Blackwater?s Legal Netherworld
Private security contractors are subject to military justice ? or are they?
By Mark Hemingway
In the reams of media coverage surrounding the
Blackwater incident last week one curious detail remains virtually unreported. The general theme of the coverage remains that private military contractors are somehow ?above the law,? but almost no media sources have referred to the fact that, as of last fall, contractors are subject to the same to the same Uniform Code of Military Justice that governs U.S. soldiers.
In theory, Blackwater contractors could be court martialed for wrong doing, a prospect that should satisfy all critics who insist that private military companies remain unaccountable. However, even before the change there was no
lack of applicable laws to which contractors were subject. The truth is that contractors are not above the law, but rather well within the reach of several different codes and regulations and nobody?s exactly sure how one would go about exacting legal remedies against them should they be needed.
Mark Hemingway on Blackwater on National Review Online=
It would seem Blackwater would come under UCMJ. But, when has any Blackwater employee ever been prosecuted?
I doubt you will ever see that.