blackwater massacre documentary

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. Blackwater Trial: What You Need to Know - NBC News 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. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. "[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. 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." the American security company Blackwater ("Black water") was founded in 1997, seal commando Erik Prince and shooting coach al Clark. With tears in his eyes, Haythem described his beloved wife and son. Rogue Contractors Shooting Iraqi Civilians - NO END IN SIGHT I Sued Blackwater for the Massacre of Iraqi Civilians. Trump Just The Blackwater Shooting (2007) | The New York Times - YouTube Erik Prince - The Rise and Fall of Blackwater | SRS #029 Khalaf turned back toward the Yarmouk road to see what might have spurred the shooting and heard a woman yell, "My son! Also quoted in the memorandum was David Boslego, a retired US army colonel, who said the massacre was a grossly excessive use of force and grossly inappropriate for an entity whose only job was to provide personal protection to somebody in an armoured vehicle. And he contended that the helicopters never fired on those below. [29] Several sources have stated that the explosion was caused by a mortar round, though this is not reflected in the State Department's incident report. Prosecutors argued the men did not face hostile gunfire when they began shooting, and continued to shoot despite the lack of threats. One such incident is the Blackwater massacre, also known as the Nisour Square massacre. The audit also revealed that Blackwater overbilled at least $70,000 in travel costs. [36] Several Iraqi and American investigations have been conducted into the incident. Although one military review found that "all of the killings were unjustified and potentially criminal," in November 2007, the FBI determined that only 14 out of the 17 killings were unjustified, according to Reuters. This time, only four out of the five guards were charged, since the charges against Ball were dropped based on "prosecutorial discretion. 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. FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After thirteen years of political persecution and wrongful imprisonment, four U.S. veterans reunited last Christmas with their loyal families upon. The deceased included nine and 11-year-old boys. 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. 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. Even in this case, the FBI did not visit the crime scene for more than two weeks after the incident, during which time State Department investigators interviewing Blackwater employees offered them limited immunity, complicating the prosecution. Blackwater Settles Massacre Lawsuit | The Nation [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] [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. 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.. 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. [62] After a group of Iraqi ministers backed the Iraqi Interior Ministry's decision to shut down Blackwater USA's operations in Iraq,[29] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater[39] and called on Blackwater to pay the families $8million in compensation. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. [89][90][91] The panel also recommended that Slatten undergo a re-trial on the grounds that it was unjustifiable to try him with his co-defendants, and that he should have been tried separately. 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. [28] Nicholas Slatten was found guilty of first-degree murder, and Slough, Liberty and Heard were found guilty of voluntary and attempted manslaughter charges, and of using a machine gun to commit a violent crime. The Nisour Square massacre occurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of Blackwater Security Consulting (now Constellis), a private military company contracted by the US government to provide security services in Iraq, shot at Iraqi civilians, killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad, while escorting a U.S. embassy convoy. ", 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. [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". A few token prosecutions of a handful of Blackwater employees will not be enough. "Blackwater": the major crimes of the most famous American PMCs [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. Khalaf recounted the events of that day to a hushed room of lawyers with laptops. "All of a sudden, I felt pain in my right arm and left leg, opened the car door, and rolled out," said Hooby. Rogers. courts. "[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. That day destroyed me completely, Kinani said. [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. 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, after "Raven 23" entered Nisour Square, Watson was ordered to "lock down the traffic circle to expedite the travel of [the other Blackwater team]". Around this time, another Blackwater team of 15 guards known as Raven 23 headed out of the International Zone to offer support, despite the fact that, according to United States v. Slough, they were given an order "not to leave the Green Zone [also known as International Zone]." We responded to a threat accordingly." [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. He watched, he said, as the Blackwater convoy made the U-turn toward the street where he stood directing traffic. 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. Blackwater Security Consulting, also known as Blackwater Worldwide, was founded in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince as a private security firm. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. What's Blackwater massacre? Donald Trump pardons guards behind - MEAWW [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. "If you perceive marriage as half of your life, Mohasin was my best half," he said. [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. Now they'll go free. In Nisour Square, the Blackwater team later claimed that they were "engaged with small arms fire" by an "estimated 8-10 persons." Circuit Holds It Cruel and Unusual to Impose Mandatory Thirty-Year Sentence on Military Contractors for Gun Charge, "Former Blackwater contractor found guilty of murder in Iraq massacre", "Former Blackwater Guard Sentenced to Life for 2007 Baghdad Traffic-Circle Shooting", "Former Blackwater security contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings; In all, 10 men, two women and two boys, ages 9 and 11, were killed", "Blackwater Contractors Resentenced in 2007 Attack on Baghdad Civilians", "Survivors of Blackwater massacre in Iraq slam Trump's pardons for US guards behind killing", "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency", "Relative of Blackwater victim in Iraq says pardons 'unfair', "UN criticises Trump's pardons for Blackwater guards jailed over Iraq killings", "I Sued Blackwater for the Massacre of Iraqi Civilians.

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