Thursday, December 31, 2009

Blackwater wins again

You'd almost think that the Blackwater corporation, now known as Xe, the company that has a controversial private army in Iraq, is being protected by someone.
Remember every single TV cop show you ever watched when they apprehend the bad guy, and they say this? - "Anything you say may be taken down and used against you in a court of law ..."
Evidently that's exactly why a federal judge dismissed manslaughter charges against five Blackwater security guards in the 2007 deaths of Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad square, finding that prosecutors wrongly used the mens' own statements against them.
Huh?
After the firefight, the Blackwater guards were questioned by government investigators about the incident. And it was construed by the federal judge that they might have been in fear of losing their jobs and therefore their statements were not allowed as evidence.
Each of the former guards faced 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. A sixth guard pled guilty.
Blackwater/Xe is the same company that, during hurricane Katrina, stopped US citizens at gunpoint, from reaching high ground and safety in the turmoil of that tragic situation.
So, do the writers of TV shows now have to say; "Nothing you say will be used against you, we promise."
Or is this recent ruling only for a company that many think of as a rogue organization protected by the State Dept, NSA and the CIA?

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