Blackwater Is Part Of Bremer's Legacy: "The TROPHY Video"
Remember this video and story I helped break called "The Trophy video," which was posted back in '05? Paul Bremer and the US Gov't have created a j
A “trophy” video appearing to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after it was posted on the Internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. The video, which first appeared on a website that has been linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services, contained four separate clips, in which security guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars. All of the shooting incidents apparently took place on “route Irish”, a road that links the airport to Baghdad
Here's another sordid story I broke called: Another Civilian Contractor was under investigation for Homicide in ‘04. Read the pdf here...
And if you don't think the lawlessness these contractor's have been granted are unknown to the Iraqi people, guess again. Paul Bremer is responsible for many of the problems in Iraq after Bush gave him the power to run things there and Order 17 stands out today after the Iraqis gave the boot to Blackwater today.
The Bush administration has decided to take the unusual step of bestowing on its own troops and personnel immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts for killing Iraqis or destroying local property after the occupation ends and political power is transferred to an interim Iraqi government, U.S. officials said.
Order 17 gives all foreign personnel in the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority immunity from "local criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction and from any form of arrest or detention other than by persons acting on behalf of their parent states."
U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer is expected to extend Order 17 as one of his last acts before shutting down the occupation next week, U.S. officials said. The order is expected to last an additional six or seven months, until the first national elections are held.