Iraqi PM vows justice in Blackwater shooting case

[unhappycamper]

Iraqi PM vows justice in Blackwater shooting case
By REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press Writer
Jan 4, 6:46 AM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The Iraqi prime minister vowed Monday to seek punishment for the Blackwater guards accused of killing 17 people at a busy Baghdad intersection after U.S. courts dropped the case in a decision that outraged many Iraqis.

Nouri al-Maliki's comments were his first public reaction since a U.S. judge threw out the case against the five Blackwater guards last week.

The guards were accused of an unprovoked attack that left 17 dead. The killings inflamed anti-American sentiment and solidified many Iraqis' image of U.S. security contractors as above the law.

"We have done what is necessary to protect our citizens and to punish those who committed the crime and we have formed committees and filed a lawsuit against Blackwater security firm either in America or Iraq. We won't abandon our right to punish this firm," al-Maliki said.

The prime minister spoke during a visit to the southern city of Najaf to meet with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is considered the most influential Shiite cleric in the country.


Rest of article at: http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT