After numerous incidents involving the slaying of Iraqi civilians by mercenary contractors at Blackwater USA, and because Iraqis appear to have no real recourse for getting justice for these ruthless murders, and because the Bush administration seems bent on essentially looking the other way, it is time to consider Blackwater USA a terrorist organization that is being harbored by the Bush administration.
The latest news, reports the Washington Post, is that the Bush administration, rather than imposing penalties on the Erik Prince and his hired killers, is using taxpayer dollars to make "condolence payments" (White House term) to Blackwater's victims.
Make no mistake: the payments are not an admission of guilt, the US embassy says. Just a guilt payment. Smooth things over. How much will it cost to get you to shut up and go away? And forget your loved ones?
Family members of Blackwater's victims, however, are disgusted by the offer.
And despite Bush's claims, Iraq's sovereignty is a joke given that it has so far demanded the expulsion of Prince's Blackwater mercenaries to no avail. Echo chamber. Prime Minister Al-Maliki doesn't have authority over which armed gangs of killers he can force out of his country.
Prince's inside connections and huge donations to the Republican Party are a likely source of the protection offered by the adminsitration.
Is this the democracy Bush pretends exists in Iraq? Mass killings by mercenaries, no justice for the vicitms, and a government that can't expel the perpetrators?
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