The New Hessians – Their Saga Continues

Remember the Washington Irving read, ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ – who was the headless horseman? A headless Hessian soldier.

The archcrone, who apparently doesn’t sleep either, ran across this posted at Yahoo News, which will undoubtedly hit the news cyclers later.

Those Iraqi investigators who were in charge of getting ‘to the bottom’ of the latest slaughter by Blackwater are reporting they are in possession of a videotape from cameras affixed to the national Iraqi police command headquarters near Nisoor Square.

Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in an incident last week in which 11 people died, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary. . . .

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths.

As of Friday, yesterday, Blackwater was allowed to resume guarding its clients on a “limited scale in Baghdad.” Following analysis by “US embassy officials and the Iraqi administration” Blackwater will be allowed to provide security only in “limited operations outside the heavily-guarded Green Zone in Baghdad until the inquiry is complete.”

The most bothersome thing about this entire fiasco is the directive Paul Bremer put into place in which Blackwater is outside the parameters of Iraqi law. That directive was issued and excluded contractors, U.S. troops, and other foreign officials “immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.” And further:

Security contractors are also not subject to U.S. military law under which U.S. troopers face prosecution for killing or abusing Iraqis.

Remember Abu Gharib . . . . . military law . . . .

However – Iraqi officials have said in the wake of the Nisoor Square shooting that they will press for amendments to the 2004 directive.

Oh, one other thing. A commenter at The Crone Speaks left this:

 

A former Blackwater guy worked (sometimes, that is) next to me in a civilian corporation for a while. Because he had an unfinished contract (two year, he had done one), he was called back for training and to Iraq….. 3) He had no room in his mind for any Iraqis being respectful. He hated them all and had zero respect for any aspects of their culture. This came up in a discussion about the Iraq employees in the green zone and the insufficient food and preparation concerns toward the Iraqis eating in the US vendor operated cafeteria. This is the biggest red flag, in my mind.how’s this working now ……..

The Unmacho – where those who were the hunters became the hunted. These unmacho assholes will increase the danger of anyone they are there now to ‘protect.’ As usual, the president offered little in the way of comment regarding Blackwater at his press conference yesterday, though he did state he thought al Maliki might bring it up in conversation.

“Obviously, to the extent innocent life was lost, you know, I’m saddened,” the president said at a wide-ranging news conference. “Our objective is to protect innocent life. And we’ve got a lot of brave souls in the theater working hard to protect innocent life.”

However, THIS is the same man who stated ‘Mandela’s dead’ a few days ago, but – Christ! – that’s another story…..(sighing heavily)