When the Blackwater contractors were finally convicted seven years later in 2014, that was a sign of relief, but you needed political will for that. [57], In October 2007, the United Nations released a two-year study that stated that private contractors, although hired as "security guards", were performing military duties. As many as 504 children, women and older men were killed by a US infantry company, members of which also raped numerous women and girls. Mohammed was thrilled when the U.S. entered Baghdad years earlier in 2003. I was thinking the same thing about the Chechens a few days ago. ", Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics, Jasem Mohammed Hashem, who was working as a police officer when he was shot in the head in the attack, was also disappointed by Trump's decision to free the men who, he said, "opened fire randomly at the citizens.". [17], Just before noon on September 16, 2007, a car bomb exploded near the Izdihar Compound where US and Iraqi officials were meeting,[20]:547 and a 19-man Blackwater Tactical Support Team (TST) consisting of a convoy of four trucks, answering to the call sign "Raven 23", took up positions on the south side of Nisour Square to secure an evacuation route for the US officials and another Blackwater team providing security for them. When Slattens conviction was overturned, I was concerned that the case would be ignored. It looks at the rise of private security contractors such as Blackwater in the era of modern warfare. U.S. troops were coming under fire in Baghdad and major Iraqi cities from the resistance forces. [83], In September 2013, the charges against Ball were dropped. Dozens of witnesses were brought to the United States to testify about what happened on September 16, 2007. He was shot through the back with a massive exit wound in his chest. In addition to the Kinani family, I represented five other families and victims. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. "[29], On October 4, 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it would be taking the lead in the investigation of the shooting incident. When the first indictments were dismissed on New Years Eve in 2009, they were told that the prosecutions would continue. Blackwater was founded by ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince in 1997 as a shooting range and military training ground in Moyock, North Carolina. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? Nicholas Slatten, 35, was a former security guard at the private US military firm Blackwater and was based in Baghdad. [46] On September 21, CNN reported that Blackwater would resume normal operations the following day. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. President Donald Trump's decision to pardon four Blackwater private security contractors convicted of a massacre in Baghdad has been met with fury by the victims' families in Iraq. As he was leaving, his youngest son, who was affectionately given the nickname Alawi, asked to go with his father. Or should I say Why is he still breathing? It wasnt unusual for regular U.S. Army convoys to stop traffic. Blackwater has been renamed and falls under the Constellis group of companies, a risk management business formed in 2010. [18][30] Iraqi investigators also alleged that Blackwater helicopters fired into the cars from the air, as at least one car had bullet holes in its roof; Blackwater has denied any of its aerial units discharged weapons. Paul Dickinson is a lawyer who represented six Iraqi families in a civil lawsuit against Blackwater and its founder, Erik Prince (who is the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos). A caption at the bottom of the screen states . "I am overwhelmed with emotion at this fantastic news.". Despite the public display of uncharacteristic valor by sporting military fatigues and flaunting images and video clips of soldiers proudly standing beside caches of MANPADS and Javelins on social media, Ukraines conscript army was so frightened following Russias military intervention that it wanted to surrender territory and opted instead for mounting guerrilla warfare by adopting hit-and-run tactics from the safety of border regions of Poland and Romania. [28] TST 22 arrived at Nisour Square after Raven 23 had left; when TST 22 tried to withdraw, its route was blocked by Iraqi Army and Police vehicles. He received poor treatment because his injuries were less life threatening, but he was left with a disfigured and useless arm. "The victims' families finally saw some measure of justice when these men were convicted in 2014 and sentenced to prison. President Donald Trump pardoned four former Blackwater mercenaries on Tuesday who had been convicted for their role in the Nisour Square massacre that left 14 people dead in Baghdad in 2007. Slough, Liberty and Heard were convicted on multiple charges of voluntary and attempted manslaughter in 2014, while Slatten, who was the first to start shooting, was convicted of first-degree murder. [6][86] Bringing the weapons charges was disputed within the Justice Department, which initially opposed including them in the indictment. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the most publicized US crimes of the 8-year Iraq war. [1] Russian forces seize huge Ukrainian nuclear plant, fire extinguisher: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/. [29] The banning was described by P. W. Singer, an expert on the private military industry, as "inevitable", given the US government's reliance on and lack of oversight of the private military industry in Iraq. While the #RussianOligarchs are vile post-Soviet capitalists, the hypocrisy of the US media is revealing. (L-r) Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough, Nicholas Slatten. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. The US government said in a memorandum filed after the sentencing: None of the victims was an insurgent, or posed any threat to the Raven 23 convoy. The memorandum also contained quotations from relatives of the dead, including Mohammad Kinani, whose nine-year-old son Ali was killed. He told NPR on Wednesday that he was shocked by Trump's pardons he himself had made trips to the U.S. to give testimony in the proceedings against the four. The Blackwater guards were firing indiscriminately. He lay in the hallway for an hour before he died. [79] Three weeks later, Vice President Joe Biden, who was overseeing U.S. policy in Iraq, promised Iraqi leaders the U.S. would appeal the dismissal of these charges. By Andrew Emett - August 16, 2019 1269 SOURCE NationofChange The efforts of the investigators, the prosecutors, and the men and women who supported them was immeasurable. [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. She turned the location into an exotic bookstore and caf, offering erotica readings, among other licentious pastimes. Ukraine War Anniversary: UN and China Work for Peace, Devilish Zelensky, Kiev Hid Its Dead Soldiers in the Ravines. Shots were fired everywhere. [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. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? Now justice has been undone by the stroke of a pen," Sarah Holewinski, the organization's Washington director, said in a statement. "The ministry believes that this decision did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed and was inconsistent with the U.S. administration's declared commitment to the values of human rights, justice, and the rule of law, and regrettably ignores the dignity of the victims," it said. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. And it will be a success, Im sure. But unsurprisingly, he did not describe who those thousands of daredevil volunteers willing to sacrifice lives and limbs in a foreign war were. [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. Are they going to release me?". The incident happened at the height of the "military surge" ordered by the then President George W. Bush to bring the armed resistance against the occupation in Iraq under control. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. "How are these criminals released after they killed 17 innocent people?" [I]f such a thing happened in America or Britain, would the American president or American citizens accept it? "They prefer animals over humans, and then they talk about human rights, justice and humanity," said an Iraqi man whose brother was among those killed in 2007. The Blackwater guards appeared to have fired grenade launchers in addition to machine guns, according to the report. My law firm received a call from an immigration attorney the next year seeking representation for the Blackwaters victims, and I was eventually retained to represent the Kinani family in a civil lawsuit against Blackwater, Prince, and various other Blackwater companies and, of course, the men who were charged and eventually convicted of murder, manslaughter, and weapons charges for their conduct. Majid survived because he was on the passenger side of the car and was protected from most of the barrage of bullets. [47], The U.S. State Department said it planned to investigate what it called a "terrible incident". "[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. It was his business partner who lay in the pool of blood and was repeatedly shot. Volodymyr Zelenskyreassured his compatriots[2] yesterday: Ukraine is already welcoming foreign volunteers who are coming to our country. [32] In response to the guards' killing of the Iraqi policeman, other Iraqi police officers began to fire at the Blackwater men, who communicated to the State Department operations center that they were under attack. Nicholas Slatten was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of manslaughter and weapons charges. The man that just spoken to him was dead. Depicting a doomsday scenario in order to malign Russias calculated offensive in Ukraine to minimize collateral damage, mainstream reporting focused today on thefire that broke out [1] at Zaporizhzhia plant, one of Europes largest nuclear power plants situated 550 km southeast of Kyiv. Machine gunfire tore through his body. "Before he died, he went crazy as he used to go out into the street and whenever he saw a young man, he imagined that he was Mahdi," he said. Erik Prince, chair of the Prince Group LLC and Blackwater USA, holds up a picture showing the effect of a car bomb while testifying during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Oct. 2, 2007 in Washington, D.C. Mohammed was going to visit his sister and her children. Suddenly, bullets began to riddle Mohammeds car. That day changed my life forever. Among the pardons made by President Trump this week, the pardon of four former guards for Blackwater has been regarded by some as particularly galling. Spring flowers are planted in Nisour Square, the site of a deadly shootout by Blackwater private security contractors in 2007, in Baghdad on April 15, 2015. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. Their route home was through Nisour Square. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. "Today we were surprised that the American president issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," Salman said, speaking from Baghdad. "Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians", 23 December 2020. [3] Erik Prince provided weapons and aircraft to eastern Libyas warlord Khalifa Haftar: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/world/middleeast/libya-mercenaries-arms-embargo.html. [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. Abraham Al Mafrage was a 70-year-old farmer and father of seven who was also shot in the head and died that day. Not a one! The convictions made the victims feel that justice had been obtained. Rogers. That notion has now been shown to be false, Dickinson says. The report found that the use of contractors such as Blackwater was a "new form of mercenary activity" and illegal under international law; however, the United States is not a signatory of the 1989 UN Mercenary Convention banning the use of mercenaries. In the middle of the attack, Mohammed could not understand why this man lying dead was a target. ", Human Rights Watch says the pardons "show contempt for the rule of law.". Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. [72] A sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, struck a deal with prosecutors on December 4, 2008 and pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting,[72][3] and agreed to testify against the other five men. The September 16, 2007 shootings by Blackwater mercenaries left 14 Iraqis dead and wounded 18 others in Baghdad's Nisour Square. When he arrived at the hospital, it was a war zone. What takes place doesnt mention Russian soldiers but others preventing citizens from escaping. These convictions happened under the Obama Administration. Almost everyone who was killed or injured was shot in cars, taxis, or buses. The Iraqi government condemned the pardons, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in a statement late on Wednesday that it would follow up with the U.S. through diplomatic channels to urge a reconsideration. ", "After years of waiting, the victims finally saw justice served when these men were convicted," she said in an email. None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. These men will now be free, despite their crimes, and they will not serve the time in prison they deserved. Mohammed and his sister screamed for their children to get down. The result is not just that we see an injustice in the United States, but that the world must surely see cracks in the pillars of justice upon which our system is based. The hallways were full. That day destroyed me completely, Kinani said. U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the incident. [77] "Prosecutors should therefore have built their case against the men without them", a BBC report explained. Everything was eerily quiet. The shooting ended as suddenly as it started. "How are. Blackwater is an American private military company . The news shows the helicopter falling to the ground as it burns. Because any state, particularly those pursuing socialist policies, that dares to challenge the Western monopoly over global trade and economic policies is internationally isolated and its national economy goes bankrupt over a period of time. 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! [12] The U.S. State Department has said that "innocent life was lost",[13] and according to The Washington Post, a military report appeared to corroborate "the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault". [19] According to this account, the security team fired warning shots and then lethal fire at the Kia. 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. Again be warned it is ugly. Since the harrowing Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad in 2007, the Blackwater private military contractor, renamed as Academi in 2011 and becoming a subsidiary of Constellis Group following a merger with Triple Canopy in 2014, has built quite a business empire for itself. The Blackwater mercenaries were among the most flagrant killers in Iraq but hardly unique.