Washington Post reports today that a grand jury has been impaneled to investigate other criminal acts by security contractors in Iraq, which according to one source are common.
Private security companies in Iraq “have been shooting a lot of people,” he said.
The Sept. 16 shootings at Baghdad’s Nisoor Square provoked outrage within the Iraqi government, which moved to have Blackwater banned from the country, and led to several investigations, including a joint U.S.-Iraqi commission on the use of private security contractors.
FBI investigators have reportedly concluded that the killing of 14 of the 17 civilians was unjustified under State Department rules on the use of force. But the case is muddied by the question of what laws, if any, apply to security contractors operating under military, State Department and civilian contracts.
Debate stems around whether the State Department contractors have carte blanche to kill where defense contractors have more rigid rules of engagement. All this debate while many of our soldiers and Marines have had criminal trials brought against them for actions in Iraq.
