Blackwater indictments to spur legislation

The Justice Department indictment of five Blackwater security guards and the ensuing trial will prompt renewed congressional attention over contractor accountability in war zones.

Some lawmakers will likely step up efforts to extend the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which has been used to prosecute military personnel for crimes committed abroad, so that it also covers all contractors in war zones working for the State Department and other agencies.

{mosads}Lawmakers such as Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), who has championed legislation expanding and clarifying MEJA, could find strong support from President-elect Obama.

As a senator, Obama sponsored legislation that would expand the current law and mirrored language introduced by Price in the House. Price is likely to push for passage of the legislation next year.

Government prosecutors on Monday unsealed indictments against the five Blackwater security guards, accusing them of manslaughter and misuse of their firearms in the 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisour Square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured several others. A sixth security guard pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter last week.

Court documents said that Jeremy Ridgeway, the sixth guard, told investigators that he and the other guards improperly used deadly force against drivers and pedestrians who “posed no threat to the convoy.” It’s unclear whether Ridgeway will testify against the others. The five Blackwater guards surrendered themselves at a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City.

Utah is considered a relatively conservative and pro-military area, two factors that may help the defendants.

Lawmakers hailed the Justice Department’s indictments, but called for more accountability and punishment for Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, for creating a “culture of reckless behavior.”

“The indictments will likely get rid of a few bad apples, but there will be no real consequences for Blackwater. This company could continue to do business as usual — the solution is to get them out of this business,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee who, together with Price, has taken a visible role on contractor accountability.

“I am encouraged that the Department of Justice has finally moved forward in its investigation and prosecution of the Nisour Square shootings in Baghdad over one year ago,” Price said in a statement. “The Justice Department is finally getting to the bottom of an issue that I have been raising for years — accountability for security contractor misconduct.”

Prosecutors said charges against the contractors were filed under MEJA.

In 2004, the law was amended to cover personnel whose work provides support to military personnel overseas. Prosecutors said that they will argue that the amendment covers security contractors working for the State Department in Iraq.

The defense will likely move to dismiss the case by arguing that MEJA does not apply to contractors for the State Department. New legislation on that issue could aid the prosecution.

Meanwhile, Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said that the company offered its full cooperation to the Justice Department and that security guards operate under strict rules issued by the U.S. government.

“Blackwater as a company has not been charged with any crimes, and neither have any of the hundreds of other Blackwater professionals serving in Iraq,” she said in a statement. “Yet, because of misguided assumptions and generalizations that surrounded this unfortunate incident, our work has been mischaracterized and all of our personnel unfairly maligned.”