1.
Study: More than half of pets overweight
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. officials are reviewing whether private security guards in Iraq could be considered unlawful combatants in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
If that proves true, the United States would be treaty-bound to pull the contractors from war zones, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Private contractors legally are allowed to use force to defend themselves but the line between defensive and offensive force is poorly defined, the newspaper said.
"It really is, legally speaking, very convoluted," a senior U.S. Department of Defense official told the Times.
The subject has taken on new urgency as U.S. authorities investigate the Sept. 16 killing of civilians in Iraq by Blackwater security guards.
If lawyers at the departments of State, Defense and Justice deem the guards to be unlawful combatants, the guards' work in war zones would be limited, which would hand the already burdened U.S. military even more work, the Times reported.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Top News Stories | |
TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (UPI) --
The bomb attacks on Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia were the work of Israel itself, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
|
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) --
Kate Upton was revealed as the cover model of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue during Monday's taping of "Late Show" in New York.
|
BAGHDAD, Feb. 14 (UPI) --
U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil won't be able to take part in an oil and natural gas licensing auction scheduled for May in Iraq, a spokesman said.
|
Women, Liberal Democrats favor Valentine's … $55,000 cupcake comes with diamond ring … 400-year-old witchcraft trial reopened … Survey: Many Swedes believe in ghosts … Watercooler stories from UPI.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption
