The Iraqi “government” has cancelled Blackwater’s license to employ “contractors” in Iraq. Seems like Mercenaries R’ Us has engaged in exactly the type of behavior one would expect from an organization that employs thugs that are expressly exempted from the reach of all law, both civil and military:
The Iraqi government said Monday that it was pulling the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade in Baghdad.
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“We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities,” Khalaf said.
The spokesman said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said the shooting was still under investigation. It was not immediately clear if the measure against Blackwater was intended to be temporary or permanent.
Perhaps the most basic element of true sovereignty for any nation is the power to enforce criminal law within its area of jurisdiction. This is illustrated, in a way, by the fact that in its present Imperial phase, the United States has declared that its criminal laws reach anyone anywhere in the world. The United States has declared itself to be a privileged nation, a super sovereign, if you will, and it has made that assertion stick.
The other nations of the earth, for now, must stick to the old fashioned kind of sovereignty, since for the most part they retain power within their own borders. If the Iraqi nation has any claims to be a truly sovereign nation, it should be able to make this “license revocation” stick. If it can’t, then its failure will prove beyond doubt that the Iraqi state is a powerless facade for the American occupiers.
I could become a rich man if anyone would care to bet that Blackwater will leave Iraq because the Iraqi government has ordered it to do so. That’s about as likely as the American Army leaving Iraq should the Iraqi government request it to do so.
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