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June 24, 2004
Bremer's last act (before washing his hands of the occupation)
Faced with certain rejection from the Security Council, the United States withdrew its campaign for the renewal of a resolution granting American soldiers immunity from the new International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, it's granting itself immunity in Iraq: the Washington Post is now reporting that one of Bremer’s last acts as the pro-consul will be to extend Order 17 which provides exemption from Iraqi law to all foreign personnel of the U.S.-led occupation troops:
The Bush administration has decided to take the unusual step of bestowing on its own troops and personnel immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts for killing Iraqis or destroying local property after the occupation ends and political power is transferred to an interim Iraqi government, U.S. officials said.The administration plans to accomplish that step -- which would bypass the most contentious remaining issue before the transfer of power -- by extending an order that has been in place during the year-long occupation of Iraq. Order 17 gives all foreign personnel in the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority immunity from "local criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction and from any form of arrest or detention other than by persons acting on behalf of their parent states."
The order is expected to cover the next six or seven months after which the U.S. is hoping for gaining immunity through a “status-of-forces” agreement, something it does with many other countries where it has troop presence. The failure of the U.N. resolution right at the heels of the Abu Ghraib scandal is symbolically rather than materially significant since the U.S. already has bilateral immunity agreements with 90 countries.
The main question on the table was not whether it was acceptable to bestow immunity from rape and murder to hundreds of thousands of troops and contractors while evidence of egregious conduct continues to trickle in, but rather it was how to best do bestow that immunity while retaining the “optics” required for the upcoming transfer of sovereignty ceremonies:
The administration is taking the step in an effort to prevent the new Iraqi government from having to grant a blanket waiver as one of its first acts, which could undermine its credibility just as it assumes power. But U.S. officials said Washington's act could also create the impression that the United States is not turning over full sovereignty -- and giving itself special privileges.
Of course, we knew this was coming for months now -- the British Observer had reported on the deal some time ago and Washington's insistence on this subject is well-known.
There is the appearance of haggling over the status of “some foreign contractors, many of whom are engaged in security operations.” It wouldn’t be surprising if the United States obtains immunity for those that should have it least, private mercenaries carrying and using guns, while excluding people who do the laundry.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s objections are among the main reason that the U.S. is having to grant itself the immunity rather than have the CIA-asset Iyad Allawi's government issue the order after June 30th. The question of immunity of troops of occupiers or colonizers, or extraterritoriality as it is commonly referred, has always been one of the key ingredients in fueling popular uprisings and revolts in colonies. As the Post piece reports, another influential Ayatollah in the region first rose through his vocal opposition to immunity granted to U.S. troops.
His name was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
A similar grant of immunity to U.S. troops in Iran during the Johnson administration in the 1960s led to the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who used the issue to charge that the shah had sold out the Iranian people."Our honor has been trampled underfoot; the dignity of Iran has been destroyed," Khomeini said in a famous 1964 speech that led to his detention and then expulsion from Iran. The measure "reduced the Iranian people to a level lower than that of an American dog."
Posted by zeynep at June 24, 2004 08:01 AM
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Comments
I just read the most unbelievably believable quote from L. Paul Bremer on Rahul Mahajan's blog Empire Notes. In response to what the Coalition has to be proud of Bremer responded thusly: "As anyone who's taken a minute and actually looked at the figures can tell you, the vast majority of Iraqis are still alive--as many as 99 percent. While 10,000 or so Iraqi civilians have been killed, pretty much everyone is not dead." I wonder if the corpse of L. Paul Bremer would be this cavalier if he were one of those 10,000 or so dead Iraqi civilians? Me thinketh not. Isn't empire building an amazing artform in the hands of ruthless killers and crazed religious nuts? I want my own planet!!
Sincerely,
Old & In The Way
Posted by: Phil Cicchi at June 24, 2004 08:46 PM
That's a humor piece from the parody mag "The Onion." http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4025 .
The Onion does sometimes feel too realistic to be a parody. A sad state. Tom Lehrer is said to have quit making his parody songs after Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize saying that irony was dead since one couldn't top that. I think it's been topped many times over by real events.
Posted by: zeynep at June 24, 2004 11:38 PM
Oops. So Sorry. Obviously I'm not familiar with The Onion. But this quote is only slightly more disgusting than other things that Bremer HAS actually said in the past. It is sad indeed when one has trouble distinguishing between parody and reality. And, of course, that line is getting thinner by the day. Having a decent sense of humor I don't ordinarily have trouble recognizing parody, but this example fooled me completely. Of course, Bremer the actual person is pretty much a walking parody for sure. I will try to be more perceptive in the future however. Thanks for setting me straight. And now I'm going to go read The Onion as it was intended to be read with belief suspended.
Sincerely,
Old & In The Way
Posted by: Phil Cicchi at June 26, 2004 12:41 AM