But it looks like I'm wrong. You may recall that Blackwater mercenaries were responsible for killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square in Baghdad. I had assumed that there was no jurisdiciton over Blackwater but that may not be true.
Iraqi Shooting Witnesses Interviewed
By SAMEER N. YACOUB – 2 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — The Justice Department appears to be gathering testimony from Iraqi witnesses for a possible trial of Blackwater Worldwide security guards over a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.
The witnesses were interviewed by FBI agents and Justice Department attorneys who arrived in Baghdad last week to re-examine evidence from the Sept. 16 shooting and determine whether charges might be brought in U.S. courts.
One Iraqi police officer, who saw the shooting but like other policemen interviewed by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said investigators asked repeatedly whether the Blackwater convoy was under attack from gunmen before the guards opened fire on the intersection near Baghdad's crowded Nisoor Square.
The officer said he told the FBI team there was no attack on the Blackwater convoy and the only shooting was done by the Blackwater guards.
He said investigators told him that he and other primary witnesses might be asked to travel to the United States to give their accounts to U.S. judges.
Reports by the U.S. military and the Iraqi government, however, found no evidence of an ambush.
Friday, February 29, 2008
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There will be no trial. This is a dog and pony show to placate the Iraqis prior to negotiations for the new Status of Force Agreement. Once that has been secured the matter of the Monsour Square Massacre will be dropped like a hot potato.
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