Will Blackwater Guards Be Prosecuted for Killing Iraqi Civilians?

On September 15, Blackwater personnel guarding a State Department convoy killed 17 Iraqis on the streets of Baghdad. The guards have insisted they used their weapons in self-defense after being fired on first by civilians. Today's New York Times reports that FBI investigators have found the guards were unjustified in killing of 14 of the 17. The Times cites unnamed civilian and military officials as saying that the guards violated deadly force rules covering contractors in Iraq. If the report is correct, the new Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, may have to decide whether to prosecute. Lawyer and law professor Kevin Lanigan served as a US Army judge advocate in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.