Blackwater, security contractors set to lose immunity in Iraq

Down in the 12th paragraph of a story on page A17 of the Post today is the news that the era of immunity for security contractors in Iraq is drawing to a close.

As it stands today, the more than 100,000 private security contractors in Iraq, working for companies such as Blackwater, are immune from Iraqi law. The Iraqis have long been pushing the argument that laws exist for a reason — and should most especially be applied to men roaming a foreign country armed to the teeth. Both high-profile and low-profile incidents of violence have turned Iraqi political opinion against the contractors and Iraqi negotiators have been pressing the White House hard to revoke their immunity as part of the ongoing negotiations over U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

They appear to have succeeded. From the Post: "Iraq's insistence that its laws should prevail stems largely from the excesses of private U.S. security contractors, whom negotiators have agreed would be subject to Iraqi law."