Feral Jundi

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Legal News: Possible CTU Alibis, the Death of James Kitterman, and the Iraq SOFA

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 1:43 PM

“Don and James were very good friends for a number of years,” Judy Feeney said from her North Carolina home.

She said that her husband wasn’t even in Iraq at the time of Kitterman’s death and said her son and the other CTU employees had solid alibis.

“We’re anticipating a good outcome,” she said. “No charges have been filed and we don’t anticipate that at all.”

Judy Feeney said she has been granted limited contact with anyone in Iraq but that she had heard her husband and son were being treated well while in Iraqi custody. 

    I have been trying to follow this latest deal with CTU and Don Feeney, the CEO, being held by Iraqi authorities in connection with the death of James Kitterman.  One of my readers pointed out that they all had alibis, and could not possibly be responsible. So I went looking for some open source commentary about these alibis.  Here they are. (the last story brings up a law suit against CTU, but I was more concerned with what Judy Feeney had to say)

   If in fact these alibis hold up, then these men should be immediately released. If there are other legal issues in the past with CTU, that is one thing, but this is about the murder of James Kitterman.  And seeing how this is the first true test of the SOFA and Iraq’s ability to administer justice, then we need to keep them honest during the investigation. I will not make any judgements, but I think it is important to present what is floating around out there.

     I despise any efforts by the MSM to demonize these guys, before being charged with anything, and I hope to keep them honest with my little corner of the new media world.  Innocent until proven guilty is the way it must be, and reportage should always reflect that.  Thanks again to the readers and I look forward to any other input.  I welcome anyone from CTU to come forward as well, and correct the record if possible. –Matt

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    Here is a link to SOCNET and conversation about CTU and the death of James Kitterman.  According to the discussion, there is an alibi.  Here is the quote from Sniper111:

The names have been released and Don Feeney is one of them.

The Iraqi MG Hussein Ali Kamal can’t even figure out who Jim and Don worked for (they each owned separate companies and didn’t work for ANYONE) much less figure out who killed Jim- a man I consider a personal friend.

Kind of funny how 5 people could have managed to fit into Jim’s vehicle and stab him while they were putting out Larry Young’s hooch while it was actively on fire after taking a mortar round and helping the IZ Police and Baghdad Fire.

All individuals detained have had their whereabouts verified at the time of the killing. The Iraqis simply needed to be seen to “do something” so they arrested everybody in sight. Interestingly enought hey did not arrest the one person who stood to gain several million dollars who DID work with Kitterman….. but that is simply speculation on my part.

I’d take this as notice that the Iraqis will lock up whoever they damn well want to, regardless of evidence or even a concise thought process. If I hadn’t been injured and sent home I’d probably be sitting right next to them- the time to pop smoke and vacate that shithole is now.

He also stated this about Larry Young, who died in a mortar attack at the time. 

Larry’s wife has tickets to the US bought by CTU although the older child’s passport got burned up and Sue is pressing the Iraqis to get it done with help from State. I’m working on getting them into the States permanently considering her sister is here already married to a US MP it should be somewhat easier. They need to get out of there and have a chance ata better life.

Link to discussion here. 

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Murray mother’s longing for justice may be satisfied

Iraq death » She feels cheated by a mercenary who employed her son when killed in Iraq. The mercenary is now in Iraqi custody.

By Matthew D. LaPlante

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 06/07/2009 12:49:40 PM MDT

Four years had passed since her son had died in an explosion in Baghdad and Carol Thomas Young was getting no closer to knowing why.

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Saturday, May 30, 2009

Industry Talk: Contractor Census- More Security Contractors, Less Overall Contractors in the USCENTCOM AOR

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq,Publications — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:13 PM

   There is a lot of juice in this report(s), and I recommend reading through it to get a feel for where things stand right now.  The stuff that jumped out at me, is the increase in security contractors in both Iraq(23%) and Afghanistan(29%) from the last quarter census.  You would think with all the negative press out there, that the US would be cutting down on the use of armed contractors.  It looks to me like someone at least appreciates what we do, enough so to contract even more of us.  

   To me this is significant.  With Iraq, troop withdrawals will be creating security vacuums in some areas, and security contractors will be filling those gaps. And with the RUF being that we are only limited to defensive operations, you will see us taking over many defensive operations in Iraq and more Coalition troops being freed up for offensive operations.  The numbers don’t lie.

   With Afghanistan, this makes sense as well.  With an increase of troops, there will be an increase in support in the form of contractors.  But someone has to protect those contractors while they build stuff, and those security contractors will be used to defend FOBs to free up the troops so they can go on the offense.

   I highly recommend checking out the report, because it showed the graphs that went along with the report, as well as the break down in contractor types.  It is broken down under US Citizens, Third Country Nationals, and Local Nationals.  In Iraq, Third Country Nationals outnumbered everyone- lots of Ugandan security contractors is one example.  In Afghanistan, it is the Local Nationals that outnumber everyone, and there is no surprise there.   

   The trend line is there and security contractors are stepping up to fill these defensive security needs in the war. My hope is that the reforms needed to manage and account for these contractors is able to catch up.  And this report below showed some promising new developments in that area as well.  It sounds like the SPOT database is starting to work it’s magic, and I am glad they were able to get a better handle on the accountability area.  The decrease in overall contractor numbers from last quarter was somewhat contributed to this new database tracking system.  There is a description of the SPOT in the link I provided below, and I recommend reading that report as well.    

   In other areas, we will see how the SOFA and UCMJ issues turn out, because that is an area that definitely needs leadership and enforcement.  I still think that we need to be moving faster on the issue of contractor management and accountability, and for it to take this long to get just this far is disheartening.  We have a war to fight and this is all stuff that should have been hashed out years ago. –Matt

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CONTRACTOR SUPPORT OF U.S. OPERATIONS

IN USCENTCOM AOR, IRAQ, AND AFGHANISTAN

BACKGROUND:  This update reports DoD contractor personnel numbers in theater and outlines DoD efforts to improve management of contractors accompanying U.S. forces.  It covers DoD contractor personnel deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) as of March 31, 2009.

KEY POINTS:

Ending 2nd quarter FY 2009, USCENTCOM reported approximately 242,657 contractor personnel working for the DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR.     

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Thursday, January 1, 2009

Iraq: Iraqi Troops Take Charge of the Green Zone and Basra

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 10:56 AM

   Happy New Year to everyone, and hopefully 2009 will be a good year for us all.  Especially in Iraq.  We’ll see how it goes, and I will be sure to post what I can about any of the issues and problems associated with the hand over.  One thing I did pick up on in this article, was the issue of Iraqi prisoners.  

   U.S. troops across Iraq remain under U.S. command but their operations must now be authorised by a joint committee. They can detain Iraqis only with a warrant from an Iraqi judge and are to leave the streets of Iraqi towns and cities by mid-2009.

Some 15,000 prisoners held at U.S. military detention camps must now be charged with crimes under Iraqi law or freed. 

   I really hope that Iraq’s legal system will be able to properly deal with this, and I have to think that out of those 15,000 that there are still a few with some fight in them.  We’ll see how this goes, and I am sure we will be carefully watching who gets released and where they go.

   As for a joint committee authorizing operations, I am somewhat skeptical.  My fear for this would be OPSEC and this part of the handover will take a lot of trust.  All we can do is wait and see.  –Matt 

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Iraqi troops take charge of Baghdad’s Green Zone

Thu Jan 1, 2009 9:56am EST

* U.S. troops come under Iraqi mandate

* PM marks “sovereignty” with national holiday

* Iraqi forces assume control of Green Zone

By Waleed Ibrahim and Tim Cocks

BAGHDAD, Jan 1 (Reuters) – U.S. forces in Iraq came under an Iraqi mandate on Thursday, an event the country’s leader said had finally restored Iraq’s sovereignty nearly six years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

In one immediate change, U.S. forces handed over responsibility to Iraqi troops for the Green Zone, a fortified swathe of central Baghdad off limits to most Iraqis, who widely view it as a symbol of foreign military occupation.

(more…)

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Legal News: SOFA Discards Contractors and the Rule of Law

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 12:53 AM

   I want to applaud Tara for writing this, and I agree with this assessment. Especially this part, which includes that crap that the New York Times wrote. –Head Jundi

 

“The New York Times editorial board has called the SOFA’s exclusions of protection for contractors “an acceptable price to pay to show this country’s commitment to the rule of law.” A diplomatic concession that blatantly and offensively treats one class of American citizen differently than others hardly demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the rule of law.” 

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SOFA Discards Contractors and the Rule of Law

December 04, 2008

JURIST Guest Columnist Tara Lee, a former Navy JAG now a partner at DLA Piper (US) LLP, says that having a Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq that abdicates the jurisdictional reach of the United States over contractors (not just security contractors) who are US citizens acting on its behalf is too high a price to pay for recognizing Iraq’s sovereignty….

Earlier this week the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq issued a report that is highly critical of the absence of due process in Iraq’s criminal justice system. The UN Report notes that “many detainees have been deprived of their liberty for months or even years, often under precarious physical conditions, without access to defence counsel, or without being formally charged with a crime or produced before a judge. Continuing allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of inmates are of particular concern.” The report is particularly timely, given that as of January 1, 2009, U.S. citizens who are contractors in Iraq will be subject to the jurisdiction of Iraqi criminal and civil courts, according to the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement signed on November 17, 2009.

(more…)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Legal News: Iraq Parliament Approves SOFA, Still Many Questions Unanswered

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , — Matt @ 1:31 PM

   So it is law, and January 1, 2009 is the date.  In the meantime, maybe the DoS and DoD can answer these questions for those contractors operating in Iraq as we speak?  

***** 

Will there be retroactive application of criminal jurisdiction?(It is unclear whether Iraqi law will preclude ex post facto prosecutions based on allegedly criminal acts that occurred before January 1, 2009.)              

 

The agreement includes language about the “parties” retaining their rights to legitimate self-defense as defined in applicable international law. “Parties” to the agreement only includes the US government and the Iraqi government, thus apparently excluding contractors from the right to self-defense.  Will there be further guidance forthcoming as to contractors’ rights to self-defense, especially for those contractors who are required or authorized to carry weapons?                                                                                                          

 

Will the 1934 extradition treaty with Iraq mean that US citizens now in the US will be extradited back to Iraq for trial?

 

Will contractor equipment in Iraq be subject to pre- or post-judgment attachment when a civil suit is filed against a contractor?

 

Will there be retroactive application of civil jurisdiction? 

 

How will the statutes of limitations apply for tort and contract claims, and will this mean that contractors be sued on January 1, 2009 in Iraq based on occurrences in the past? 

***** 

     All of these questions were asked at the briefing given by the DoD and DoS, by legal experts, and they had no answer!  Amazing that we have gotten this far with this document, and these kinds of questions have not been answered.  Talk about being thrown under the bus. 

     I suggest that if you are reading this, and you are a security contractor operating in Iraq as we speak, then ask your company to press the DoD and DoS about these issues.  Or as a civilian, you can write the DoD and DoS and express your concern. –Head Jundi

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Iraqi Parliament approves security pact

By Alissa Rubin, Campbell Robertson and Stephen Farrell

Thursday, November 27, 2008

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi Parliament ratified a long-delayed security agreement on Thursday that lays out a three-year timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

(more…)

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