Blackwater Not Above the Law

Iraq's government knows it:

Iraq announced on Monday it had withdrawn the license of a U.S. security firm and would prosecute employees it said were involved in a shooting in Baghdad in which 11 people were killed.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said security personnel working for contractors Blackwater had opened fire after mortar rounds landed near their cars in Nusour Square in the western Baghdad district of Mansour.

"By chance the company was passing by. They opened fire randomly at citizens," Brigadier-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf said. Eleven people were killed, including one policeman, and 13 people were wounded, he said.

I've written about this before, but military contractors should not be allowed to operate in the same theater as U.S. military forces. They create huge problems with the chain of command and are held to different standards from the U.S. military, but they still represent the U.S. when they act and tarnish our reputation even further.

They could pack their bags and go home, but my money's on them pulling strings. It'll be interesting to see what happens.