US mercenaries and the horrors of Saddamite rule
In light of the shocking torture scandal now circulating about the US Army’s treatment of Iraqi prisoners, Canadian war reporter Scott Taylor’s recent first-hand testimony from Iraq becomes eerily prescient:
“…all these armed bodyguards and contractors roaming around Iraq have many Iraqis quite concerned. People have legitimate questions.
For example, what jurisdiction do these guys have? Are they accountable to anyone, and what are the limits of legitimate self-defense? They are private citizens, not restrained by any military code of conduct, not well-acquainted with the culture, and usually they don’t speak Arabic.
That said, you can imagine any number of situations in which a simple misunderstanding could result in murder.”
Now, as the spreading scandal shows, the contractors’ actions can result in a whole lot of other stuff too.
“It’s insanity,” said Robert Baer, a former CIA agent, who has examined the case, and is concerned about the private contractors’ free-ranging role. “These are rank amateurs and there is no legally binding law on these guys as far as I could tell. Why did they let them in the prison?”
Freelance torturers, operating above the law and training common soldiers in the tricks of their depraved trade:
is this Saddam’s army or America’s? No wonder they’re re-enlisting the Ba’athists.
