blackwater mercenaries massacre

Notorious mercenaries convicted of massacre in Iraq pardoned by Trump The logs depicted "a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police". Mohammed knew his sons injuries were fatal, but he had to try. It was funded with millions that. [2] Reactions [ edit] The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. [19] A Blackwater spokeswoman responded to the findings by saying Blackwater "supports the stringent accountability of the industry. An ambulance was called, and Ali and Mohammad were rushed to the other side of town. Slattern was sentenced to life and the others to 30 years in prison each. [83], In September 2013, the charges against Ball were dropped. Blackwater mercenary sentenced to life in prison - NationofChange Again, I knew my clients would be pleased to know that justice had been served and their rights had been protected. The Nisour Square massacre was the FBI's most comprehensive and expensive criminal investigation since 9/11. These convictions happened under the Obama Administration. 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. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. The Machiavellian plan of NATOs military strategists is to establish refugee settlements with the humanitarian assistance in the border regions of Ukraines neighboring countries Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria, and then provide guerrilla warfare training and lethal arms to all able-bodied men of military age in order to bleed Russias security forces in the protracted irregular warfare. But Trump reached a peace agreement with the Taliban and then lost the re-election bid before he could consider the bizarre proposal. The black-op of setting a building in the sprawling nuclear complex alight and then posting doctored video clips of Russian tanks shelling straight at the nuclear plant on social media, promptly verified as authentic by corporate media, was clearly the dirty work of covert saboteurs whove been advising and assisting Ukraines inept security forces and also taking an active part in combat operations in some of the hardest fought battles against Russias security forces north of Kyiv and at Kharkiv and Donbas. 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. Majid Al Kareem was 51 years old when he was shot. A caption at the bottom of the screen states . 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. 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. 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. [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". [37], Blackwater, which had been operating in Iraq without an Iraqi government license, applied for one after the incident, but the application was rejected by Iraqi officials in January 2009. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. Extending the hand of friendship, Russia significantly drawdown its forces along the western border before the summit last year. 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. [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. Iraqi traffic police initially tried to wave down the Blackwater men that there was no threat, but they too had to run for cover. Former Blackwater mercenary convicted of Baghdad civilian massacre Mohammed quickly got out of the car and saw blood inside the rear window. He was driving on flat tires and with a shattered windshield. 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. Trump pardons ex-campaign aide and disgraced Republican lawmakers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. His mother also suffered a stroke, he added. [3][84] Prosecutors stated they reached their decision after an "assessment of the admissible evidence against him". Blackwater has been renamed and falls under the Constellis group of companies, a risk management business formed in 2010. He was shot through the back with a massive exit wound in his chest. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. and thus prosecution by U.S. Suddenly, bullets began to riddle Mohammeds car. The Nisour Square Massacre, in which Blackwater mercenaries fired hundreds of rounds in a crowded Baghdad traffic square, killing fourteen Iraqis, including ten women and two children, and . The Blackwater guards were firing indiscriminately. 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." After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work . Defense lawyers for the four veterans, who were working as contractors for the State Department at the time of the killings, argued that they had returned fire only after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents. The pardons could damage the United States' reputation abroad, as they undo the significance of the convictions, which had demonstrated that U.S. military contractors could be held accountable if they conducted criminal actions. [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. 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. A. . In fact, private military contractors in close coordination and consultation with covert operators from CIA and Western intelligence agencies are not only training Ukraines conscript forces in the use of caches of Stingers and Javelins provided by Germany and the rest of the European nations as military assistance to Ukraine but are also directing the whole defense strategy of Ukraine by taking an active part in combat operations in some of the most hard-fought battles against Russias security forces north of Kyiv and at Kharkiv and Donbas. Four Blackwater operatives were found guilty one of murder in a 2007 Baghdad massacre. 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. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted six years ago in the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians and the wounding of 17 others. American troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. 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. 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. Trump's pardon of Blackwater contractors convicted of massacre greeted Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. He was left with shrapnel in his body from the rocket launched grenade that was fired into his vehicle as he escaped. When Mohammed looked to his right, the driver of the car next to him shouted that the soldiers had just shot into another car in front of them. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. "The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. 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 U.N. Human Rights Office says it's "deeply concerned" by the pardons. Liberty is one of four former Blackwater mercenaries pardoned by President Donald Trump in one of . [45] Also, it is not clear whether the license revocation is permanent. What Is Blackwater? [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". "How are these criminals released after they killed 17 innocent people?" Four Blackwater security guards convicted in 2014 of carrying out a massacre of Iraqi civilians, sparking an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war . Adela Sulimanis a London-based reporter for NBC News Digital. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? [2] 16,000 volunteers coming to Ukraine, Zelensky: https://www.rt.com/russia/551149-zelensky-ukraine-foreign-fighters/. Victims were everywhere. While the #RussianOligarchs are vile post-Soviet capitalists, the hypocrisy of the US media is revealing. Likewise, the civil case ran through North Carolina state court, was removed to federal court, and then sent back to state court. A federal district court judge sentenced four former Blackwater Worldwide mercenaries to lengthy prison terms on Monday for their role in the Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad, Iraq in 2007. "I'm really shocked. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause", "Blackwater guards lose bid to appeal charges in Iraqi civilian shooting case", "U.S. troops in Iraq will need immunity: U.S. chief", "Jurors' Note Hints at Conviction in Blackwater Case", "Former Blackwater Guards Convicted in Iraq Shooting", "Shock And Dismay After Trump Pardons Blackwater Guards Who Killed 14 Iraqi Civilians", "Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards", "Trump pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law - UN", "Iraqi Inquiry Says Shooting Was Unprovoked", "Blackwater guards fired unprovoked: Iraq police evidence", "Pentagon Dispatches Investigators to Iraq to Probe Private Security Contractors", "Joint Iraqi-U.S. review begins in wake of Blackwater firefight", "Blackwater faulted by U.S. military: report", "Iraq determined to rein in private security guards", "The Iraqi Account of the Killings [infographic]", "Former Blackwater Employee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murder in 2007 Shooting at Nisur Square in Iraq", "US Lawyers for Blackwater Guards: 2007 Baghdad Shooting was Self-Defense", "From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths", "Four Former Blackwater Employees Found Guilty of Charges in Fatal Nisur Square Shooting in Iraq", "Iraqi ministers back Blackwater shutdown - CNN.com", "Iraqi Report Says Blackwater Guards Fired First", "State Dept. [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/. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media. It was chaotic. [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. Blackwater Mercenaries: NATO's Secret Weapon in Ukraine War The hospital was too busy. For us, for everyone. He had tried to run but was lying in a pool of blood killed by machine gunfire from the armored cars. Paul Dickinson[emailprotected]farrin.com. Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes The convictions made the victims feel that justice had been obtained. The Blackwater Shooting (2007) | The New York Times - YouTube 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. [56], On April 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince's seven-hour testimony about what allegedly transpired. [34], In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Blackwater's rights to conduct work in Iraq were temporarily suspended. Dickinson says the great expense that the FBI put into the prosecution of the case has now come to nothing. 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. The Untold Truth Of The Blackwater Massacre - Grunge A burnt car at the site where Blackwater guards opened fire on a crowd in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2007. 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. "Victims of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law also have the right to a remedy. The report found that the guards fired their weapons 195 times from the beginning of 2005 through the second week of September 2005. 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. Further, besides advising and assisting the UAEs petro-monarchy in strengthening the police state, Erik Prince alsoreportedly provided[3] weapons and modified aircraft to eastern Libyas warlord and former CIA asset Khalifa Haftar, backed by Egypt and UAE, in his thwarted military campaign against the Tripoli government lasting from April 2019 to June 2020. Almost everyone who was killed or injured was shot in cars, taxis, or buses. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. The Beginning Blackwater USA began in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince. Although the Pentagons military contractors have been known to be training and advising several brigades of neo-Nazis backed by Ukraines security forces in the Donbas region since 2014, Erik Prince along with his associates from several other private security firms providing military contractors to the US Department of Defense personally visited Kyiv early last month following the Russian troop build-up and met with security officials of the Zelensky regime, according to informed sources. But he knew he was surviving as he kept yelling for the children in the back of his SUV to stay down. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. Then-Vice President Joe Biden held a press conference to tell the citizens of Iraq that they would not be abandoned. courts. IE 11 is not supported. "[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. Blackwater Mercenaries Sentenced for 2007 Iraq Massacre "The victims' families finally saw some measure of justice when these men were convicted in 2014 and sentenced to prison. In the middle of the attack, Mohammed could not understand why this man lying dead was a target. Blackwater Worldwide - The New York Times Mohammed forced a doctor to look at Ali. Nasser's younger brother, Mahdi Saheb Nasser, was 22 and working as a taxi driver when he was killed in September 2007 alongside other unarmed civilians in Baghdad's Nisur Square. Following Russias intervention in Ukraine, Germany alone hasproudly bragged[4] of dispatching caches of 500 US-made surface-to-air Stinger missiles and 2,700 Soviet-era, shoulder-fired Strelamissiles to Ukraines conscript military. That wasnt unusual. Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. ", "After years of waiting, the victims finally saw justice served when these men were convicted," she said in an email.

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