Document Type

Article

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Publication Details

Clonan, T., 2007: Waging A Private War: US Security Contractors In Iraq, Dublin: The Irish Times.

Abstract

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki has repeatedly expressed grave misgivings about the activities of US ‘Private Military Company’ (PCM) Blackwater Security and has cited at least seven shooting incidents involving the company’s security contractors which have led to the deaths of dozens of Iraqi citizens. Headquartered in Moyock, North Carolina, Blackwater – which is under contract to the US State Department - is currently operating in Iraq without an Iraq Interior Ministry licence. This absence of Iraqi oversight is compounded by a 2004 Coalition Provisional Authority law signed by Paul Bremer which grants Blackwater immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. Blackwater is also not amenable to the US Military’s Extraterritorial Judicial Act. Nor is it currently subject to the US military’s Uniform Code of Military Justice. Blackwater Security is not accountable to the Iraqi government. Neither is it legally accountable to the US government for its para-military activities in Iraq.

DOI

10.21427/D76N3R

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