Blackwater Verdict is U

  [The Telegraph, U.K.]

 

 

Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran

Blackwater Verdict a U.S. 'Snub' of Iraqi Leader Nouri al-Maliki

 

Is the decision by a U.S. federal court to drop charges against five former guards of the private security firm Blackwater a way for Washington to remind Nouri al-Maliki of the 'absoluteness of U.S. control in Iraq'? That is the thesis of this latest article from Iran's state-controlled Kayhan newspaper.

 

By Kian Mokhtari

 

January 6, 2010

 

Islamic Republic of Iran - Kayhan - Home Page (English)

 

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says his government would facilitate a lawsuit in the United States from Iraqi citizens against the five Blackwater guards and the company, for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.

 

BBC NEWS AUDIO: Member of the Iraqi National Assembly explains Iraqi 'fury' over Blackwater ruling, Jan. 1, 00:01:21RealVideo

In both the United States and Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Baghdad will sue private security firm Blackwater, amid a complete furor over an American court decision to drop charges against five Blackwater guards. The men are accused of shooting to death - in the middle of the Iraqi capital in broad daylight - 17 civilians.

 

Iraqi Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Friday that Iraq had "begun taking measures to bring Blackwater to justice."

 

AFP reports, "The guards, who had been part of a convoy of armored vehicles, had been charged with killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians and wounding 18 others during an unprovoked attack at a busy Baghdad intersection using guns and grenades."

 

Iraq says 17 people were killed.

 

On the surface, U.S. Federal Court Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed all charges against the five on the grounds that prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements made while they were under immunity during a U.S. State Department investigation.

 

[Editor's Note: On September 16, 2007, Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. The fatalities occurred while a Blackwater Personal Security Detail was escorting a convoy of U.S. State Department vehicles. The Washington Post quoted Judge Urbina's decision on how the evidence against five Blackwater guards had been tainted: "In their zeal to bring charges, prosecutors and investigators aggressively sought out statements in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and in the subsequent investigation. In so doing, the government's trial team repeatedly disregarded the warnings of experienced, senior prosecutors, assigned to the case specifically to advise the trial team on such matters."]

 

But the entire world knows that this is actually a rude snub of Nouri al-Maliki to remind him of the absoluteness of U.S. control in Iraq.

 

This is how the United States treats the reputation of a man who is dedicated to restoring the dignity and self confidence of the Iraqi people. The moment bombs and bullets stop killing and damaging U.S. forces, his government, which has done all it can to bring matters to a satisfactory close for everyone involved must be pushed to the floor and ridiculed.

 

The American gift of friendship isn't worth two cents! 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

At first there were six Blackwater guards on trial, but one owned up to his crimes, which puts this latest U.S. court decision into bold relief.

 

But let's not lose our perspective on the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.  

 

DEMOCRACY NOW: THE BLACKWATER RULING

 

 

SEE ALSO:

Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Blackwater 'No Better Than al-Qaeda' 

Kayhan, Iran: A 'Small Number' of Iranian Flock 'Led Astray'  

Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest  

Kayhan, Iran: Obama is a 'Global Menace;' and 'Threat to Islam'  

Kayhan, Iran: Nuclear Power and Israel's Inexplicable Abuse of Iran  

Kayhan, Iran: Brazil Welcomes Ahmadinejad; Keeps Distance from 'English World'

Estadao, Brazil: Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran  

Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest

Die Welt, Germany: Ahmadinejad Announces Iranian Plans to 'Administer the World'

Estadao, Brazil: Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran

Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Arab World 'Impotent' but to Witness Iran's Ascent

 

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Across the world in Britain, Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, has admitted illegally invading a sovereign country under false pretexts, which was an act that led to a million Iraqi civilian deaths. So by definition, Mr. Blair is a self-confessed war criminal. Yet he walks free and gives a multitude of lectures on international “politics” at world forums for good money. Surely he should be the first in the dock at The Hague. Or perhaps Blair’s partner in crime, George W. Bush, should be the first to stand trial on war crimes the likes of which haven't been seen since WWII. On the other hand, the U.S. and Britain have been committing war crimes for decades, in Korea, Angola, Congo, Vietnam, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq’s Kurdistan and Iran.

 

There is no faith left in the brand of justice meted out by the world powers. Everything is always someone else’s fault, rather than their own. It's a most disheartening routine that has crippled and impeded fairness in the family of nations.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

With the rapidity that the West is poisoning, starving and murdering people around the globe, the family of nations will soon only consist of five or six nations armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons.

 

It's little wonder, then, that the 118 nation Non-Aligned Movement has opted out of the family, which is ruled by military regimes in the U.S. and Britain. We're still waiting to see "change we can believe."

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Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Jan. 7, 5:59pm

 

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