A federal grand jury heard testimony from three Iraqis yesterday concerning the killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad by Blackwater Worldwide last September. Federal prosecuters are toiling to find out if any of the government contractors can be charged with a crime in the US since an occupation decree prevents them from being charged under Iraqi law.

"It's a knotty question," said Kenneth Kohl of the federal prosecution team. "A federal grand jury can pretty much do anything it wants any time it wants, but the question of whether it's illegal to kill Iraqis in Iraq just stumps the hell out of us."

"It appears to be a question of quantity, not quality," chimed in Stephen Ponticiello, another member of the prosecution team. "If you kill 17 civilians because you are a trigger happy cowboy, that may be a criminal act. If you bomb a major city for invented reasons killing thousands, it's pretty clear that you are a statesman. If the contractors had killed a few thousand Iraqis, I don't think there would be a problem."

President George W. Bush responded indirectly to the incident today in a commencement speech before the United States Air Force Academy. "We must make war more precise," he said. "We need to find them terrorists and kill' em and leave them civilians alone. It's unfortunate, that's what it is."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reacted in a practical manner. "You boys be nice," she told the contractors. "We're going to renew your contracts because you haven't been charged with anything, and I know you need the money. Just to make sure you're being nice, I am going to make you put cameras on all your vehicles. That way if you're naughty, we'll know."

Vice President Dick Cheney was unavailable for comment.