Congressional failure: 'Gaps in law' may not allow prosecutions

"Gaps in the law" are among the problems the Justice Department is finding in the prosecution of Blackwater guards involved in the September 16 shootout in Baghdad, where 17 civilians were killed.

The antics of a few showboating congressmen, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Cal., pictured), have followed the script of a California trial lawyer who stands to make millions suing Blackwater, and have diverted lawmakers from the real problem: Gaps in the laws that they themselves are responsible for writing.

The New York Times reports that those "gaps,"as well as State Department immunity for the Americans who risk their lives daily protecting diplomats and VIPs in Iraq, are complicating and might not even permit a prosecution of those allegedly involved.

We reported last November that, because of Congress's failure to update the law, the Justice Department might have to "twist" the facts of the case and even the law itself in order to prosecute the diplomatic security guards.