No it's not. Why would you say that?
Regardless of what happened or why, our hopes of building an Iraqi democracy are now dead.
No again.
No it's not. Why would you say that?
Because it has something to do with the deaths of those 4 contractors. The Iraqis may have gotten the Blackwater contractors mixed up with the CACI contractors (the CACI contractors are the ones at the Abu Ghraib prison). All the Iraqis know is that they were being abused by contractors or contractors were responsible for their abuse.
There is a copy of a letter from an American that is in Iraq on a forum that I read a few days after the Blackwater contractors were killed and prior to the photos coming out about the abuse of the Iraqi detainees, that letter expressed the abuse of some Iraqi people by some contractors. I will see if I can find it again.
By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is ready to prosecute any civilians or former military personnel suspected of criminal conduct in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday.
At a news conference, Ashcroft would not confirm whether the Defense Department or CIA had formally referred any individual cases to federal prosecutors for potential charges. But he said there is ample jurisdiction to move against civilian contractors and others, including laws that forbid torture.
"We will follow evidence and act in accordance with evidence," Ashcroft said. "We will take action where appropriate."
The primary legal framework that would be used is the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, passed by Congress in 2000 to permit prosecution of federal crimes committed by civilians attached to military personnel in foreign countries when those countries do not prosecute or, as in the case of Iraq, where there is no formal judicial system.
Ashcroft said prosecutors would await the results of a Defense Department investigation into alleged abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Under normal practice, federal agencies refer potential criminal cases not involving military personnel to the Justice Department.
The CIA inspector general is investigating three prisoner deaths that may have involved its officers or contract personnel, intelligence officials have said. If any criminal cases involve undercover personnel, Ashcroft said, their identities would be protected if circumstances warrant.
"Considerations would be given to their identities and identification that is consistent with the national interest," Ashcroft said.