Reflections: What is at stake in our Oregon vets’ claims against KBR

Please repost Bixby v KBR Epic Play List under name of: 60isthenew40.

Epic Playlist for Class Action Bixby v KBR & ds et al (September 02, 2010)

Act II - Scene 1

Redemption Song – Bob Marley

Let it Rain – Eric Clapton

Wonderful Remark – Van Morrison

War of Man – Neil Young

Goon Squad – Elvis Costello

Testimony – Robbie Robertson

We Will Rock You – Brian May

Let ‘Er Rip – Dixie Chicks

The Word Justice – Jackson Brown

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2

Many Are Called –The I Threes (Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt)

One Belief Away – Bonnie Raitt

Spanish Bombs – The Clash

Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan

Streets of Philadelphia – Bruce Springsteen

Stay on The Battlefield – Sweet Honey In the Rock w/ poetry by Sonia Sanchez

Don’t Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit – Eric Bibb

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door- Bob Dylan

Hear Me Lord – Oliver Mtukudzi (recorded by Bonnie Raitt)

I Am A Patriot – Jackson Browne

Don’t Give Up – Phil Collins

Whole Earth Chant – Paul Winter Consort

Natural Beauty – Neil Young

Brothers in Arms – Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits

Silver Arrow – Robbie Robertson

Keep Me In Your Heart – Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderon

Us and Them – Pink Floyd

The Silence of A Candle - Paul Winter Consort

I Grieve – Phil Collins-

Ride Across The River - Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits

Presence of the Lord – Eric Clapton, Phil Collins & Blind Faith

Whole Earth Chant – Paul Winter Consort

And So It Goes – Maya Angelou/Roberta Flack

Have a Little Faith In Me- John Hiatt

Warning Sign – Coldplay

My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen

Teach Your Children Well – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Get Up Stand Up – Bob Marley & Peter Tosh

Please repost Bixby v KBR Epic Play List under name of: 60isthenew40

TAKING THE PRIVATE OUT OF PMC

David Isenberg - 08/29/2010 11:09 PM HUFFINGTON POST.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-isenberg/taking-the-private-out-of_b_698554.html

The most important word in the phrase PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTORS is "PRIVATE." If and when someone working for a PSC does something wrong the company, depending on the offense, may very well fine him, ship him home, and fire him. But they will do nothing more. They can't, as they rightfully point out ...

Isenberg writes: “Now it is true that PSC and private military contractors have to act, at least theoretically, in accordance with all sorts of laws both nationally and internationally, as well as regulations and directives from government departments (State and Defense in the case of the United States) as well as lots of contract language spelled out in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFAR)

Still, without the political will of the United States to act there can be no individual criminal accountability.

This, as it happens is the point made in a law journal article published earlier this year. Specifically, the article by AMANDA TARZWELL, PUBLISHED IN THE SPRING 2009 issue of the OREGON REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.

(NOTE: HURRAY FOR THE U OF O; NOW I FEEL BETTER ABOUT HAVING OBTAINED MY B.A. THERE.)

In her article "IN SEARCH OF ACCOUNTABILITY: ATTRIBUTING THE CONDUCT OF PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTORS TO THE UNITED STATES UNDER THE DOCTRINE OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY" MS. Tarzwell offers an alternative means of analyzing the unlawful conduct of PSCs: the doctrine of state responsibility.

As opposed to individual criminal responsibility, the doctrine of state responsibility holds a state accountable to another state. The doctrine dictates that "[e]very internationally wrongful act [IWA] of a State entails the international responsibility of that State."

In 2001, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted the Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (Articles), representing the culmination of more than forty years of work on the issue.

Although the Articles were never formally adopted in treaty form, they are largely a codification of customary international law regarding state responsibility.

There are potentially two legal tests for measuring attribution of a private individual or group: the overall control test applied in MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN AND AGAINST NICARAGUA, and the effective control test set forth in PROSECUTOR v. TADIĆ.

Research suggests that the overall control test offers the only viable means of attaching liability to the United States for the unlawful conduct of PSCs. By applying the overall control test, the unlawful conduct of PSCs in Iraq is attributable to the United States, and thereby invokes U.S. responsibility to Iraq.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why this is very important.

If a state was faced with the prospect that all of a sudden the rest of the world was going to find it responsible and culpable for wrongdoings by PSC headquartered in its country one can bet that the current woeful state of government oversight of PSC would magically improve at warp speed.

The alternative in MS. TARZWELL view, is:
Without a strong legal basis for attributing such conduct to the state, countries will continue to outsource their dirty work with impunity.

However, if a state can be held legally responsible for the unlawful conduct of PSCs, any incentive to use PSCs for illegal purposes is effectively eliminated.

In the same way that the doctrine of respondeat superior provides a powerful financial incentive for corporations to behave, the doctrine of state responsibility can serve a similar function on the international level.

Although Ms. Tarzwell is writing about PSC in Iraq her analysis is relevant to any situation in which states employ private actors to operate outside the law.

Who Are You Calling Objectionable?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-isenberg/who-are-you-calling-objec_b_645561.html

David Isenberg - 07/14/2010 07:29 AM.

Almost since the moment the FIRST PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTOR (PSC) emerged , many commentators have been going to great efforts to try and stick them with the "M" word, i.e., MERCENARY.

While there have been, and sometimes still are, connections and linkages between mercenaries and private security contractors ...
###

Oregon Review of International Law. Spring 2009 •
Volume 11 • Number 1.

http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/oril/docs/11-1/Tarzwell.pdf

IN SEARCH OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Attributing the
Conduct of Private Security Contractors to the
United States Under the Doctrine of State
Responsibility. AMANDA TARZWELL*.

*New England School of Law, 2009; B.A. International & Intercultural Studies, Goucher College, 2006.

The author was a Comment and Note Editor on the New England Law Review and clerked for Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, during law school.

Amanda is admitted to practice in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Employed with Abigail Williams & Associates 340 Main Street, Suite 330
Worcester, MA 01608 specializing in in Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury.

Thanks 60. As for the playlist, my theme
song for this case is Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down." The state responsibility doctrine isn't at issue here and won't be. We are here to hold KBR accountable for their conduct.