January 28, 2008

Amenesty and military "contractors"- MERCENARIES updated

A full one half of the US military presence in Irak, is paid for with United States State Department money!!

Yet mercenaries remain a VERY murky legal area!! If you put Blackwater in the search box you will come up with VERY interesting items, not least of which is a legal examination of the perplexing issue of what to do with mercenary LAWBREAKERS that exists. I will post more on that at a later date.

Meanwhile here are some good urls and then Amnesty's appeal!! It's not posting very nicely, but I can't help that. Sorry. If you want more information on this particular area put "Jamie Leigh Jones" into the search box.

Veeger


MERCENARIES

2007 broke the corporate media ban on acknowledging the role of mercenaries in the occupation of Iraq. And when that dam burst, blood gushed out:

2007 Oct 11 UN report on Blackwater and other mercenaries killing indiscriminately
http://uniraq.org/FileLib/misc/HR%20Report%20Apr%20Jun%202007%20EN.pdf

Blackwater security shot Iraqi man
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/18363

CIA Mercenary Gets 8 Years for Beating a Prisoner to Death
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/18556

Blackwater guards killed 16 as U.S. touted progress
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/27244

FBI Admits Blackwater Mercenaries Murdered at Least 14 People
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/28704

Krongard Confirms ‘Ugly Rumor’: Brother Attended Blackwater Advisory Board Meeting Yesterday
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/14/krongard-blacwater-brother/

Tell the Justice Department that private military and security contractors are not above the law.

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Dear Virginia,


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Jamie Leigh Jones testifies on December 19, 2007. Jones says that she was raped by co-workers while working for KBR Inc., a large US contractor, in Baghdad. ©Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Take action!

Last week, we told you about Jamie Leigh Jones, a 23 year-old security contractor in Iraq, who recently recounted her personal horror story of alleged rape before a House subcommittee.

Thanks to your response, our campaign is moving full steam ahead. Take action now and pressure the Justice Department to expedite investigations and prosecute cases of clear human rights violations by contractors.

There are an estimated 180,000 private contractors working in Iraq, and they seem to operate above the law both in Iraq and the U.S.


PERU
Protect Human Rights Defenders involved in Fujimori case .
GAZA STRIP
Ensure medical access to the people of Gaza.
Act now.
MOROCCO
Tell Moroccan authorities to release six men convicted of practicing homosexuality.





This culture of impunity allows abuse and killings to thrive - with little recourse for the victims. Jamie Leigh Jones is not alone. The detainees who were victims of torture and abuse at the hands of private contractors at Abu Ghraib over 4 years ago still have not seen their assailants face justice in a criminal trial. When pressed for answers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has simply said these cases remain "open" and that investigations are ongoing.

Cases just like Jamie Leigh Jones have been open for years with no resolution in sight. This is not justice. This is not accountability.

Tell the Justice Department that private military and security contractors are not above the law, and should not be treated that way, especially when they have reportedly engaged in the most violent and heinous abuses of others.

Sincerely,
Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA

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