Please tell me again why Hussein was executed?

If we do not get ALL incumbants, both REPS and DEMS out of office... we are no better than those who supported Hussein. When we continue to support the parties who have chosen to throw our society and heritage to the wind for their own benefit... we are no better than those folks who support murders across the globe... and we already know that those in office support this behavior or they would be out protesting and hollering for impeachment and the return of the rule of law. Instead, they have decided that their immediate goals are to figure out just how to get around the new ethics laws!!

Why am I not surprised? Surely nobody can be surprised. Erik Prince has funneled enough of his ill-gotten gains into GOP (and most likely Democratic) coffers that he and Filthywater will probably never have to worry about being prosecuted for anything.

Hm, we are easily stripped of our liberties and freedoms when the executive so decides, according to their own theory of the unilateral executive, but once promised immunity from prosecution it is irrevocable??

Sounds like bullshit to me.

retroactive immunity .... now where have I heard that before?

but how come *this* immunity does not require legislation? (as does immunity for telecomes) ... and what else has State or anyone else already provided immunity for?

how come these mercenaries can kill without consequences?

is "retroactive immunity" for mercenaries just the tip of the iceberg? is it like the US Attorney scandal that got bigger and bigger, once you looked into it?

a scandal a day .... how many more lie waiting to be unearthed?

"Garrity" and immunity are not the same thing. The AP reporter doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

"Garrity" is the name of a court case which held that a law enforcement officer/agent compelled to give a statement to investigators in connection with an on-the-job incident, under threat of suspension or termination if he refuses to give that statement, cannot have that statement used against him later in a criminal proceeding.

This is common in internal affairs investigations in domestic law enforcement. It basically recognizes that a law enforcement officer sometimes must chose between their Fifth Amendment rights and their job when they come under investigation for allegations of on-the-job misconduct.

What has happened in this case is that when the DOJ prosecutors realized there were Garrity issues -- as happens in just about every civil rights excessive force case against cops -- they assemble a "taint team" of agents and prosecutors who will not be involved in the actual prosecution. The "taint team" reviews the Garrity statement given by the officer/agents involved, and mades a determination based on guidelines established by courts after Garrity as to what information might be used in the prosecution, and what information is clearly tainted by the compelled statement.

The prosecutors and agents actually involved in prosecuting the case are thereby safeguarded from having information they are not entitled to use, and any case they subsequently build against the agents/officers is free of any taint from the compelled statement.

This is routine. There is no "immunity" involved.

This site really is full of a bunch of paranoid nutjobs.

Well then, if State can give them immunity, it would be for the murders, not a cover-up. If they got immunity, they need to tell the whole truth - failure to do so could void the immunity.

The State Dept would then have some explaining to do since it was they who claimed that Blackwater did no wrong. Someone is lying and that means somebody's butt is in a sling - are you listening Mr. Waxman? ;)

You need to pay a visit to the mental ward of your local VA Hospital and you will get a better understanding of paranoid nutjobs. Don't forget to stop by the prostetics ward too, I'm sure they'll be quite impressed by your legalise.

When you can't find a good logical argument, descend to name-calling, particularly with allegations of insanity. Seems to me I've heard that over and over from the dark side.

Does the the government even have jurisdiction to prosecute them under? Up until now, it hasn't been against American law for State Department contractors to randomly kill people. It wasn't against Iraq law either. They were in the legal loophole created by the Loyal Bushies sent to screw up Iraq in 2003. Unless a few Blackwater guys are willing to testify, then the case will go nowhere. Do you expect the jury to convict on the word of Iraqis? The defense will just label them insurgents or supporters of Al Qaida. It will be very difficult to get past that.

The 17 Iraqi dead will never get to give any statement. Why should a bunch of trigger happy mercenaries be protected from the result of their own words? Never mind about a lot of fine legal distinctions made from some law offices. The truth is the security guards lost their nerve and shot up a crowd of unharmed people. End of story.

Considerations About Blackwater

As far as any good lawyer...My thought is that law as we know it has been subverted with the final nail being Bush bringing in Fred Fielding. Given the usual this 'immunity' thing is just a precautionary step to ensure all the loop holes are closed. Waiting for 'tax evasion' charges to get Prince seems too Gotti-ish and not really dealing with the totality of the 'contractor problem'.

Under PAC agreements these folks were granted immunity under Iraqi law. Also, Blackwater is set up like 'Amway' with each guard being an individual contractor. They aren't really classified as employees of Blackwater. Any crimes they would commit outside of the USA would not be subject to US jurisdiction.

Prince who did not seem to comprehend Blackwater's finances seemed to be self-assured that 'he' and 'Blackwater' are not responsible for the action of 'his' mercenaries. From what I have read the 'subcontractor' tangle is another Gordian Knot in the grand scheme of things. Iraq was listed as the 3rd most corrupt nation. The 'whole' of the contractor story makes me wonder where the USA really ranks on this list.

Now the Pentagon has announced that a State Dept. Official [Yates] will be a part of the "Africa Command". Is Africa important? Seems that the '5 O'Clock Follies' is using this to distract us from the fact that serious talk is coming from the UK that Afghanistan is lost which will lead to the loss of Pakistan, that we don't have the fire power yet to blast Iran although bigger bombs have been ordered, and the the rest of the world is lining up against 'us bullies'. As I recall Prince intimated that Blackwater didn't need Iraq contracts because there was plenty of demand for its services. He must also be reassured with Hil and Giul leading in the polls.

The only rational 'out' seems to be to demand that we have a truly fair draft to increase the size of the military to meet the needs that all the contractors are now employed to do. It also seems to be a logical step for all Committees to demand that budgets and supplementals detail the monies for these contractors.

The only way that I can see to stop the 'Princes' is to use lack of demand to drive these Contractors out of business. Waiting for real Justice to step up is wishing in one hand. Besides now Rep. Heather Wilson, backed by Amway, Ret. AF and slip-sliding out of the Iglesias mess, is now a 'go to' for CNN on the Hill, Hoekstra and Prince are both from Holland, MI, Blackwater wants is building another training facility in CA adding to its presence in another state. The Select Comm. on Intel has a sour smell of Slimywater.

I would also like to see Condi held accountable. I just read that the DoS will use a 'draft system' to staff that money pit of an Embassy in Baghdad. She has skated too long with false/evasive testimony and needs to at least be required to get her staff up to 100% positions filled.

Edwards' speech on Mon. at St. Anselm's said more than the reported sound bytes. The most important was that our country is in desperate need of us to do so much more and our leaders need to tell us the truth about what is needed. If ONLY.

I admire Waxman and some of the strong questioners on his committee and read the posts here regularly, but I have the feeling that the whole process right now will only manage to record a small bit of history. Hope I am wrong.

All news groups that I contacted are standing by the story that internal State dept offered immunity. They do not have that authority.

It's easy to criticise the actions of soldiers when you've never been in a war. But talk to any veteran who has actually seen combat and they'll tell you that the stress of being in a combat theatre will get to you sooner or later. Likely as not that's what we've seen here, and I can imagine things are only worse when the people you're hunting hide among the general populace.

If we want to see some justice served against Blackwater, skip the small fry who slipped under the pressure and go after the bosses who have cheated U.S. taxpayers out of millions if not billions of dollars.

We're talking about mercenaries. Which get paid to kill. It's that simple. Mercenaries who have killed or murdered probably an untold number of civilians. The Blackwater story only came to light because of the persistance of a few journalists. Who knows what criminality Blackwater was into or how deep. It's time for an end to the excuses.

Thank you, jimijazz!

And people who would want pay to kill, and enjoy that kind of job, are not normal.

I await international justice for all these hired thugs and those who hired them.

Here is an example of what I want to point out that this issue is by no means closed.. despite the quibbling. YAWN!

Argentina signs pact with U.S., Germany, Israel to track war criminals

Priebke at the time of his cpature, left, and in his Nazi uniform, right, is one of several Nazis who have been extradited from Argentina
July 2, 1998

Web posted at: 2:26 a.m. EDT (0626 GMT)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN) -

Argentina entered into agreements with Germany, Israel and the United States to exchange information on Nazi war criminals who may still be in hiding in the South American country, an Argentine official said Wednesday.

Victor Ramos, head of the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), signed the agreement with representatives of Germany's Federal Archives, the Israeli Justice Ministry and the U.S. War Crimes Office.

"These accords will permit the formation of an international network to close in on war criminals, not only from the Second World War but also those afterward," Ramos said in a statement.

Argentina's reputation as a refuge for fugitive Nazi leaders and SS officers has often made it the target of international condemnation.

The capture of Nazi Gestapo leader Adolf Eichmann outside of Buenos Aires by Israeli Mossad intelligence agents in 1961 was an embarrassment for Argentina. Eichmann was subsequently hanged in Israel for crimes against the Jewish people.

Eichmann was not the only example of war criminals hiding in the country. The notorious "Angel of Death" of Nazi Germany's Auschwitz concentration camp, Josef Mengele, was also thought to have sought refuge in Argentina.

The country's image has recently been tarnished by the arrest and extradition of Dinko Sakic, the commander of the Jasenovac death camp in Croatia from 1942 to 1944 under the pro-Nazi Ustashe regime.

Sakic's well-publicized exit last month from Argentina preceded that of former Nazi Capt. Erich Priebke, who was extradited to Italy in 1995. Priebke was arrested for admitting to his part in the March 1944 massacre of 335 men and boys at the Ardeatine Caves south of Rome.

Sakic will stand trial in Zagreb on charges of crimes against humanity and international law for his role in the thousands of deaths at the Jasenovac concentration camp.

Argentina has also seen a rising tide of anti-Semitic activity including the bombings of the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and the AMIA Jewish community center in 1994. Jewish cemeteries on the outskirts of Buenos Aires were desecrated earlier this year.

"The INADI has very clear instructions from Interior Minister Carlos Corach and President Carlos Menem to put into play all state mechanisms, not only to combat Nazis from the '40s but also to eradicate the cancer of neo-Nazism that today runs through Europe and also reaches us," Ramos said in the statement.

Sheriff Lawrence Rainey,

Rainey started his career as a police officer working in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In October 1959, he shot and killed an African American motorist who was getting out of his car on a violation, but he was not prosecuted. He subsequently ran for and was elected to the office of Sheriff in 1963 and has been quoted as positioning himself as "the man who can cope with situations that might arise", a veiled reference to the racial tension in the area at the time.

On June 21, 1964, when the three civil rights workers were murdered, Lawrence was visiting his wife at the hospital. It is not clear, and was not proven in the subsequent trial, when he knew about the incident. It was alleged that he learned of the murder early the following morning and deliberately covered it up.

On July 18, 1964, Rainey sued NBC, the Lamar Life Broadcasting Company, Southern Television Corporation, and Buford W. Posey for one million dollars for slander due to an interview which Buford gave to NBC during the investigation of the disappearance of the civil rights workers. This lawsuit was unsuccessful.

On January 15, 1965, Rainey and seventeen others were arrested and charged in the deaths of the civil rights workers. Because there was at that time no Federal murder statute, they were charged simply of denying their victims their civil rights. In 1967, the case went to trial in Federal court and Rainey was found not guilty (probably on the basis of his alibi), though six others were convicted.

Despite his acquittal, Lawrence was stigmatized by his role in the events. After leaving office in 1968, he was subsequently unable to get reelected or to work in law enforcement. His later careers included periods as auto mechanic and as a security guard in Kentucky and Mississippi. He later came to blame the FBI for preventing him from finding and keeping jobs.

And then of course: Justice Delayed but not denied. This lag entails the Cointelpro years.

16th Street Baptist Church bombing

The attack was intended to instill fear in those supporting equal civil rights without regard to race. Instead, it caused public outrage and spurred the civil-rights movement to further success.

The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil-rights activities. In the early morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, the church's Youth Day, United Klans of America, a Ku Klux Klan group, members Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton and Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss planted 19 sticks of dynamite in the basement of the church. [citation needed] Chambliss was also convicted of having 122 sticks of dynamite without a permit.

At about 10:25 a.m., when 26 children were walking into the basement assembly room for closing prayers after a sermon entitled "The Love That Forgives," the bombs exploded[1] Four girls—Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Denise McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14)—were killed in the blast, and 22 more were injured.

The explosion blew a hole in the church's rear wall, destroyed the back steps, and left intact only the frames of all but one stained-glass window. The lone window that survived the concussion was one in which Jesus Christ was depicted leading young children, although Christ's face was destroyed. In addition, five cars behind the church were damaged, two of them completely destroyed, while windows in the laundry across the street were blown out.

Chambliss was initially charged for the murders, but there was no conviction at first. Years later it was found that the FBI had accumulated evidence against the bombers that had not been revealed to the prosecutors, by order of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. In 1977, Chambliss was prosecuted by Alabama Attorney-General Bill Baxley and was convicted for the four murders and sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment. He died in prison in 1985.

After reopening the case several times, the FBI in 2000 assisted the state authorities in bringing charges against Cherry and Thomas Blanton. Blanton and Cherry were convicted by state court juries of all four murders and sentenced to life in prison. Though Cherry publicly denied involvement, relatives and friends testified that he "bragged" about being part of the bombing, and his ex-wife testified, "He said he lit the fuse."[2]

Dee, seems like a summary of your thoughts would be: What goes around comes around.

We can only hope! May all justice-declaring nations bring war crimes prosecutions against the bush crime family!

Excellent point. The special prosecutor may be the way to go since the State Department can't investigate itself and there is no trust in the DOJ given all it's recent scandals.

No, not what 'goes around comes around' but instead that society has a way of dealing with these types of events after the fact. This is an expected and rational response well documented in a book about Mass Movements.

The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements ISBN 0-06-050591-5 was Eric Hoffer's first and most successful book, published in 1951. It discusses the psychological causes of fanaticism.

911 was a ctalyst for a mass movement. In my opinion it was a foolishly hijacked and poorly managed mass movement.

And the argument is: ERGO because of 911 we have all these violations of law, torture, civil rights, etc.

But the point that I feel that history will realize is that the US military always was capable of defeating Iraqi troops, even with a ridiculous low number of troops, always capable of defeating Afghanastan troops, that would engage in open battle, but by unilaterally discarding civil rights, the rule of law, and the principles of democracy that the US undermined the role that the US military could not accomplish, the diplomatic and struggle for ideals.

Even if the Iraqi war was all about OIL, operation Iraqi liberation, if you buy the argument that we would have not invaded if they (iraq) grew turnips, then even then.. the mistreatmemt of people and the 'animal farm' proclomations of the US directed at people in the US for political reasons resonated globally.

And not with standing, the inability to establish automobile cafe standards, (energy policy and dollarization policy) trade imbalances with China, and the posturing of other nations as a consequence of the 'unliateral policies' took a short term military objective, defeat the armed forces and armed militias and turned it into a war of attrition that we are ill equipped to sustain.

In short the post 911 military acts without the baggage of 'the political war on terror' would have been more effective!

And I think that there is inumerable references in the Hoffer book that discusses masss movements that illustrate these principles, I used US principles as this is an english website and primarly internal public consumption news focused.

My point is that there will be a subsequent accountability, even Stalin was villified!! In subsequent accountability. South Africa, post Revolution France, etc.. and that these young kids whom get involved in these acts have a lifetime in which they might be held accountable for, irrespective of the short term consequences.

I also feel that inherient in our constitution and our institutional checks and balances that these poor decisions could be avoided.

But the apologists of post 911, and their response to it.. well something illegal happened to us, an undeclared act of war is illegal, even conceeding that.. does not warrant the subsequent abuses and illegal acts on an indefinite basis as some assume.

And yeah.. we are held responsible as a nation for these acts, held responsible as a society for these acts, as an institution responsible for these acts.

So you will see me blog easy on the lower level people caught up in these events, and be VERY critical on those whom through poor stewardship and leadership created these policies.

And I want to remind you it fascionated me that H. Rap Brown got away with murder in Cambridge, MD.. arson and homicide.. for awhile..

So if you do knit names as Madame Defarge, your part of the problem and not the solution if you fail to do so in an objective manner.

I don't give a pass to radical islamic groups, any radical group, whom uses violence to superceede secular and constitutional universal law, that GOD endowed to all with inalienable rights.

I'm not an apologist, blame America first advocate, just stating that these policies (draconian 911) as they were initially formed were bad and nothing good will come from them long term.

It was a mis-managed mass movement by people drunk with power and a personality flaw inherient in media political age.. where the more scarier the news conference, it bleeds it leads, irrespective of if it is true.. led this nation in a pursuit of soundbites to 'market position' itself in the marketpalce of ideas where it now finds itself.

Far be it I the apologist.. I need not lead the Attorney General in an act of sophistry in a apologia of rhetoric to attempt to ratiponalize the indeffensable.

Our military would have been more effective without the politians promising to be tougher than the next on some imaginary threat.

Thats the real truth and history will play out as it does.

The good thing about our time is that so much is being recorded for history, for posterity. If not enough is done in our day, a day will come. A day of reckoning. Murders get away with crimes, but these folks will not get away with theirs, not i the historical sense. It's as if a murderer were caught on tape... before and after, etc.

History will record. It won't be pretty.