The Independent Streak

Apparently, U.S. Contractors in Iraq Are No Longer Above the Law

By Matthew Blake 08/11/2008 12:35PM

Daphne Eviatar wrote an excellent piece last week pointing out that private contractors in Iraq are not currently subject to any U.S., Iraqi or international law. More than five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq that finally may be about to change.

This via Think Progress: The Washington Post reported yesterday that the United States and Iraq have agreed private security contractors are now subject to Iraqi law. This concession to the Iraqis is part of the broader negotiation over the U.S. presence in the country beyond December, when America's U.N. mandate expires.

From KBR's faulty electric wiring to Blackwater guards firing at a public square, U.S. contractors have been implicated in the deaths of both U.S. and Iraqi civilians. Whether this means the law will be the same for war contractors as it is for Iraqi citizens is unclear. But maybe the mere threat of accountability will deter contractors' most egregious abuses.

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Comments:

verafromsedona
Posted 08/12/2008 01:14pm with

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http://mccainsource.com/corruption?id=0006

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