Via TPM:
The metaphorical statue of L. Paul Bremer III has come crashing down. Today the Iraqi government formally revoked one of the Coalition Provisional Authority's enduring vestiges -- a decree of immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts for U.S. security contractors.
"The cabinet held a meeting yesterday and decided to scrap the article pertaining to security companies operating in Iraq that was issued by the CPA (Coalition Provision Authority) in 2004," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
"It has decided to present a new law regarding this issue which will be taken in the next cabinet meeting." Read more...
In a related development, The BBC is reporting that the State Department official in charge of contractor oversight has resigned.
The State Department official responsible for overseeing Blackwater USA and other private security contractors in Iraq resigned abruptly today.
Richard J. Griffin, who has been the director of the department's diplomatic security bureau since June 2005, faced stiff criticism from Congress over his handling of a Sept. 16 shooting episode involving Blackwater that left 17 Iraqis dead and other acts of violence by the State Department's security guards.
