Schakowsky Statement on the Justice Department's Investigation into the September 16th Shooting
Press Release
Schakowsky Statement on the Justice Department's Investigation into the September 16th Shooting
U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, released the following statement today after the Washington Post reported yesterday that federal prosecutors sent target letters to six Blackwater employees involved in the September 16th shooting. The letters suggest that federal prosecutors might be close to indicting some of the Blackwater contractors involved in that incident.
"While I'm encouraged that the Justice Department is finally making progress in the investigation into the September 16th shooting, I am disappointed that it took almost a year for the Department to take any action against Blackwater. Even if Blackwater's employees are found to have used excessive force, it remains unclear what, if any, laws apply to private military contractors. The Bush Administration and the Republicans in Congress have rejected multiple attempts by Democrats to apply the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to private military contractors. Instead, the current system allows private military contractors to essentially commit murder and escape prosecution. Despite numerous allegations of wrongdoing, contracting companies like Blackwater have been allowed to continue to operate in Iraq with very little oversight. Less than seven months after the infamous September 16th shooting, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract for another year. It is clear that private military contractors cannot be trusted to handle sensitive government functions and that they have forfeited their right to represent the U.S. Their actions have not only resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent Iraqis, but they have also put our troops in harms way. It is time for the U.S. to begin phasing out the use of private military contractors and put these government functions back where they belong, in the hands of people who wear the badge of the United States of America."
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