Blackwater got bitchslapped

If you follow mon blog, you know I've been following this bizarre Blackwater phenom.

Well, today the House of Reps passed a bill basically saying private soldiers are no longer above the law! It came only two days after the founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, gave evidence to Congress denying his cowboy guards had ever killed innocent Iraqi civilians.

From the Guardian:

"The House of Representatives today passed a bill to end the immunity of private security companies such as Blackwater in war zones.

Blackwater, at the centre of a controversy over the killing of at least 11 civilians in Baghdad last month, is, like the other 170 private security companies operating in the country, subject to neither US nor Iraqi law.

The House bill closes this loophole. It secured the support of both Democrats and Republicans and was passed with an overwhelming majority, 389 to 30.

Blackwater provides security for the US ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and other US diplomats.

Although US soldiers have faced court martials and other military hearings, not a single private guard has been charged in relation to killings in Iraq. Democrats portrayed the vote as an indictment of the Baghdad shootings.

Although some Republican senators described the wording of the House bill as sloppy, Democratic leaders in the senate said they intend to push forward with a similar bill. They said they wanted the legislation to go to the president as quickly as possible. "