Thursday, October 04, 2007
U.S. contractors in Iraq may be liable under U.S. law
(Gulf News) - The House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that could see US government contractors who commit felonies in Iraq and Afghanistan being prosecuted in US federal courts, a human rights activist said yesterday. "It's time to close the legal loopholes that allow contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to commit crimes with impunity," Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch told Gulf News.
Under regulations originally imposed by the US government an estimated 180,000 private contractors working in Iraq are immune from local criminal prosecution. A US-Afghanistan agreement means thousands more have immunity in Afghanistan.
The legislation, if passed, will extend the reach of a federal law, called the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), to cover all US contractors overseas. Currently, only Department of Defence (DOD) contractors and other contractors supporting US forces are explicitly covered by the law.
Under Iraqi law, initially imposed by US occupation authorities in 2004, all non-Iraqi contractors are immune from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Because the Blackwater employees were contracted by the State Department - not DOD - prosecutors must first establish that they are acting in support of DOD in order to bring a case under MEJA.
Under regulations originally imposed by the US government an estimated 180,000 private contractors working in Iraq are immune from local criminal prosecution. A US-Afghanistan agreement means thousands more have immunity in Afghanistan.
The legislation, if passed, will extend the reach of a federal law, called the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), to cover all US contractors overseas. Currently, only Department of Defence (DOD) contractors and other contractors supporting US forces are explicitly covered by the law.
Under Iraqi law, initially imposed by US occupation authorities in 2004, all non-Iraqi contractors are immune from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Because the Blackwater employees were contracted by the State Department - not DOD - prosecutors must first establish that they are acting in support of DOD in order to bring a case under MEJA.
Labels: Blackwater, House of Representatives, MEJA, Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, U.S. government contractors
Thursday, April 26, 2007
U.S. House passes legislation to set withdrawal date
Security, U.S.
(The Guardian) - A sharply divided House of Representatives ignored the threat of a presidential veto last night and passed legislation that would order George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq in October. The 218-208 vote came as the top US commander in Iraq said that the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
Labels: General David Petraeus, George Bush, House of Representatives, U.S., U.S. troop withdrawal
