Iraq

$8.7 Billion of $9.1 Billion Unaccounted For

Speaks for itself: http://tinyurl.com/USmoneymissing

5 Blackwater Guards go Free – Iraq Infuriated

Oh boy. Just when we thought things were steady and okay with Iraq and US relations, the recent U.S. District Judge’s ruling on New Years Eve day to allow the 5 Blackwater guards to go free  - is just asking for serious problems.

I forsee the Taliban and extremist groups trying to make their way back into Iraq and gather up all those angry Iraqi civilians and say “hey, you mad enough at America now?, come join us in our fight against America” I wouldn’t be surprised if they got new recruits from this.

Round 2 in Iraq with the Taliban…so much for troop withdraw there.

I am aware a judge does not need to make his ruling with geopolitical considerations in mind, and I would never want a judge to rule on anything but the facts and the law, but also be sensitive to our current 21st century and global community (ie: technology, terrorist situation, etc).

So, perhaps due to the delicacy of this situation, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina might have let some White House Administration members know his ruling before he issued it, so they could do some damage control before this went globally viral on the news. I am sure this ‘tip’ could have happened – this is D.C. afterall.

The biggest problem with this court ruling is that Iraq’s claim/perception (”America is above the law”) will dominate  - as the truth (prosecutors messed up) gets muddled, reduced to one line in small print, and glossed over very easily, depending on who will be reporting it.

But as a criminal justice major and a former paralegal, and from the information reported about why the judge  ruled the way he did, the judge ruled correctly.  The fact we all know these Blackwater guards committed murder freely and openly is another story, and the judge didn’t deny that. But his final ruling is based on the U.S. Constitutional Law, and on evidence.

The event: These Blackwater chaps allegedly opened fire during the day in September 2007 in Nisoor Square, in Baghdad on innocent Iraqi civilians without provocation as the roads were being cleared by Iraqi police for Blackwater’s convoy to pass through (a usual routine) as they were guarding the State Department. They killed 17  Iraqi’s and wounded dozens of others.

So these 5 Blackwater guards aren’t going free because they didn’t commit this atrocity on innocent civilians in Iraq, but on a technicality that the federal prosecutors messed up on.  So the prosecutors are at fault, not the judge, or America.

Here is why. The federal prosecutors had originally promised these guards that their information/testimony wouldn’t be used in court, but it was necessary for part of the internal inquiry.

But because the prosecutors didn’t have their own sufficient evidence to hold all 5 men accountable for this crime, they used these testimonials from which to build their case upon and gather information.

So, in essence, when they tried to use these testimonials, they were thrown out. Subsequently, anything that was related to these testimonials as evidence became null and void.

Since the prosecutor’s case was too weak to prove evidence was sufficient beyond a reasonable doubt without this, the judge ruled there was lack of evidence and dropped the charges on 12/31/09.

The judge did his job and did his job appropriately. The federal prosecutors did not, because they went back on their word. Now, most likely, America will pay dearly for this.

I restate: I doubt many will understand or accept this fine point -the validity behind this ruling – as the majority of the public globally likes to focus on the negative or on incorrect information to help justify their rage. So the rage of  ”America thinks they are above the law” will build powerfully day after day as we start off a new year.

A new hatred has just formed against America – and it’s not just by the civilians, it is by the Iraqi officials as well, and this one will be powerful.

It’s power will stem from 3 primary reasons:

1. The crime and ruling being more current (2007 & 2009),

2. The recently surfaced information of how significantly horrendous the Bush W Administration for 8 years justified and orchestrated America’s actions overall, but more specifically, in terms of the Iraq war

3. The global community – even many Americans like myself, believe these 5 Blackwater Guards should be found guilty for these senseless and brutal murders. But most likely, the bandwagon rage will surface from other countries

This is a contagious new hatred. All facets of American power (US Military, White House Administration, Congress, The Federal Reserve, Wall Street) need to pay attention to to this seriously, as the trickling effect will happen quicker than America will be prepared for it. I surmise it’s already happened.

I am sure President Obama and his team will do all they can to reassure Iraq that we should keep good relations, etc. but it was our US Government that dictated terms of allowing  immunity for Blackwater guards to not be tried in Iraq for any crime they commit, and it is our US Constitution that just dictated their freedom. If Obama puts himself in Iraq’s shoes, he might realize a lot of smooth talk won’t really work in this situation.

So now Iraqi officials are determined these Blackwater guards will be held accountable in Iraq. I don’t blame them. If the situation were reversed, you better believe America would be doing the same.

I am not sure how Iraq is going to do this without declaring war on America or something like that – unless Obama and his government counterparts do some quick inking and allow these 5 men to be tried in Iraq.

To me, this wouldn’t be such a tough a decision – logically. Make 5 men who are a member of a mercanary style organization take accountablity for their actions and face court in Iraq, or put millions of Americans (and any others on America soil) and our US troops in Iraq in serious and imminent danger relatively immediately.

Remember, the Taliban still exists in Iraq and can pull together quite quick for retaliation on Americans. Although at this point, the rage is so strong, I don’t even think you need the Taliban to do anything, there are so many Iraqi civilians right now that probably want to shoot Americans and American soldiers dead. I think the civilians would be willing to pick up a gun and do it themselves.  They might even call themselves a new insurgent group: “Blackwater Revenge”.  Boy, this is a mess.

But wait, I said logic & Obama (US Government). So most likely that means it won’t happen.

There will be all these political ties and secret threats and special requests from so many and from a million different angles that Obama will be pushed into a very tight corner.

The only saving grace Obama has is if the Justice Department appeals the ruling or goes for different indictments which is what is on the agenda it seems.  I imagine if they don’t do this, some in the Justice Department will be looking for a new job soon. Obama will almost demand it. It’s his America that is on the line, (aka: it’s his ratings).

The global world will be watching how America handles this delicate situation as we begin a new year.

*Suggestion: If you are an American or other country citizen and are unfamiliar with this event, and/or are questioning in your mind whose story you believe (Iraqi’s or 5 Blackwater guards), please read” Blackwater” by Jeremy Scahill. It was an international best seller.

*Notation: Since this event in 2007, Blackwater changed its management team and changed it’s name to Xe.