Iraq denies immunity for US troops after 2011

Source: Aljazeera

Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, has won enough backing from Shia, Sunni and Kurdish political blocs to keep some US soldiers in Iraq as military trainers, but without granting them immunity if they commit crimes.

Baghdad and Washington must still negotiate over how many troops will stay on and how long they will stay after the December 31 deadline for their withdrawal from Iraq.

Immunity from prosecution is a key issue for the Pentagon, which has resisted the risk of American soldiers ending up in an Iraqi court. Last August, Admiral Mike Mullen, the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US would only consider an immunity deal if it were passed by the Iraqi parliament.

The immunity issue is equally contentious for Iraqis who are still trying to regain their sovereignty now eight years after the US-led campaign to topple former leader Saddam Hussein.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/201110542732166322.html

And I wish we knew officially how many contractors are still going to be there...150,000?

That shit would never be tolerated here.

And +1 to the "this better include contractors" sentiment!

It is called diplomatic immunity. Foreign Dignitaries can just about get away with murder in the USA...

The US government is loath, to say the least to let foreign courts prosecute its citizens. It has not ratified the ICC statute, and for the armed forces there is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If the UCMJ has worked in Iraq until now, I see no reason to give in to Iraqi demands of changed jurisdiction. I know that Blackwater employees have been involved in some pretty bizarre incidents, but surely they are not under UCMJ jurisdiction? They are not military personel and should be tried in national courts...