Biden Says U.S. to Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal

[ProSense]

Biden Says U.S. to Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal

By ANTHONY SHADID
Published: January 23, 2010

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. promised Iraqi leaders on Saturday that the United States would appeal the dismissal of manslaughter charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security contractors involved in a deadly shooting here that has inflamed anti-American tensions.

Mr. Biden, tasked by the Obama administration to oversee policy in Iraq, made the statement after a day of meetings with Iraqi leaders that dealt, in part, with a political crisis that has erupted over the March 7 parliamentary elections. American officials view the vote, a barometer of the durability of Iraq’s political system, as a crucial date in American plans to withdraw tens of thousands of combat troops from Iraq by the end of August.

The vice president expressed his “personal regret” for the Blackwater shooting in 2007, in which contractors guarding American diplomats opened fire in a crowded Baghdad traffic circle, killing 17 people, including women and children.

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Investigators had concluded that the guards fired indiscriminately on unarmed civilians in an unprovoked and unjustified attack. The guards contended that they had been ambushed by insurgents and fired in self-defense.

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[BrklynLiberal]

1. Good!!!

The only problem will be when it gets to the Supreme Court. They will still b e 5-4 Corporatists..

[midnight]

3. I hope not.

[Catshrink]

2. Finally some good news this week.