It was a fairly busy day for war tribunals and jurisprudence.
First, the long-time-coming aftermath of last year's slaughter of unarmed, innocent Iraqis by Haliburton's favorite co-fleecing contractor, Blackwater Worldwide. As you recall, Blackwater "security guards" opened machine gun fire on innocent, surrendering Iraqis and launched a grenade into a girls' school during a gruesome Baghdad shooting last year. Prosecutors announced manslaughter charges against five guards. A sixth guard involved in the attack cut a plea deal with prosecutors, turned on his former colleagues, and admitting killing at least one Iraqi. In all, 17 Iraqis were killed in the assault."None of the victims of this shooting was armed. None of them was an insurgent," U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said. "Many were shot while inside civilian vehicles that were attempting the flee from the convoy. One victim was shot in the chest while standing in the street with his hands up. Another was injured from a grenade fired into a nearby girls' school."
The guards were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They are also charged with using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence. The shootings happened in a crowded square where prosecutors say civilians were going about their lives, running errands. Following a car bombing elsewhere in the city, the heavily armed Blackwater convoy sought to shut down the intersection. Prosecutors said the convoy, known by the call sign Raven 23, violated an order not to leave the U.S.-controlled Green Zone.
Witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked. Women and children were among the victims and the shooting left the square littered with blown-out cars. Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, says its guards were ambushed and believed a slowly moving white Kia sedan might have been a car bomb. "We think it's pure and simple a case of self-defense," defense attorney Paul Cassell said as the guards were being booked. "Tragically people did die."
Prosecutors said the Blackwater guards never even ordered the car to stop before opening fire. In his plea agreement with prosecutors, former guard Jeremy Ridgeway, admitted there was no indication the Kia was a car bomb.
Blackwater is the largest security contractor in Iraq and provides heavily armed guards for diplomats. Since last year's shooting, the company has been a flash point in the debate over how heavily the U.S. relies on contractors in war zones. The company itself was not charged in the case. In a lengthy statement, Blackwater stood behind the guards and said it was "extremely disappointed and surprised" that one of the guards had pleaded guilty.
And on the other side of the battleground...
The alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks and four co-defendants told a military judge they want to immediately confess at their war-crimes tribunal, setting up likely guilty pleas and their possible executions.
The five said they decided the November 4th to abandon all defenses against the capital charges. It was as if they wanted to rush toward convictions before the inauguration of Obama, who has vowed to end the war-crimes trials and close Guantanamo. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others said they would postpone entering actual pleas until the military determines their two co-defendants are mentally competent. "We want everyone to plead together," he said.
Mohammed and another defendant have said they would welcome execution as a path to martyrdom, but the announcement came as a shock to some of the victims' families. In a letter the judge read aloud in court, the five defendants said they "request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions." The letter implies they want to plead guilty, but does not specify whether they will admit to any specific charges. It also says they wish to drop all previous defense motions. Mohammed, who has already told interrogators he was the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, also said Monday that he has no faith in the judge, his Pentagon-appointed lawyers or President George W. Bush. He also dismissed one of his standby military attorneys because he had served in Iraq.
These, the first U.S. war-crimes trials since World War II, are teetering on the edge of extinction. Obama opposes the military commissions — as the Guantanamo trials are called — and has pledged to close the detention center holding some 250 men soon after taking office next month. Even if a trial were held, it is all but certain none would begin before Obama takes office January 20. Still, the U.S. military is pressing forward with the case until it receives orders to the contrary. The military commissions have netted three convictions, but have been widely criticized for allowing statements obtained through harsh interrogations and hearsay to be admitted as evidence.
Witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked. Women and children were among the victims and the shooting left the square littered with blown-out cars. Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, says its guards were ambushed and believed a slowly moving white Kia sedan might have been a car bomb. "We think it's pure and simple a case of self-defense," defense attorney Paul Cassell said as the guards were being booked. "Tragically people did die."
Prosecutors said the Blackwater guards never even ordered the car to stop before opening fire. In his plea agreement with prosecutors, former guard Jeremy Ridgeway, admitted there was no indication the Kia was a car bomb.
Blackwater is the largest security contractor in Iraq and provides heavily armed guards for diplomats. Since last year's shooting, the company has been a flash point in the debate over how heavily the U.S. relies on contractors in war zones. The company itself was not charged in the case. In a lengthy statement, Blackwater stood behind the guards and said it was "extremely disappointed and surprised" that one of the guards had pleaded guilty.
And on the other side of the battleground...The alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks and four co-defendants told a military judge they want to immediately confess at their war-crimes tribunal, setting up likely guilty pleas and their possible executions.
The five said they decided the November 4th to abandon all defenses against the capital charges. It was as if they wanted to rush toward convictions before the inauguration of Obama, who has vowed to end the war-crimes trials and close Guantanamo. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others said they would postpone entering actual pleas until the military determines their two co-defendants are mentally competent. "We want everyone to plead together," he said.
Mohammed and another defendant have said they would welcome execution as a path to martyrdom, but the announcement came as a shock to some of the victims' families. In a letter the judge read aloud in court, the five defendants said they "request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions." The letter implies they want to plead guilty, but does not specify whether they will admit to any specific charges. It also says they wish to drop all previous defense motions. Mohammed, who has already told interrogators he was the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, also said Monday that he has no faith in the judge, his Pentagon-appointed lawyers or President George W. Bush. He also dismissed one of his standby military attorneys because he had served in Iraq.
These, the first U.S. war-crimes trials since World War II, are teetering on the edge of extinction. Obama opposes the military commissions — as the Guantanamo trials are called — and has pledged to close the detention center holding some 250 men soon after taking office next month. Even if a trial were held, it is all but certain none would begin before Obama takes office January 20. Still, the U.S. military is pressing forward with the case until it receives orders to the contrary. The military commissions have netted three convictions, but have been widely criticized for allowing statements obtained through harsh interrogations and hearsay to be admitted as evidence.
Then, there's this, in more cheerful, inrealated news...
No comments:
Post a Comment