Blackwater mercenaries promised immunity (UPDATED)

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com WASHINGTON - The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month’s deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians, The Associated Press has learned. As a result, it will likely be months before the United States can — if ever — bring criminal charges in the case that has infuriated the Iraqi government. “Once you give immunity, you can’t take it away,” said a senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. A State Department spokesman did not have an immediate comment Monday. Both Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd and FBI spokesman Rich Kolko declined comment. FBI agents were returning to Washington late Monday from Baghdad, where they have been trying to collect evidence in the Sept. 16 embassy convoy shooting without using statements from Blackwater employees who were given immunity.

And here is the kicker. It was the State Department that gave the Blackwater operatives the immunity:

Three senior law enforcement officials said all the Blackwater bodyguards involved — both in the vehicle convoy and in at least two helicopters above — were given the legal protections as investigators from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security sought to find out what happened. The bureau is an arm of the State Department.

As the article mentions, immnunity is given in rare occasions, an investigator or (more likely a prosecutor) can be easily burned by giving to much or to the wrong person(s).

Garrity protections generally are given to police or other public law enforcement officers, and were extended to the Blackwater guards because they were working on behalf of the U.S. government, one official said. Experts said it’s rare for them to be given to all or even most witnesses — particularly before a suspect is identified.

“You have to be careful,” said Michael Horowitz, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan and senior Justice Department official. “You have to understand early on who your serious subjects are in the investigation, and avoid giving these people the protections.” (Emphasis added)

Which begs the question, why where they given immunity at all? They are contractors, not actual employees of the State Department or the military or any branch of U.S. law enforcement. At least not legally (de jure) but I guess they are de facto. This is not throwing the baby with the bathwater, its sellingt it to the lowest bidder and then have somebody else buy it at ten times the cost.



And if you want to see what Blackwater is all about, here is are a few pieces of war porn.



And as for winning hearts and minds, nothing does it better than turning the streets into shooting galleries and then making music videos of your crimes:



They even have their gunships and armed aircraft (I guess this answers your question RickB):