al-Maliki said Blackwater‘s version of the events "is not accurate" and that U.S. diplomats could use the services of other security companies.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said in a statement late Monday that "Blackwater‘s independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday."
The Interior Ministry said Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater‘s license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country. The following day the government rolled back, suggesting the firm‘s operations were only suspended pending completion of a joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation.
Quote:
Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that the government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors.
Al-Sadr‘s office in Najaf said the government should nullify contracts of all foreign security companies, branding them "criminal and intelligence firms."
"This aggression would not have happened had it not been for the presence of the occupiers who brought these companies, most of whose members are criminals and ex-convicts in American and Western prisons," the firebrand cleric said in a statement.
Al-Sadr insisted the government prosecute those involved and ensure that families of the victims receive compensation but did not threaten to unleash his Mahdi Army militia in retaliation for the killings.
Quote:
A 2004 regulation issued by the U.S. occupation authority granted security contractors full immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. Unlike American military personnel, the civilian contractors are also not subject to U.S. military law either.
They don't mention international law.
Quote:
Hassan al-Rubaie, a member of the parliament‘s Security and Defense Committee, said an investigative committee has been formed to consider lifting the contractors‘ immunity.
Blackwater and other foreign contractors accused of killing Iraqi citizens have gone without facing charges or prosecution in the past. But the latest incident drew a much stronger reaction by the Iraqi government.
I can't determine whether the Iraqi government is reacting because of the 11 killed over the weekend, or because of the family killed in the car, due to the switch that occurs in the article.
