"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." --Bishop Desmond Tutu

Monday, December 08, 2008

AP reports 5 Blackwater killers surrender


In this bit of breaking news, 5 of the men responsible for the September 2007 killing spree in Baghdad have surrendered to Federal authorities in Salt Lake City. They are facing manslaughter charges for the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in that 2007 massacre.
In Washington, the Justice Department planned to make public the manslaughter indictment it obtained last week. And in Utah, the five guards were to surrender and question the legitimacy of the government's case.

They will be the first public events in an FBI investigation that has been carried out in secrecy since the September 2007 shooting, which left 17 Iraqis dead and strained U.S. relations with Iraq.

The five guards face charges including manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence. The latter falls under a law that passed during the height of the crack epidemic. It carries a mandatory 30-year prison term.

Justice delivered? Let's hope so.

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