U.S.: ‘arranged secret prisoner exchange’

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Minimizing the Blowback one step at a time?

According to U.S. sources what’s being said by the father is not what happened.

Peter Moore: US ‘arranged secret prisoner exchange’

Peter Moore’s father claims US agents negotiated a secret prisoner exchange deal  Photo: PA

US hostage negotiators secretly arranged a prisoner exchange deal with Peter Moore’s captors behind the back of the British Government, Mr Moore’s father has claimed.

As Mr Moore flew back to Britain to be reunited with his family, Graeme Moore said he received a text message from a source who said the Americans were arranging a deal with the kidnappers involving the release of the Shia cleric Qais al-Khazali.

He was told the Foreign Office was being kept in the dark about the negotiations to stop them “messing it up”.

Snip

The leader of Asaib al-Haq, or the League of Righteousness, was transferred from US to Iraqi custody shortly before the release of 36-year-old Mr Moore, who had been held since May 2007….>>>>>

According to the father, as stated in this report, he was informed about movement in trying to get the release of his son some four weeks ago about secret meetings with the kidnappers and the U.S. as to a swap.

And what the U.S. spokesperson is saying in denying and such secret talks and swap took place:

“Separately, the government of Iraq is carrying out a process of reconciliation with groups willing to renounce violence and enter the political mainstream.

“Since holding hostages is incompatible with reconciliation, we judge that progress on the wider reconciliation effort will benefit hostages held in Iraq…>>>>>

As the Brits are holding the Chilcot Iraq War Inquiry, to resume once again shortly after the New Year,  that will help slightly in minimizing blowback from the previous decades extremely failed policies especially as to the invasion, occupation, death, destruction and creation of millions of Iraqi refugee’s inside the country as well as fleeing to other countries, but Accountability for the orders givin under fabricated or known lies must take place for all involved, especially the leaders of here in the United States.

If there were negotiations, even if only perceived to be as to the closeness of the transfer of the Shia cleric Qais al-Khazali and the release of Peter Moore, that only can be seen as a positive by many in Iraq and the region.

Trouble is, as in any occupation anywhere, positive steps forward in trying to correct the wrongs and do good deeds or win hearts and minds of those who live in these occupations are quickly erased and more steps are lost when the extreme negatives occur wiping out not only the small steps forward at the time but those that preceded.

And only a few days after the release of Moore and transfer of the Cleric to Iraqi authorities we get this result from a U.S. judges ruling regarding perceived extreme crimes against innocent Iraqi’s, i.e. war atrocities:

Iraq ‘to appeal Blackwater verdict’

The Iraqi government will push to appeal a US court ruling dismissing charges of murder against five security guards of the private Blackwater firm, an official has told Al Jazeera.

Saad al-Muttalibi, an adviser to the Iraqi council of ministers, said that if the guards did not receive a just sentence for the killing of 14 Iraqis in 2007, the issue would complicate relations between Iraq and the United States.

“This matter will be appealed in the American court and if not resolved correctly, this will definitely add another strain on the relationship between Iraq and the United States,” he said on Friday.

“The legality or the procedures of the court case should not stop the criminals from facing justice and receiving a just sentence.

“This is very bad … for the overall look of the United States outside its borders. It’s very important for the Americans to realize that this will work against their interests in Iraq and other places.”…>>>>>

There has already been blowback on American Soldiers because of the perception of this war crime, if they couldn’t get to any mercs behind military guards on the bases they lived the blowback came at the soldiers on patrols, will the judges ruling, showing no accountability or even respect for human rights laws by a trial to show whether guilty or innocent of the charges, bring more blowback.

Here’s hoping the Iraqi’s request for appeal will be honored, according to these blackwater merc statements, all ex-military, they still don’t grasp the possibility of what their actions caused and even no apologies have come forth!