EDITORIAL – Blackwater immunity grant negligent

Last month, the State Department allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take over… Last month, the State Department allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take over its prosecution of the Blackwater USA case surrounding a Sept. 16 “escalation of force” incident in which Blackwater security guards were allegedly involved in the deaths of 17 innocent Iraqi civilians. One month later, the investigation has proven to be a pointless farce.

According to The New York Times, State Department investigators had made seemingly unauthorized immunity offers to Blackwater guards. With the FBI currently in control of the investigation, it has been unable to use any of the information found during the questioning process of the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

By law, only voluntary statements can be used against government workers in a criminal prosecution. However, if an employee is forcibly required to answer under risk of punitive action, the information is worthless to the case.

State Department investigators had to have known about this when they granted the guards immunity. They had to have known that the responses gleaned could not be used in the case. So, why did the investigators even bother to prosecute, if they knew from the very start that the supposed wrongdoers would not face repercussions for their actions?

A law enforcement official told the Washington Post that the immunity grants were meant to protect the jobs of the employees. But if the statements could prove that the Blackwater guards cannot lawfully carry out their jobs, then they obviously don’t deserve to keep them.

It is true that, immediately following the Sept. 16 incident, the State Department was under much pressure to get to the bottom of the controversy – so much pressure, it seems, that the investigators failed to act responsibly in their prosecution.

But this is no excuse. The department’s outstanding negligence in handling the case is embarrassing. And we’re not the only ones who are frustrated with their carelessness.

The Iraqi government yesterday approved a law that would make foreign security companies subject to prosecution for wrongdoing. The Iraqi government is trying to take control of this issue because the United States is failing at it. But, unfortunately, as long as the United States is the occupying power, the Iraqi government cannot possibly have any force of law.

And so, regrettably, we seem to be at a standstill. Part of the problem is that the American public either does not know about the gravity of the Blackwater case or simply does not care. In contrast to the uproar surrounding the Vietnam War more than 30 years ago, Americans today are apathetic about what happens to Iraqis overseas.

As cynical as it may seem, perhaps more Americans would care if the Iraqi death count were 370 as opposed to 17. The devastating My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War resulted in the deaths of more than 300 unarmed Vietnamese civilians by the U.S. military.

After the details of the massacre reached the American public, demonstrations and protests rose across the country. Eventually, the massacre was investigated and its perpetrators punished.

While it is unfair, at this point, to draw a comparison between the Blackwater case and the My Lai massacre, it is nonetheless important to reflect upon the power of the American public to push for justice.