This topic is far outside the area of my blogging expertise, but I couldn’t help but notice this article in The Washington Post:
In an early test of its imminent sovereignty, Iraq’s new government has been resisting a U.S. demand that thousands of foreign contractors here be granted immunity from Iraqi law, in the same way as U.S. military forces are now immune, according to Iraqi sources.
The U.S. proposal, although not widely known, has touched a nerve with some nationalist-minded Iraqis already chafing under the 14-month-old U.S.-led occupation. If accepted by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, it would put the highly visible U.S. foreign contractors into a special legal category, not subject to military justice and beyond the reach of Iraq’s justice system.
I can understand why the U.S. would not want to turn these contractors into “hostages” to a potentially hostile Iraqi justice system. Still, this was an administration that campaigned on the value of “accountability.” It continues to show precious little real loyalty to this concept.
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