WASHINGTON — The Pentagon wrote in 2007 that Blackwater Worldwide contractors in Iraq are not subject to U.S. civilian criminal laws. That position undercuts the Justice Department’s effort to prosecute five Blackwater security guards for manslaughter.
The letter highlights the uncertainty prosecutors face in bringing charges against contractors involved in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead in Baghdad.
Defense contractors can be prosecuted in U.S. courts for crimes committed overseas, but because of a legal loophole, contractors for other agencies can face charges only if their work assignments supported the Defense Department. Blackwater works for the State Department.
Federal prosecutors in Washington are trying to persuade a judge to hear the case. They say the Defense Department mission and the State Department mission are essentially the same: creating a stable, self-governing Iraq. The Associated Press
