Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Are Empires Subject to Laws?

From Reuters, via Antiwar.com:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will ask the United Nations to end immunity from local law for U.S. troops, the human rights minister said on Monday, as the military named five soldiers charged in a rape-murder case that has outraged Iraqis. [Bartleby's note: outrages me pretty good, too.]

In an interview a week after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki demanded a review of foreign troops' immunity, Wigdan Michael said work on it was now under way and a request could be ready by next month to go to the U.N. Security Council, under whose mandate U.S.-led forces are in control of Iraq.

"We're very serious about this," she said, blaming a lack of enforcement of U.S. military law in the past for encouraging soldiers to commit crimes against Iraqi civilians, such as the alleged rape and murder of a teenager and killing of her family.


"We formed a committee last week to prepare reports and put it before the cabinet in three weeks. After that, Maliki will present it to the Security Council. We will ask them to lift the immunity," Michael said. "If we don't get that, then we'll ask for an effective role in the investigations that are going on.

"The Iraqi government must have a role."

Analysts say it is improbable the United States would ever make its troops answerable to Iraq's chaotic judicial system.

The day before handing formal sovereignty back to Iraqis in June 2004, the U.S. occupation authority issued a decree giving its troops immunity from Iraqi law. That remains in force and is confirmed in an annexe to Resolution 1546, the Security Council document that established the U.S.-led force's mandate in Iraq.
So now, even our chosen and selected puppet regime in Mesopotamia is asking for some sort of check or control over our legionaries? I've got an idea ... why don't we get out of there right now, while we still have some tiny little fragment of a soul left.

3 comments:

lemming said...

We are the source of democracy. Duh. Enforced democracy is better than, um... I mean, if we use force and MAKE them accept democracy that will be, um democratic? republican?

itsmecissy said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
itsmecissy said...

Let not kid ourselves, so-called democracies can use thier power to deny individuals of life and liberty just as easily as dictatorships. Just look at our current Administration.