The four guards Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slatten were part of an armoured convoy that opened fire indiscriminately with machine-guns, grenade launchers and a sniper on a crowd of unarmed people in a square in the Iraqi capital. Private. Share this via Email Director Mark Manning Writers Natalie Kalustian Mark Manning Stars Rana al Aiouby Tariq Ali Reza Aslan According to Vox, investigators Jean C. Richter and Donald Thomas Jr. discovered, among other issues, that migrant workers were being used as guards for the Blackwater compound and Blackwater guards had neglected to even give them beds to sleep on in their living quarters. Haythem identified his son from what was left of his shoes. 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. [63], A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world. Fifteen minutes later, 17 Iraqi civilians were dead, dozens more wounded, and a white sedan that had been engulfed in flames contained two bodies charred beyond recognition. And despite numerous failures to comply with its security contract, including a failure to maintain the required number of security specialists, the State Department never sought out the $55 million in penalties that Blackwater should've been charged. Black Water is a 2007 Australian horror film written and directed by Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich. 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. "It was a horror movie," said Khalaf, describing the aftermath of the now notorious Blackwater shootings. 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 . But this convoy made an unexpected U-turn, drove the wrong way around the one-way square, stopped in the middle of it and started shooting. Assadi is now the sole breadwinner for the entire family. In Nisour Square, the Blackwater team later claimed that they were "engaged with small arms fire" by an "estimated 8-10 persons." Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians An error occurred while subscribing your email address. None of the Iraqis we interviewed last month could describe their losses without breaking down in tears. According to Tidings Media, one guard continued to shoot at unarmed civilians until another guard drew his own gun on him and threatened to shoot. But the Iraqis' hands are tied. 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. In August 2017, the D.C. [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. An Iraqi man who survived an infamous massacre of unarmed civilians by American security guards in Baghdad has condemned President Donald Trump's decision to pardon the men as "unjust . [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [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". This decision was appealed by the Department of Justice and in 2011, the ruling was reversed. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. In October, the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released its analysis of Blackwater's own internal reporting since 2005, which found 195 shooting incidents in the last two years, including 160 in which Blackwater employees fired the first shot. 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. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. 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. Black Water (2018) - IMDb 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! Their first contract, awarded in June 2004, was for $100 million for one year. However, as The New York Times reports, "not one witness heard or saw any gunfire coming from Iraqis around the square." The Intercept reports that others who tried to run for cover were killed by machine gunfire. [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. Initially, they worked providing training support to law enforcement and the justice department, but as Prince once stated, their "corporate goal [was] to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did to the postal service." 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. [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work and followed the U.S. military into Afghanistan. In a panic, Hooby turned his car around and was leaving the area when the convoy approached from behind, throwing water bottles at the roof of his car. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. [12] On October 4, 2007, the U.S. House passed a bill that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act[65] In remarks prepared for delivery before a congressional hearing in October, Blackwater chairman Erik Prince claimed company guards "returned fire at threatening targets," including "men with AK-47s firing on the convoy" and "approaching vehicles that appeared to be suicide car bombers." "Please, we want to live in peace, surrounded by friends not killers. Blackwater despite numerous scandals, congressional investigations, FBI probes and documented killings of civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan remained a central part of the Obama. The Blackwater Shooting - The New York Times [97], On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump granted full presidential pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. According to CNN, between January and September 2005, Blackwater guards fired their guns 195 times, "an average of 1.4 times a week." (L-r) Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough, Nicholas Slatten. "All of a sudden, I felt pain in my right arm and left leg, opened the car door, and rolled out," said Hooby. The Iraq government's own investigation found no evidence that the guards had been provoked or attacked, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's spokesperson called the shootings "deliberate murder.". "Conduct our deepest love to all the Americans who support and work hard to stop killing of innocent people all over the world," he said. Prosecutors asserted the heavily armed Raven 23 Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine-guns and grenade launchers. Ex-Blackwater contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings By ASHRAF KHALIL August 14, 2019 WASHINGTON (AP) A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead. Finally, around 5 p.m., he phoned his brother who worked at the hospital closest to Nissour Square. (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them", the official continued. [95][96] Heard, Liberty, and Slough were resentenced on September 5, 2019 to terms approximately half the original 30-year periods. Slattern was sentenced to life and the others to 30 years in prison each. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. Ahmed Haythem and his mother, Mohasin, were both killed in the Blackwater shootings in Baghdad on September 16, 2007. They beat citizens and scorn them. Khalaf turned back toward the Yarmouk road to see what might have spurred the shooting and heard a woman yell, "My son! 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. [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. 23 December 2020. [26][29], An Iraqi government account of the incident stated that as the convoy drew close to Nisour Square, a Kia sedan with a woman and her adult son in it was approaching the square from a distance, driving slowly on the wrong side of the road, and that the driver ignored a police officer's whistle to clear a path for the convoy. Share this via Telegram "[21] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki harshly criticized the dismissal. A Blackwater team was already there, with the diplomat, who ended up being escorted back to the International Zone without any incident. He documented what was left of his brother's car. As shootings in the square were not uncommon, it is unclear whether the shells were from the shooting in question or from other incidents. 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According to Courthouse News Service, they also stated that Slough, Heard, and Liberty should also be re-sentenced "because their 30-year prison terms were too long" and constituted "cruel and unusual punishment.". 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. utility stunts Blackwater's contracts for protecting American diplomats also weren't limited to Iraq. Now, left to deal with the aftermath are 16 grieving families, and those, like Hooby, still trying to recover from their wounds. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. Robert Young Pelton, a journalist who spent a month with Blackwater in Iraq, said that the guards "use[d] their machine guns like car horns," per Tidings Media. 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. Share this via Reddit The car rolled forward a short way, hit a wall and stopped, said Hooby. 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 . His brother's wife had delivered their first child, a daughter, just 20 days earlier. Other ways to share [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. The Burke O'Neil lawsuit may be the only way that victims receive compensation for their loss. And in 80% of the cases, Blackwater guards were the ones firing first. (An unrelated bombing in a nearby market cut the shopping trip short.) Sign up for the VE Newsletter https://www.vigilanceelite.com/newsletterErik Prince is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer,and . Ali Khalaf Salman, a traffic cop who was there, recounted seeing an American shoot Ahmed. That day changed my life forever. Interviews with victims and witnesses to the Sept. 16 shooting in Nissour Square bring to light more information about 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 also maintained that he wanted to limit and reduce the authority of all security contractors, not just Blackwater, Timereports. [54] He received an honorable discharge in 2002 and then enlisted in the Texas National Guard. and tried to gesture to his colleagues in an attempt to stop the shooting. NPR reports that sometime after the Al-Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, where 17 sailors were killed, Blackwater won a $46 million contract from the U.S government for "training sailors in counterterrorism." However, according to "Blackwater" by Jeremy Scahill, the report was written by Darren Hanner, a Blackwater contractor. [19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. And it's estimated that at least one other person died from the second shooting incident. Black Water (2007 film) - Wikipedia [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. We responded to a threat accordingly." This time, only four out of the five guards were charged, since the charges against Ball were dropped based on "prosecutorial discretion. Adrienne Ballenger . According to the civil lawsuit filed against Blackwater by Saadoon's family, Moonen was drunk when he shot and killed Saadoon "for no reason." [36] Several Iraqi and American investigations have been conducted into the incident. Salman ran over to the car and as he raised his hand to stop the shooting, the Blackwater guards responded by shooting Mohassin dead as she clung to her son, reports NPR. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. In the wake of the massacre in 2007, the Iraqi government banned Blackwater from working in the country and cancelled their license. In addition, the vehicles that were meant to protect diplomats were "poorly maintained," and during one party, four drunk Blackwater guards had crashed a $180,000 armored vehicle into a concrete barrier. [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. Share this via Twitter "[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. Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. The Road to Fallujah (2008) - IMDb [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". [93], On December 19, 2018, Slatten was found guilty of murder[94] and again was sentenced to life in prison on August 14, 2019. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army US pardons Blackwater guards: An 'affront to justice' - UN experts [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians from WarPosting After being leaked by a former employee of the notorious PMC, the footage dated April 2006 was featured in a piece called "The Warrior Class" by Charles Glass. Slatten faced a potential sentence of life in prison. The Blackwater guards also shot at cars, taxis, and buses. 2004 Fallujah ambush - Wikipedia 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.
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