Here is the original version of the editorial that ran on Op-Ed News. They had an exclusive for at least 48 hours on the pithier version – and it ran five days ago. Note the current status of the situation: 1. There is now a video that shows that Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation. 2. Blackwater is denying charges of arms smuggling. 3. Blackwater is back up and running in Iraq. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~…
I’ve submitted an editorial on the Iraq Blackwater situation to the Op-Ed news network. Ousting Blackwater is a Win-Win I’ve granted them a 48-hour exclusive. You can also contact your federal representatives from that page. Any social bookmarking votes (digg, stumbleupon, etc) from the page would be appreciated. Vote for it at Technorati WTF
Another must-read, by Jeremy Scahill from today’s U.K. Guardian, “A very private war.” Four years into the occupation, there is absolutely no effective system of oversight or accountability governing contractors and their operations. They have not been subjected to military justice, and only two cases have ever reached US civilian courts, under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which covers some contractors working abroad. (One man was charged with stabbing a fellow contractor, in a case that has yet to go…