I. The Law

18 USC 2331 states, inter alia, that:

(1) the term "international terrorism" means activities that— (A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended— (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum[.]

II. The Alleged Facts

I incorporate by reference the excellent, must-read, highly-recommended diary by Naomi Wolf, entitled Blackwater: Are you scared yet?

Next, for your consideration, a series of articles from The Washington Post, The Independent, and The New York Times that show the terroristic activities of Blackwater in Iraq.

In high-level meetings over the past several days, U.S. military officials have pressed State Department officials to assert more control over Blackwater, which operates under the department's authority, said a U.S. government official with knowledge of the discussions. "The military is very sensitive to its relationship that they've built with the Iraqis being altered or even severely degraded by actions such as this event," the official said. "This is a nightmare," said a senior U.S. military official. "We had guys who saw the aftermath, and it was very bad. This is going to hurt us badly. It may be worse than Abu Ghraib, and it comes at a time when we're trying to have an impact for the long term." The official was referring to the prison scandal that emerged in 2004 in which U.S. soldiers tortured and abused Iraqis. In last week's incident, Blackwater guards shot into a crush of cars, killing at least 11 Iraqis and wounding 12. Blackwater officials insist their guards were ambushed, but witnesses have described the shooting as unprovoked. Iraq's Interior Ministry has concluded that Blackwater was at fault. The Washington Post

Blackwater, one of the largest American security firms in Iraq, has come under criticism in the US for its role in a 2004 ambush in Fallujah that left four of its staff killed and the region in deadly chaos. A House of Representatives report outlined the "unprepared and disorderly" build-up to the incident on 31 March, 2004, resulting in the employees – who were escorting a convoy – being executed and having their charred bodies hung from a bridge. The disturbing attack was seen as a turning point for US public opinion after images of the charred bodies were shown around the world by the media. A few days later, the US military launched a major offensive in Fallujah, leading to one of the bloodiest periods since the 2003 invasion. The Independent

The American official said that by Wednesday morning, American investigators still had not responded to multiple requests for information by Iraqi officials investigating the episode. The official also said that Blackwater had been conducting its own investigation but had been ordered by the United States to stop that work. Ms. Tyrrell confirmed that the company had done an investigation of its own, but said, "No government entity has discouraged us from doing so." An Iraqi investigation had concluded that the guards shot without provocation. But the official said that the guards told American investigators that they believed that they fired in response to enemy gunfire. The Blackwater compound, rimmed by concrete blast walls and concertina wire in the Green Zone in central Baghdad, has been under tight control. Participants in the Sept. 16 security operation have been ordered not to speak about the episode. But word of the disagreement on the street has slowly made its way through the community of private security contractors New York Times

And, there are allegations that Blackwater is selling arms to insurgents that are being used against American troops:

The first public hint that an investigation was under way came earlier this week in a statement from State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard after he was accused of blocking fraud investigations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Don't Miss Krongard said the State Department has been cooperating with the prosecutors in the Blackwater probe. "In particular, I made one of my best investigators available to help assistant U.S. attorneys in North Carolina in their investigation into alleged smuggling of weapons into Iraq by a contractor," Krongard's statement said. Blackwater resumed normal security operations in Iraq on Friday, the State Department said, after a brief hiatus following the lethal incident last Sunday. CNN

There is a diary today (h/t Terre) regarding Krongard now threatening his staff if they participate with the Waxman investigation:

I am writing to you about an exceptionally serious matter: reports that your senior staff has threatened officials that you could fire them if they cooperate with the Committee's investigation into your conduct. On September 18, 2007, I wrote to you requesting your assistance with an Oversight Committee investigation into your actions as State Department Inspector General. In that letter, I described allegations from seven officials in your office that you interfered with on-going investigations in order to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment. I requested various documents related to the investigation, and I informed you that Committee staff would be conducting interviews of several officials in your ofÍice. Two of the individuals who came forward were John A. DeDona, the former Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, and Ralph McNamara, the former Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. They told my staff that they had resigned after you repeatedly halted or impeded investigations undertaken by their office. The other individuals who contacted my staff asked that their identities not be revealed because they feared that you would retaliate against them.

III. Applying the Law to the Alleged Facts

It is clear that if the facts alleged are true, then Blackwater has been involved in violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State

Further, it appears that such acts are minimally intended to to intimidate or coerce a civilian population

And, these alleged activities occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum[.]

IV. Conclusion

Therefore, it is incumbent on the Senate to Resolve that,

BLACKWATER USA IS AN "INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST" ORGANIZATION, AS DEFINED IN 18 USC 2331, ET SEQ.

If no Resolution is forthcoming, then we know that the Democratic Leadership is condoning these activities of the Republican Party and their mercenaries in Iraq. The choice is yours, Mr Reid and Madam Speaker Pelosi. We await your action on this matter.