Justice (finally) for Blackwater crimes?

Through the years that we've been occupying Iraq, we've heard plenty of stories about misconduct (including unjustified killing of Iraqis) by U.S. mercenaries employed by Blackwater and other corporate war profiteers.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of these crimes could not be prosecuted in Iraq because of an agreement that L. Paul Bremer, as then-head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, had set up with the Iraqi government. The agreement granted protection to all U.S. military personnel, civilians, and contractors from prosecution under Iraqi law for their actions. In other words, they can do what they want without consequence. They are above the law.

But now it may be time for some Blackwater thugs to face the music here in the U.S.

On Friday, the New York Times reported the following:

The Justice Department has obtained indictments against five guards for the security company Blackwater Worldwide for their involvement in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that killed at least 17 Iraqi civilians and remains a thorn in Iraqi relations with the United States.

The indictments, obtained Thursday, remained sealed. But they could be made public in Washington as soon as Monday, according to people who have been briefed on the case and who spoke on condition of anonymity because the indictments had not been unsealed.

Peter A. Carr, a spokesman for the Justice Department, declined to comment on Friday. Anne E. Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater, also declined to comment.

Maybe we'll see some accountability after all. Fingers crossed.