Blackwater is an American private military company . I represented the Kinani family and five other victims of the Blackwater guards who were convicted of killing at least 14 innocent Iraqi citizens that day and injured dozens more. The civil lawsuit was filed as a wrongful death and personal injury suit against the men and companies responsible for my clients losses. Then-Vice President Joe Biden held a press conference to tell the citizens of Iraq that they would not be abandoned. The Dark Truth about Blackwater - Brookings "How are these criminals released after they killed 17 innocent people?" courts. [59] (The Protocol makes no distinction between defensive and offensive actions, but the U.S. does make such a distinction, in that it does not regard defensive actions by security guards to be combat. Each time the criminal charges were seemed lost, the U.S. Department of Justice told them they were not forgotten that we would continue to pursue the convictions of those who committed the crimes against them. ", "After years of waiting, the victims finally saw justice served when these men were convicted," she said in an email. Mohammed and his sister screamed for their children to get down. Trump's pardon of Blackwater 'Four' highlights deep divisions over Iraq Why did it happen? Then one of his sisters children said that Ali was hurt. He was shot in the abdomen. [14], On October 2, 2007, the Democratic staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report stating that Blackwater USA guards had used deadly force weekly in Iraq and had inflicted "significant casualties and property damage". 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. Extending the hand of friendship, Russia significantly drawdown its forces along the western border before the summit last year. Blackwater Mercenaries Sentenced for 2007 Iraq Massacre "Today we were surprised that the American president issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," Salman said, speaking from Baghdad. U.S. troops were coming under fire in Baghdad and major Iraqi cities from the resistance forces. But Trump reached a peace agreement with the Taliban and then lost the re-election bid before he could consider the bizarre proposal. The U.N. Human Rights Office says it's "deeply concerned" by the pardons. Ukrainian POW Unveils, Russian forces eliminating Ukrainian saboteurs that violated border, Greetings from Oujda, Morocco, the City of Mosques, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs, VT RADIO: Foreign Policy Gone Mad with VTs Senior Editor, VT RADIO: UFOs, Aliens, & Chinese Balloons with VTs Jack, Many Predicted NATO Expansion Would Lead to War. [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. [101][102] The Iraqi Foreign Ministry urged the United States to reconsider, declaring the pardons "did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed".[103]. 'I hope she's scarred for life' Recalling my time as a Blackwater 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/1u1cNzySubscrib. 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. They beat citizens and scorn them. 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. [99], Clemency caused outrage among Iraqi citizens and family members of the victims. and thus prosecution by U.S. That notion has now been shown to be false, Dickinson says. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. IE 11 is not supported. "Paul Slough and his colleagues didn't deserve to spend one minute in prison," Brian Heberlig, a lawyer for Slough, told The Associated Press. [47], The U.S. State Department said it planned to investigate what it called a "terrible incident". Dec. 24, 2020 Mohammed Hafedh Abdulrazzaq Kinani with a photo of his 9-year-old son, Ali, who was killed by Blackwater. 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. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media. I sued Blackwater, its founder Erik Prince, and the four men who were convicted of murder, manslaughter, or weapons charges in a civil lawsuit filed in North Carolina, the home of Blackwaters headquarters and training facility in Moyock. 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. On Tuesday, President Trump pardoned 15 people, including Dustin Heard (from left), Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough, the four former government contractors convicted for a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead. Russian Forces strike Ukrainian Armys Electronic Intelligence Center in Kiev Region. But supporters of the military contractors, who argued the investigation was tainted and the punishments too severe, cheered the news. [24] The driver of the Kia was shot once in the head by a Blackwater contractor and was killed. Trump's Blackwater Guard Pardons Cause Shock And Dismay : NPR 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. "[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. "We showed the world that we were going to hold people accountable," he says. Among his clients were the parents of a 9-year-old boy who was killed as he sat in the back of his father's car. We are taking fire from insurgents and Iraqi police. His mother also suffered a stroke, he added. Convoy Attacked in Baghdad, Sparking a Shootout", "3 Blackwater Guards Called Baghdad Shootings Unjustified", "Blackwater Denies Any Wrongdoing in Shooting Incident (Update1)", "Iraqi leader urges U.S. to cancel Blackwater contract", "Iraqi Investigators say Videotape Shows Blackwater Guards Fired Without Aggravation", "House Passes Bill That Would Hike Penalties for U.S. Security Contractors in Iraq", "Private Security Company Association Iraq", "Iraqi Government Disputes Blackwater USA's Version of Shooting", "Iraq battle was self-defense, security firm says", "FBI takes lead in probe over Blackwater crisis", "Blackwater most often shoots first, congressional report says", "Report: Blackwater Killings Unjustified", "From Texas to Iraq, and Center of Blackwater Case", No forensic match for ammo in Blackwater shooting, "The Associated Press: APNewsBreak: Blackwater founder questions FBI work", "Overcoming post-colonial myopia: A call to recognize and regulate private military companie"s, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, "Wounded Iraqis: 'No one did anything' to provoke Blackwater", "Blackwater incident witness: 'It was hell', Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting, "Blackwater Verdict a U.S. 'Snub' of Iraqi Leader Nouri al-Maliki: Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran", "White House: Contractor bill would have 'intolerable' effects", "Blackwater settles Nisoor Square lawsuit", "5 Blackwater guards face manslaughter charges", "Blackwater Guard in Secret Deal to Testify in Massacre Case", "US judge sets trial in 2010 for Blackwater guards", "Appeals court revives Blackwater shooting case", "US judge dismisses charges in Blackwater Iraq killings", "Reopening of Blackwater Case Confuses Iraqi Victims", "Biden Says U.S. Will Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal (Published 2010)", "ICD - Slough et al. Trump Pardons Blackwater Contractors Who Killed Iraqis [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. Thats what lawyers do in the United States: We fight for those who cant fight for themselves. To understand the carnage that happened on the streets that day, you need to hear it in Mohammeds words as he explained it to me. [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". 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. [40] The US House passed a bill, titled the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. For those of you who are not aware, Erik Prince (Blackwater/Academi) personally sold to the CIA the concept of a mercenary army to conduct hybrid war ops and/or crypto-guerrilla war against Russia. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. [56], On April 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince's seven-hour testimony about what allegedly transpired. https://www.ournewearthnews.com/2022/03/04/massacre-in-ukraine-caught-on-camera-and-probably-still-unfolding-viewer-discretion-advised-please-pray/. 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. [80], On April 22, 2011, after closed-door testimony, a federal appeals-court panel revived the Justice Department's prosecution of the former Blackwater Worldwide guards by reinstating the manslaughter charges against the five men. Liberty is one of four former Blackwater mercenaries pardoned by President Donald Trump in one of . Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. Mohammed turned his bullet-riddled SUV around and drove back to the closest hospital only a few blocks behind him. . courts. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. Blackwater mercenary defends role in Iraq massacre after Trump pardon ", Human Rights Watch says the pardons "show contempt for the rule of law.". How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? They left in 2011 but returned in 2014 after the Islamic State militant group overran large parts of the country. Instead of returning the favor, however, the conceited leader of supposedly the worlds sole surviving superpower turned down the hand of friendship and even snubbed Putin. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. First ones from 16,000. [19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. Private Military Companies: Blackwater - Silent Professionals The convictions made the victims feel that justice had been obtained. Of the $10 billion humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine announced by the Biden administration, the top brass of the Pentagon is reportedly making preparations for allocating a significant portion of the funds for providing military training and arms to almost a million refugees who have fled Ukraine following the war. [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. Nicholas Slatten, 35, was a former security guard at the private US military firm Blackwater and was based in Baghdad. The four armored vehicles drove away. [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Trump issued pardons for all four men on Tuesday. But when the shooting started, his life and the lives of his entire family changed forever. But its the much more subtle and insidious tactic of economic warfare for which Russia has no antidote, as the global neocolonial order is being led by the United States and its Western European clients since the signing of the Bretton Woods Accord in 1945 following the Second World War. Prosecutors argued the men did not face hostile gunfire when they began shooting, and continued to shoot despite the lack of threats. Former Blackwater mercenary convicted of Baghdad civilian massacre Shots were fired everywhere. The Blackwater mercenaries were among the most flagrant killers in Iraq but hardly unique. [92] However, the court then found that the mandatory minimum sentences as applied to the defendants were unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishments, over the partial dissent of Judge Judith W. Nicholas Slatten, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Devin Heard were convicted on charges of first-degree murder and manslaughter by a federal jury in October 2014. [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. 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. "This was the slaughter of innocent civilians who were merely going about their day when a Blackwater convoy rolled through a traffic circle after having violated orders to stand down and not exit the Green Zone and began firing indiscriminately into cars that were carrying people going to work.". Sequence of events triggering the Nisour Square massacre, Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, Private Security Company Association of Iraq, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, Inspector General of the U.S. State Department, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, "U.S. Blackwater and the Corporate Mercenaries who've - NationofChange "[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. He received poor treatment because his injuries were less life threatening, but he was left with a disfigured and useless arm. Adela Sulimanis a London-based reporter for NBC News Digital. WaPo says, 'Investigators for the military and the FBI later described . 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. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators. Trump pardons ex-campaign aide and disgraced Republican lawmakers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. "Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians", 23 December 2020. Paul Dickinson[emailprotected]farrin.com. "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. That day changed my life forever. What takes place doesnt mention Russian soldiers but others preventing citizens from escaping. 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. "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. My clients assuredly feel ignored, mistreated, and used. 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". 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. 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. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. Trump's pardon of mercenaries guilty of massacre in Iraq leads to It wasnt unusual for regular U.S. Army convoys to stop traffic. 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. Video of the aftermath includes an image of a human brain on the road in Nisour Square. [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. Trumps pardon of the Blackwater mercenaries who murdered 14 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square shows the world what justice means in the United States. More than 3,000 troops remain in Iraq, according to defense officials, with a drawdown scheduled for January. USA: Four Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians Baghdad massacre: US court finds ex-Blackwater mercenary guilty of The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. 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. The result of the long legal battle is that each man was ensured a fair trial, free of partiality and without unjust favor. American troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was appointed Trumps education secretary. 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! Trump Just Pardoned Those Convicted Killers", "Pardons in killings of Iraqi civilians stir angry response", "Chief of Blackwater Defends His Employees", "Tracing the Paths of 5 Who Died in a Storm of Gunfire", "Blackwater Execs Remain Free as Guards Convicted for Killing 14 Iraqis in Massacre", Use of white phosphorus by the United States, United States and the International Criminal Court, A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, "The wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time", AfghanIraqi Freedom Memorial (Salem, Oregon), The Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nisour_Square_massacre&oldid=1141803510, Violent non-state actor incidents in Asia, People convicted of murder by the United States federal government, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 22:05. 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. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. This includes the right to see perpetrators serve punishments proportionate to the seriousness of their conduct. This evidentiary use of tainted information constitutes yet another Kastigar violation. Prosecutors asserted the heavily armed Raven 23 Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine-guns and grenade launchers. [45] Also, it is not clear whether the license revocation is permanent. [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. [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. Nasser, who attended the 2014 trial in the United States, said his brother's death had broken his father's heart. An initial prosecution was thrown out by a federal judge sparking outrage in Iraq but the then vice-president, Joe Biden, promised to pursue a fresh prosecution, which succeeded in 2015. Blackwater mercenaries on trial in US court for 2007 Iraq massacre The four were convicted at then VP Joe Biden's insistence, and were serving jail terms. The Blackwater guards were firing indiscriminately. Blackwater mercenary sentenced to life in prison - NationofChange But NATOs covert operators embedded with Ukraines security forces reassured them that the war wasnt over and implored them to give their Western mentors a face-saving by mounting at least a semblance of resistance against the fierce onslaught by Russias professional security forces. [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. [21]:116[22] The Blackwater commander, Jimmy Watson, had received an order to stand by and not leave the Green Zone upon reaching a checkpoint, but he made a "tactical decision" to advance to Nisour Square after waiting for a few minutes; upon informing the Blackwater Tactical Operations Center of this, he was ordered to return to the Green Zone. 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. He lay in the hallway for an hour before he died. Nisour Square massacre - Wikipedia Blackwater Worldwide - The New York Times Ghasson Mahmood was a 55-year-old civil engineer. This is not for the faint of heart but allegedly a video from the Ukraine conflict at a check-point at Mariupol which is surrounded by Russian troops. Despite having immense firepower at its disposal that could readily turn the tide in conflicts as protracted as Syrias proxy war, the Russian advance in Ukraine has been slower than expected according to most estimates because Russia is only targeting military infrastructure and doing all it can to minimize collateral damage, particularly needless civilian losses in the former Soviet republic whose majority population is sympathetic to Russia. Again, the result was the civil legal system exhausting every defense afforded to Blackwater and the men. When #Blackwater mercenaries were murdering civilians in the #IraqWar, did these voices demand seizure of yachts owned by CEO Erik Prince? [70] A second civil lawsuit filed jointly by the families of six victims against Blackwater was settled on January 6, 2012 for an undisclosed sum. Bullets were everywhere. Survivors and victims' relatives of a 2007 shooting in Iraq by Blackwater contractors meet with United States prosecutors in Baghdad in 2008. [95][96] Heard, Liberty, and Slough were resentenced on September 5, 2019 to terms approximately half the original 30-year periods. [42] A spokesman stated that the ban would last for the duration of the investigation, and that it would not be permanent. "[51][52][53], On January 19, 2008, The New York Times reported that the contractor responsible for many of the deaths in the engagement, previously known only as "turret gunner no. Mohammed knew his sons injuries were fatal, but he had to try. "The victims' families finally saw some measure of justice when these men were convicted in 2014 and sentenced to prison. security contractors who had previously been sentenced over the death of 17 Iraqi civilians in the 2007 Nisur Square massacre . Each step of the way, the U.S. legal system ensured that these men were given fair and just prosecutions. It was his business partner who lay in the pool of blood and was repeatedly shot. The Nisour Square massacre was the FBIs most comprehensive and expensive criminal investigation since 9/11. Mohammed had not been shot. October 22 2014, 9:58 a.m. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., returned guilty verdicts against four . When Slattens conviction was overturned, I was concerned that the case would be ignored. When Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten was tried and convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, the U.S. legal system determined that he needed a new trial. Now justice has been undone by the stroke of a pen," Sarah Holewinski, the organization's Washington director, said in a statement. He was driving on flat tires and with a shattered windshield. "The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. Although Mohammed was going to return quickly with his sister and Alis cousins for a visit, Mohammed told his son that he could go with him. The majority of the Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq after the . 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. The expense was to show the people of Iraq that the U.S. government would hold people accountable for their crimes, no matter when or where they were committed. The Blackwater guards included Nicholas Slatten, who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre, when he and other .
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