Throngs of people might be losing their jobs across the United States, but the business of war is booming.
More than a year after the fact, the US Justice Department has finally obtained criminal indictments against five Blackwater security employees for their involvement in the Nisour Square massacre that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. The indictments are currently sealed, but according to the New York Times could be made public as soon as Monday. A sixth Blackwater employee is said to be trying to negotiating a plea deal.
Were the world a just place, all of them would be handed over to Iraqi authorities and tried in Iraq for their crimes. But thanks to the fact that no US soldier or contractor can be held accountable for their actions under Iraqi law, US authorities are the only ones that have any say with regards to prosecution. Only under the auspices of the SOFA agreement, which has yet to be fully agreed to, would US contractors lose immunity from Iraqi prosecution. Thus, prosecution of those involved in the 2007 massacre falls to the US Justice Department.
Lastly, Jonathan Cook comments on the upcoming march planned by the Jewish National Front in Umm al-Fahm…
“A far-right group know as the Jewish National Front, closely associated with the Hebron settlers, is preparing to march through one of the main Arab towns in northern Israel. The march, approved by the Supreme Court back in October, is scheduled to take place on December 15, the group announced this week.
The police are expecting to deploy thousands of officers to prevent trouble, and have limited the number of Front members participating to 100. The march will not enter the heart of the city, say police, though it is not yet clear whether Front members will be allowed to carry the guns most have been issued as settlers.
The Front says it will wave Israeli flags in what the group has dubbed a demonstration of “Jewish Pride” through Umm al-Fahm, home to nearly 45,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The Front’s main platform is the expulsion of all Palestinians from what it calls “Greater Israel”, which also includes the West Bank and Gaza. It skates close to illegality with veiled suggestions that Palestinian citizens of Israel should also be ethnically cleansed.
“We will march through Umm al-Fahm with flags to send everyone a message that the Land of Israel belongs to us,” Baruch Marzel, the Front’s leader, declared.”
‘But they’re just a fringe group’ comes the pro-Israeli choir. Funny how that works both ways.