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| US tightens law on security firms |
| Private security contractors in Iraq could face prosecution in the US if they commit crimes, under a bill passed by the US House of Representatives.
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 5-October-2007
0:46:26 AM |
| The vote comes amid investigations into the role of the private security firm, Blackwater in the fatal shooting of 11 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad last month.
Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to vote on a similar bill soon.
Meanwhile, the state department said it had handed over its inquiry into the incident to the FBI.
The shift occurred in preparation for the possibility that the case could be later referred to the US justice department or Iraqi authorities for further action, the White House said.
An FBI spokesman said criminal charges were possible against Blackwater staff if its inquiry agreed with the Iraqi government's findings.
Iraq has accused Blackwater's employees of opening fire on civilians at al-Nisoor square in Baghdad without provocation, a charge the firm denies.
Blackwater's founder Erik Prince has insisted his firm's personnel acted in self-defence after insurgents attacked the US diplomatic convoy they were protecting.
Criminal liability
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted 389 to 30 in favour of a new law that would make all private contractors working for the US government subject to US laws.
Currently the legal status of private contractors working independently of the US military in war zones is unclear and legally untested.
Private firms working for the Department of Defence are subject to existing US legislation, but those private firms such as Blackwater working for the state department are not.
Democratic Representative David Price, who sponsored the bill, said it was hard to believe such a "gaping hole" existed in US law.
"Unlike the military, there is no clear chain of command for contractors, little in the way of standards for training and vetting personnel and no legal accountability for misconduct," he told the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
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