Will the DOJ’s manslaughter charges for the five Blackwater guards accused of killing Iraqi civilians in the 2007 Nisour Square shooting actually stick?

As I watched this video of Danny Schertler, a lawyer for one of the guards, speak after yesterday’s arraignment at a DC Circuit Court, I initially thought Schertler was all swagger and little substance.  After all, Schertler’s notion that the Blackwater guards are innocent because they were merely “defending themselves on a battlefield in a war zone” seemed preposterous.  17 innocent people died in that shooting, including a medical student and his mother who were out running errands.  Then, I read Daphne Eviatar’s recent piece in The Washington Independent and realized Blackwater’s defense is stronger than I originally thought.

Because Blackwater has operated under a State Department contract, they have never been subject to U.S. military control.  There is a question then as to whether those five guards can be prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), since the law was only amended to go after contractors from other federal agencies “only to the extent such employment relates to supporting the mission of the Department of Defense.”

Sadly, it seems like what this entire case could boil down to is an interpretation of that amended MEJA language.  What’s worse, the new Status of Forces Agreement may further complicate any hopes of holding contractors accountable going forward.  Considering Blackwater has been left largely to their own devices until now, operating in independently in a chaotic world without many discernible laws, I guess it’s no wonder bringing these guards to justice will be so difficult.