MoveOn.org sent this e-mail to its members yesterday. Please consider following the link in the message to send a letter to your senator.
Working for American taxpayers and being above the law doesn't come cheap. Just ask Erik Prince, the head of Blackwater, U.S.A. Over the last decade, Prince has contributed almost $230,000 to Republican campaigns.1 And on September 16th, when Blackwater employees were accused of killing innocent civilians in Iraq, we learned what that investment had bought for his employees: Total immunity for their actions.
Just yesterday the House overwhelmingly passed a bill2 that would make it clear that U.S. law applies to all armed contractors hired for overseas missions.3
Now it's up to the Senate. Our friends at True Majority Action have put together a letter urging your senators to follow the House's lead. If we're going to preach the rule of law in Iraq, we can't be above it. Can you sign on to their letter?
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3039&id=11345-1699176-VoWbVe&t=1
An astounding 120,000 "private security contractors" are in Iraq, with 48,000 of them working for private military companies.4 They get paid far more than our troops in Iraq and they are essentially accountable to no one.
These companies are doing severe damage to our national image abroad—-the shooting last week has become an international scandal.
Things are bad enough in Iraq as it is, we don't need these private contractors to make it worse. Let your senators know how important it is that security contractors in Iraq be held accountable for their actions.
Please join True Majority Action's call to the Senate today.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3039&id=11345-1699176-VoWbVe&t=2
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Congratulations. When the story of Blackwater's killing spree first surfaced, TrueMajorityAction members like yourself were quick to sign on to a petition demanding that the State Department hold Blackwater employees accountable for their actions. Well, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice got the message.
On Friday, the State Department announced that it would place it's own security agents in all Blackwater convoys, mount cameras in Blackwater vehicles and record all radio transmissions.1
While it's great that the State Department is taking the first steps toward holding Blackwater employees more accountable, it's not enough. Today, an Iraqi government probe into the Sept. 16 shootings ruled that the security firm's guards fired into a Baghdad square without provocation.2 The final results: 17 killed and 27 injured.
People like the ones responsible for the Sept. 16 shootings must be brought to justice in the future. There's currently legislation in the Senate that would do just that. TrueMajorityAction is going to work to make sure that the Senate passes this important legislation and that these criminals are brought to justice. It's all part of the work we're doing for peace. Help TrueMajorityAction keep up the fight by making a contribution today.
Sincerely,
Ben Kroetz
TrueMajorityAction.org Online Organizer
1. "Blackwater Faces New Monitoring From State Dept.," Washington Post, October 6, 2007
2. "Iraqi probe rejects Blackwater claim of self-defense," San Francisco Chronicle, October 8, 2007
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