[33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators. Blackwater's contracts for protecting American diplomats also weren't limited to Iraq. None of the Iraqis we interviewed last month could describe their losses without breaking down in tears. Haythem identified his son from what was left of his shoes. Blackwater guards were also known for driving on the wrong side of the road and crashing into civilian cars. Ultimately, Blackwater repeatedly insisted that their guards "were fired upon and responded appropriately." [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. Blackwater (2007) - IMDb Five were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and a weapons violation: Donald Ball, a former Marine from West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard, a former Marine from Knoxville, Tennessee; Evan Liberty, a former Marine from Rochester, New Hampshire; Nicholas Slatten, a former army sergeant from Sparta, Tennessee, and Paul Slough, an army veteran from Keller, Texas. Erik Prince - The Rise and Fall of Blackwater | SRS #029 I don't know how to manage my life or care for my other two children without her. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. That lethal incident was a watershed moment that brought intense scrutiny to the problems caused by private contractors, which have effectively operated with impunity as they've brought violence and widespread ill will to US operations in Iraq. He identified his wife of 20 years by a dental bridge. The BBC reports that during Slatten's second trial in 2018, a mistrial was declared after the jury deliberated for 16 days. "I tried to help the young man, but his mother was holding him so tight," said Khalaf. Legislation now working its way through Congress would resolve some of the gaps in the law, and hold all US private security contractors subject to criminal sanctions for felonies committed abroad. The 14 victims killed by the Blackwater guards on trial were listed as Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubiay, Mahassin Mohssen Kadhum Al-Khazali, Osama Fadhil Abbas, Ali Mohammed Hafedh Abdul Razzaq, Mohamed Abbas Mahmoud, Qasim Mohamed Abbas Mahmoud, Saadi Ali Abbas Alkarkh, Mushtaq Karim Abd Al-Razzaq, Ghaniyah Hassan Ali, Ibrahim Abid Ayash, Hamoud Saeed Abttan, Uday Ismail Ibrahiem, Mahdi Sahib Nasir and Ali Khalil Abdul Hussein. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. 23 December 2020. A State Department employee who was walking into the department's Baghdad operations center on the day of the incident heard a radio call from the convoy: "Contact, contact, contact! (An unrelated bombing in a nearby market cut the shopping trip short.) [84], The other four went on trial starting on June 17, 2014;[5] ten weeks of testimony and 28 days of jury deliberations resulted in convictions for all four men on October 22, 2014. [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. However, according to Reuters, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that "the U.S. government had recklessly violated the defendants' constitutional rights." [58] Nor is the US a signatory of the 1977 additional protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions in which Article 47 specifies that mercenaries are civilians who "take a direct part in the hostilities" and are "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain". John M. Patarini was the FBI agent leading the investigation, and although they went into the investigation thinking that civilians had merely been caught in crossfire, they soon realized that "it was a massacre along the lines of My Lai in Vietnam," per The Guardian. [40], On October 11, 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit against Blackwater USA under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of an injured Iraqi and the families of three of the seventeen Iraqis who were killed by Blackwater employees during the September 16, 2007, shooting incident. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. But the accounts of Khalaf and others contradict each of Prince's assertions. The shooting then turned heavier, Khalaf said, his eyes red-brimmed and serious. The committee was co-chaired by Abd al Qadir, the Iraqi Minister of Defense, and Patricia A. Butenis, the Charg d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. Essentially, Prince wanted a "free-market version" of military training. [24] The driver of the Kia was shot once in the head by a Blackwater contractor and was killed. According to the civil lawsuit filed against Blackwater by Saadoon's family, Moonen was drunk when he shot and killed Saadoon "for no reason." Supporters of the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide had lobbied for the pardons, arguing that the men had been excessively punished. The Iraqi government ordered Blackwater to leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee finished drafting new guidelines on private contractors under the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement. He spent the next three days in the hospital and underwent major surgery on his right arm, which was fractured by a bullet. The car rolled forward a short way, hit a wall and stopped, said Hooby. "I kept calling, but thought there must be some sort of cellphone interruption.". In November last year, he pardoned a former US army commando who was set to stand trial over the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker, and a former army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire at three Afghans. The FBI also concluded that there was no evidence to support Blackwater's claims that they'd been fired upon by Iraqi civilians. For several years, a private security firm known as Blackwater Security Consulting received an unprecedented level of funding and incredibly limited oversight from the United States. In fact, they even renewed the contract in 2008. The order confines most Americans to a 3.5 square miles (9.1km2) area in the center of the city so that they are unable to visit other areas without traveling in a helicopter. Associated Press WASHINGTON Four former Blackwater Worldwide security guards were convicted and immediately jailed Wednesday for their roles in a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisour Square. The 2007 incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square caused an international outcry. He also maintained that he wanted to limit and reduce the authority of all security contractors, not just Blackwater, Timereports. I interviewed Khalaf on Nov. 30, in a small conference room inside a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. ", Failure to Uncover the Fate of Syrias Missing, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in close to 100 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. NOW ON DVD www.noendinsightmovie.com The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq's descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality . Not only was the decision described as a "miscarriage of justice," but some U.N experts claimed that the pardons "violate U.S. obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level," per Reuters. After it was added, defense attorneys contended a 30-year sentence would be too severe, since the law was intended to deter gang members from carrying automatic weapons. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause", "Blackwater guards lose bid to appeal charges in Iraqi civilian shooting case", "U.S. troops in Iraq will need immunity: U.S. chief", "Jurors' Note Hints at Conviction in Blackwater Case", "Former Blackwater Guards Convicted in Iraq Shooting", "Shock And Dismay After Trump Pardons Blackwater Guards Who Killed 14 Iraqi Civilians", "Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards", "Trump pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law - UN", "Iraqi Inquiry Says Shooting Was Unprovoked", "Blackwater guards fired unprovoked: Iraq police evidence", "Pentagon Dispatches Investigators to Iraq to Probe Private Security Contractors", "Joint Iraqi-U.S. review begins in wake of Blackwater firefight", "Blackwater faulted by U.S. military: report", "Iraq determined to rein in private security guards", "The Iraqi Account of the Killings [infographic]", "Former Blackwater Employee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murder in 2007 Shooting at Nisur Square in Iraq", "US Lawyers for Blackwater Guards: 2007 Baghdad Shooting was Self-Defense", "From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths", "Four Former Blackwater Employees Found Guilty of Charges in Fatal Nisur Square Shooting in Iraq", "Iraqi ministers back Blackwater shutdown - CNN.com", "Iraqi Report Says Blackwater Guards Fired First", "State Dept. The aide also said that the Iraqi government was pushing for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, recently said his company is spending $2 million a month in legal . But this was likely due to the fact that the U.S.Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, which took effect in 2009, ended contractor immunity. The incident led to at least five investigations and although the Blackwater guards repeatedly claimed that their actions were justified, several of them came to the opposite conclusion. In August 2019, Slatten was once more sentenced to life in prison without parole, Al Jazeera reports. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. And after the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Blackwater won a $25 million contract to provide security for L. Paul Bremer, an American diplomat who led the transitional government following the invasion. At the end of the day, none of the Blackwater guards deny what they did, they just deny that there was any wrongdoing. [42] A spokesman stated that the ban would last for the duration of the investigation, and that it would not be permanent. At stake is the future of other innocent lives, as well as America's reputation throughout the Middle East and across the world. Trump's Blackwater Guard Pardons Cause Shock And Dismay : NPR Blackwater Security Consulting, also known as Blackwater Worldwide, was founded in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince as a private security firm. The State Department has offered family members $10,000 for those killed in the Sept. 16 shootings -- an amount most consider insultingly low and have refused. Finally, around 5 p.m., he phoned his brother who worked at the hospital closest to Nissour Square. Along with a few hundred others, he stayed there as the chaos unfolded, watching as the helicopters circling above the street started shooting at those below. The large metal rod implanted by the surgeon to help his broken bone heal properly is expected to be removed at the end of December. [68][69], On September 24, 2007, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced it would file criminal charges against the Blackwater staff involved in the shooting, although it is unclear how some of them will be brought to trial. Despite being heavily involved with the United States' military involvement in Southwest and Central Asia, Blackwater was often harmful and rarely helpful. His brother left behind a wife and four children. ", According to the memo Richter wrote to State Department officials in Washington after the incident, "Mr. Carroll's statement was made in a low, even tone of voice, his head was slightly lowered; his eyes were fixed on mine. Vigilance Elite: Blackwater 'Massacre' Was A Massacre of Justice This time, only four out of the five guards were charged, since the charges against Ball were dropped based on "prosecutorial discretion. His brother then headed to the square, where he called Haythem to tell him he had found a charred white car with a license plate number written in the sand. [54] He received an honorable discharge in 2002 and then enlisted in the Texas National Guard. The film documents the use of chemical weapons, particularly the use of incendiary bombs, and alleges indiscriminate use of violence against civilians and children by military forces of the United States of America in the city of Fallujah in Iraq during the Fallujah Offensive of November 2004 . As a result, on October 17, 2013, the Department of Justice once more filed charges against the Blackwater security guards, according to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. "Convoys are common," explained Khalaf. When he got out of his car to find out what was happening, he saw the convoy and the white car burning, and started yelling at the other cars to turn around. "[46] Hasan Jaber Salman, a lawyer who was one of the wounded, said that "no one did anything to provoke Blackwater" and that "as we turned back they opened fire at all cars from behind"[61] An Iraqi police officer who was directing traffic at the scene said Blackwater guards "became the terrorists" when they opened fire on civilians unprovoked, while a businessman said he wasn't seeking compensation but only "the truth" from the guards. Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq The Blackwater Shooting (2007) | The New York Times - YouTube We were in a combat zone where things can happen quite unexpectedly, especially when issues involve potentially negative impacts on a lucrative security contract." [8][98] A White House statement said the men had a "long history of service to the nation" as veterans of the US Armed Forces, and that there was strong support for the pardons from the public and elected officials. US prosecutors are now reportedly trying to build a case against those involved in the Sept. 16 shootings. As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. After the convictions, Blackwater which changed its name to Xe and then Academi after being sold said it was relieved that the justice system has completed its investigation into a tragedy that occurred at Nisour Square in 2007 and that any wrongdoing that was carried out has been addressed by our courts. Blackwater Trial: What You Need to Know - NBC News [99], Clemency caused outrage among Iraqi citizens and family members of the victims. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. The Blackwater guards also shot at cars, taxis, and buses. [37][38] The incident caused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater USA,[39] and for the Iraqi government to push for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". His brother's wife had delivered their first child, a daughter, just 20 days earlier. The film, an international co-production of Australia and the United Kingdom, is set in the mangrove swamps of northern Australia, and stars Diana Glenn, Maeve Dermody and Andy Rodoreda. No!" utility stunts [21]:116, During opening arguments for a criminal trial held in 2014, defense lawyers representing former Blackwater members of Raven 23 argued the men felt the approaching Kia was a credible threat as a possible car bomb, and opened fire in self-defense. "[32] According to Blackwater vice-president Marty Strong, the convoy was hit with "a large explosive device" and "repeated small arms fire" which disabled a vehicle. Director Pasha Patriki Writers Chad Law Tyler W. Konney Richard Switzer Stars Jean-Claude Van Damme Dolph Lundgren Al Sapienza See production, box office & company info Watch on Freevee Watch Free on Freevee More watch options [21][75] In the memorandum opinion, Judge Urbina ruled the cases against Slough, Liberty, Heard, Ball, and Slatten had been improperly built on testimony given in exchange for immunity;[76] that evidence included statements the guards had been compelled to give to State Department investigators, and as these statements would have been self-incriminating, they could not be used as evidence under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Slattern was sentenced to life and the others to 30 years in prison each. The 2004 Fallujah Blackwater incident occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS. FBI investigators who visited the scene in the following days described it as the My Lai massacre of Iraq a reference to the infamous slaughter of civilian villagers by US troops during the Vietnam war in which only one soldier was convicted. and tried to gesture to his colleagues in an attempt to stop the shooting. An order issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority in its departing days and still in force gives foreign private contractors immunity under Iraqi law. The incident led to at least five investigations and although the Blackwater guards repeatedly claimed that their actions were justified, several of them came to the opposite conclusion. Unfortunately, Blackwater continued to operate in Iraq and the United States didn't cancel their contract. "I raised my left arm high in the air to try to signal to the convoy to stop the shooting," he said, thinking that it would respond to such a gesture by a police officer. [73], The trial was set for early 2010,[74] but the charges were dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Ricardo Urbina on December 31, 2009, who ruled that the Justice Department had mishandled evidence and violated the guards' constitutional rights. Four young women tourists are hunted by ruthless woodsmen in the Florida Everglades. [83], In September 2013, the charges against Ball were dropped. "All of a sudden, I felt pain in my right arm and left leg, opened the car door, and rolled out," said Hooby. And none of the I.P. The security industry has evolved drastically since those events, and under the direction of new ownership and leadership, Academi has invested heavily in compliance and ethics programmes, training for our employees, and preventative measures to strictly comply with all US and local government laws.. Although Blackwater denies using helicopters, "at least one [of] the car roofs had bullets through them.". With Georgia Chris, Amy Simon, McCayne Blomberg, Jenny Robinson. They were also contracted for personal protective services in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Israel, and Palestine. In their view, this confirmed that they were under attack by a vehicle bomb, whereupon they fired at the car, killing both people in it as well as the Iraqi policeman. The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. The deceased included nine and 11-year-old boys. As he slumped forward, his weight on the accelerator meant the car kept moving. [64], US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified before Congress that the Pentagon has sufficient legal authority to control its contractors, but that commanders lack sufficient "means and resources" to exercise adequate oversight. Prince strongly criticized the way in which federal authorities had handled the investigation and disputed the claims that U.S. or Blackwater personnel were to blame for the shootings. Defence lawyers argued their clients returned fire after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents. [100] UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said that forgiveness "contributes to impunity and has the effect of encouraging others to commit such crimes in the future". Another young man, 27-year-old Abu Hassam, suddenly became the head of his family just a week earlier, when on Sept. 9 his older brother was shot in front of the family's carpet shop -- in an incident also attributed to Blackwater. "Please, we want to live in peace, surrounded by friends not killers. A Blackwater team was already there, with the diplomat, who ended up being escorted back to the International Zone without any incident. They beat citizens and scorn them. [63], A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world. While they weren't the only private contractor to provide military security, the name Blackwater would soon be so notorious that the company would change their name. Rogers. Blackwater was founded by ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince in 1997 as a shooting range and military training ground in Moyock, North Carolina. Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war. And despite subsequent trials, it's unclear if the victims of the massacre and their families got the justice they deserve. There needs to be a wholesale reform of the way security contractors and those that oversee their work do business. Inspired by the true story of a crocodile attack in Australia's Northern Territory in December 2003, a . Sign up for the VE Newsletter https://www.vigilanceelite.com/newsletterErik Prince is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer,and . Nisour Square massacre - Wikipedia NBC News reports that they repainted and repaired their trucks in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, despite the fact that the repairs "essentially destroyed evidence" that would've shown if Blackwater was facing hostile gunfire. [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Black Water (2018) - IMDb They then set off stun grenades to clear the scene. What's Blackwater massacre? Donald Trump pardons guards behind - MEAWW Blackwater was even hired by the Department of Homeland Security during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and according to PBS, collected "more than $70 million in hurricane-related contracts. A lawsuit filed in 2007 also accused Blackwater of killing five Iraqi civilians without justification just one week before the Nisour Square massacre. Tasks of the PMC are the support and training of military and police operations. [41], On September 18, 2007, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said Blackwater is "not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq". Black Water (2018) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb US President Donald Trump has pardoned four former security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving long jail terms for killing 14 Iraqi civilians, including two children, during the infamous 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad. At first, this seemed completely normal for the totally abnormal world of Baghdad in September 2007. Please give now to support our work, New testimony from witnesses and victims provides the most in-depth, harrowing account to date of the US security firm's deadly rampage in Iraq, Share this via Facebook "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. And Blackwater is not the only problem. One of the Blackwater guards reportedly screamed "No! [23]:32 Shortly after assuming their positions, "Raven 23" began firing on civilians in response to an approaching car, killing fourteen and wounding twenty more. In an instant, Ahmed was shot through the head. According to The New York Times, after the initial gunfire on the first car, the Blackwater guards "unleashed an overwhelming barrage of gunfire" onto Iraqi people who were trying to flee. But according to ICD, some of the plaintiffs claimed that they were "forced to accept the settlement.". Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. Share this via Email Assadi, 31, a stoic, unsmiling man, became the head of the family after his older brother Usama was killed in the shootings. Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a. the American security company Blackwater ("Black water") was founded in 1997, seal commando Erik Prince and shooting coach al Clark. In one of the most in-depth collection of testimonials to date regarding Blackwater, Khalaf was among five witnesses and victims flown from Baghdad to meet with Susan Burke, William O'Neil and their team of lawyers and investigators. Ex-Blackwater contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings A rocket grenade was fired into one of the cars, killing its driver. Khalaf recounted the events of that day to a hushed room of lawyers with laptops. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. Multiple civilian deaths linked to 2016-17 British airstrikes against IS in Mosul, Lives torn apart by British airstrikes in Mosul give lie to UKs perfect precision war, Onthe frontlines of the Iraq war 2003-08 in pictures, Theaccidental journalist who covered the war in Iraq, Annalena Baerbocks feminist foreign policy focuses minds in Iraq, Long shadow of US invasion of Iraq still looms over international order, Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol, Scores of Iraqis injured in anti-government protests in Baghdad, Who will protect us?: Baghdad residents wait out fighting as city grinds to halt. In this 2007 video, witnesses shed light on the killing of 17 Iraqis by American contractors in Baghdad.Read the article here: http://nyti.ms/1u1cNzySubscribe to the Times Video newsletter for free and get a handpicked selection of the best videos from The New York Times every week: http://bit.ly/timesvideonewsletterSubscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7nWatch more videos at: http://nytimes.com/video---------------------------------------------------------------Want more from The New York Times?Twitter: https://twitter.com/nytvideoFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes Google+: https://plus.google.com/+nytimes/Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Howard Bruce Obituary,
Fm Best Radio Stations In Detroit,
Articles B
