Blackwater Guards Found Guilty In 2007 Iraq Killings
Four former Blackwater security guards were convicted and jailed for a 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisour Square.
The former Blackwater security guards, from left: Paul A. Slough, Dustin L. Heard, Nicholas A. Slatten and Evan S. Liberty. Credit Associated PressClick here for reuse options!A jury in Federal District Court found that the deaths of 17 Iraqis in the shooting, which began when a convoy of the guards suddenly began firing in a crowded intersection, was not a battlefield tragedy, but the result of a criminal act.
The convictions on murder, manslaughter and weapons charges represented a legal and diplomatic victory for the United States government, which had urged Iraqis to put their faith in the American court system. That faith was tested repeatedly over seven years as the investigation had repeated setbacks, leaving Iraqis deeply suspicious that anyone would be held responsible for the deaths.,,
The trial was an epilogue to the story of Blackwater, which began as a police- and military-training facility in North Carolina and came to symbolize the country’s outsourcing of its wartime responsibilities.
About 1,000 of Blackwater’s contractors guarded diplomats in Iraq. Others loaded bombs onto Predator drones. The company’s founder, Erik Prince, tapped retired Central Intelligence Agency officials for executive positions, and at one point, the C.I.A. hired Blackwater contractors to covertly track and kill Qaeda operatives worldwide, a program that was shelved before any killings were conducted.
While the company’s security guards were involved in scores of shootings in Iraq, it was the 2007 incident in Nisour Square that helped cement Blackwater’s image as a company that operated with impunity because of its lucrative contracts with the American government.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: William
retired military , former cop, lifelong gym rat and doting grandfather alive and living in Maine
16 responses to Blackwater Guards Found Guilty In 2007 Iraq Killings
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arc99 October 23rd, 2014 at 12:32
Four former Blackwater employees are convicted of murder. Yet, the current corporate incarnation of the company now known as Constellis Holdings, continues to receive millions of taxpayer funded contracts.
Meanwhile, Acorn turns in some voter registration forms with obviously phoney names such as Donald Duck. Right wing media goes into a frenzy, never bothering to inform the public that by law, Acorn was prohibited from destroying or not turning in a form, no matter how suspicious it was. Right wing ideologues and gutless Democrats team up to defund and destroy the organization.
Bottom line, Acorn no longer exists, nor do the many benefits the organization provided to our poorest most needy communities. But millionaires whose employees committed murder continue to gorge themselves on taxpayer dollars.
This story serves as a paradigm to illustrate why I am and will always be a liberal.
The amoral hypocrisy of the right wing is repugnant to me and I will do everything I can for the rest of my life to make sure conservatives have as little impact on government policy as possible.
granpa.usthai October 23rd, 2014 at 12:32
would have been better if these mercenaries had been tried in Iraq by the Iraqi people. That’s where the crimes occurred.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 12:49
Which is exactly why Iraq wouldn’t sign the Status of Forces agreement that forced the U.S. to leave the country.
arc99 October 23rd, 2014 at 12:32
Four former Blackwater employees are convicted of murder. Yet, the current corporate incarnation of the company now known as Constellis Holdings, continues to receive millions of taxpayer funded contracts.
Meanwhile, Acorn turns in some voter registration forms with obviously phoney names such as Donald Duck. Right wing media goes into a frenzy, never bothering to inform the public that by law, Acorn was prohibited from destroying or not turning in a form, no matter how suspicious it was. Right wing ideologues and gutless Democrats team up to defund and destroy the organization.
Bottom line, Acorn no longer exists, nor do the many benefits the organization provided to our poorest most needy communities. But millionaires whose employees committed murder continue to gorge themselves on taxpayer dollars.
This story serves as a paradigm to illustrate why I am and will always be a liberal.
The amoral hypocrisy of the right wing is repugnant to me and I will do everything I can for the rest of my life to make sure conservatives have as little impact on government policy as possible.
granpa.usthai October 23rd, 2014 at 12:32
would have been better if these mercenaries had been tried in Iraq by the Iraqi people. That’s where the crimes occurred.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 12:49
Which is exactly why Iraq wouldn’t sign the Status of Forces agreement that forced the U.S. to leave the country.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 12:50
The wheels of justice grind slowly. Is it too much to hope for that the masterminds of this criminal conspiracy come to trial sometime?
Bunya October 23rd, 2014 at 13:27
I hope you’re not holding your breath.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 14:10
I gave that up during the W administration! Took me awhile, though.
mea_mark October 23rd, 2014 at 13:39
It is the institution that allows this criminal conspiracy that needs to go or be reformed. The masterminds of evil will always exist, it is the institutions that allow them power that need to be dealt with.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 12:50
The wheels of justice grind slowly. Is it too much to hope for that the masterminds of this criminal conspiracy come to trial sometime?
Bunya October 23rd, 2014 at 13:27
I hope you’re not holding your breath.
tiredoftea October 23rd, 2014 at 14:10
I gave that up during the W administration! Took me awhile, though.
mea_mark October 23rd, 2014 at 13:39
It is the institution that allows this criminal conspiracy that needs to go or be reformed. The masterminds of evil will always exist, it is the institutions that allow them power that need to be dealt with.
Budda October 23rd, 2014 at 13:38
Mercenaries could be easily labeled as sociopaths
Budda October 23rd, 2014 at 13:38
Mercenaries could be easily labeled as sociopaths