blackwater massacre documentary

"It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. 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. Two days after the meeting with Carroll, Richter and Thomas were told by an embassy official to "leave Iraq immediately.". As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". However, according to The New York Times, the Iraqi government technically didn't have the legal authority to do so since the U.S.-led transitional government shielded security contractors from Iraqi laws, per CNN. Prince's prepared testimony also asserted that one of the vehicles had been disabled by the "enemy fire" and had to be towed. 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. One such incident is the Blackwater massacre, also known as the Nisour Square massacre. Employees of Blackwater (now called Academi), which was contracted by the US government to provide security services in Iraq, shot at unarmed Iraqi civilians while escorting a US embassy convoy, killing 17 and leaving 20 injured. 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. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators. utility stunts At the end of the day, none of the Blackwater guards deny what they did, they just deny that there was any wrongdoing. In fact, they even renewed the contract in 2008. And Blackwater is not the only problem. A sixth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators, World reports. But such legislation is only as good as the oversight and enforcement that accompany it. [57], In October 2007, the United Nations released a two-year study that stated that private contractors, although hired as "security guards", were performing military duties. 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. In the last month of his term, U.S. President Donald Trump issued pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. Share this via LinkedIn The UN has sharply criticised President Donald Trump's decision to pardon four former Blackwater . With Georgia Chris, Amy Simon, McCayne Blomberg, Jenny Robinson. Slatten faced a potential sentence of life in prison. Blackwater's contracts for protecting American diplomats also weren't limited to Iraq. The story follows Prince, a Navy SEAL turned billionaire, as he is dogged by a grand-jury. courts. Prince's remarks were subsequently reported in the Washington Post.). And none of the I.P. An estimated 20,000 to 35,000 private security contractors operate in Iraq, without adequate oversight, without adequate training and without adequate legal sanctions to hold abusers accountable. All rights reserved. Their first contract, awarded in June 2004, was for $100 million for one year. Of the 17 that lost their lives, two were children under the age of 12, with the youngest aged 9 years old. In Nisour Square, the Blackwater team later claimed that they were "engaged with small arms fire" by an "estimated 8-10 persons." The Blackwater team also claimed that some of the "aggressors" were dressed like Iraqi Police as well as civilians. The deceased included nine and 11-year-old boys. [83], In September 2013, the charges against Ball were dropped. The numerals and letters matched the family's plate. Human Rights Watch reports that some helicopters above ever started shooting at the street below. The line of bullet holes in one side door is overshadowed by the two soccer-ball-size holes in the roof and driver's side door. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. By 2007, the State Department started reviewing Blackwater's $1 billion contract and they discovered a slew of misconduct. The report found that the use of contractors such as Blackwater was a "new form of mercenary activity" and illegal under international law; however, the United States is not a signatory of the 1989 UN Mercenary Convention banning the use of mercenaries. "All of a sudden, I felt pain in my right arm and left leg, opened the car door, and rolled out," said Hooby. 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.". and thus prosecution by U.S. The Blackwater company itself wasn't charged. Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, recently said his company is spending $2 million a month in legal . 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. He learned that all of the bodies there were identified -- except for two that were completely burned with body parts missing. That day changed my life forever. From Iraq to New Orleans, it's continued to pull in multimillion-dollar government contracts, mostly without accountability and in near secrecy.. However, there's never been any evidence that the Blackwater convoy took hostile fire. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged the United States to end their contract with Blackwater. The report further said that Blackwater had reported that its forces fired first in over 80 percent of the cases. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. One of the Blackwater guards reportedly screamed "No! Stuck in heavy traffic on the opposite side of the square from Yarmouk road, he heard the shooting start. Raven 23's commander Jimmy Watson reportedly made the "tactical decision" to go to Nisour Square and block traffic for an evacuation route. [36] Several Iraqi and American investigations have been conducted into the incident. He identified his wife of 20 years by a dental bridge. Blackwater: Directed by Bill Rogers, Bill Schreiber, R. Douglas Zipperer. However, as The New York Times reports, "not one witness heard or saw any gunfire coming from Iraqis around the square." [45] Also, it is not clear whether the license revocation is permanent. They just want to see those responsible punished. Fifteen minutes later, the four-car convoy continued around the square and drove away. Multiple civilian deaths linked to 2016-17 British airstrikes against IS in Mosul, Lives torn apart by British airstrikes in Mosul give lie to UKs perfect precision war, Onthe frontlines of the Iraq war 2003-08 in pictures, Theaccidental journalist who covered the war in Iraq, Annalena Baerbocks feminist foreign policy focuses minds in Iraq, Long shadow of US invasion of Iraq still looms over international order, Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol, Scores of Iraqis injured in anti-government protests in Baghdad, Who will protect us?: Baghdad residents wait out fighting as city grinds to halt. Blackwater mercenaries committed a massacre. [41], Richard J. Griffin, the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, who made key decisions regarding the department's oversight of private security contractor Blackwater USA, resigned in November 2007, after a critical review by the House Oversight Committee found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors during the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. He spent the next three days in the hospital and underwent major surgery on his right arm, which was fractured by a bullet. The audit also revealed that Blackwater overbilled at least $70,000 in travel costs. [6][86] Bringing the weapons charges was disputed within the Justice Department, which initially opposed including them in the indictment. 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. 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 . Blackwater has been one of the biggest recipients. Share this via WhatsApp "[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. The trial against Heard, Liberty, Slatten, and Slough began around June 2014 and lasted over two months. [6][85][86] Jurors sided with prosecutors' contention that the shooting was a criminal act, not a battlefield encounter gone wrong. [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. Haythem, the composed, articulate and powerfully calm father and husband of Ahmed and Mohasin, who died in the white car, expected them to pick him up at the health center where he worked that afternoon. Adrienne Ballenger . Another young man, 27-year-old Abu Hassam, suddenly became the head of his family just a week earlier, when on Sept. 9 his older brother was shot in front of the family's carpet shop -- in an incident also attributed to Blackwater. 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. At least four other Iraqis have been reported killed in that incident on Sept. 9. An error occurred while subscribing your email address. 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. Trump pardons ex-campaign aide and disgraced Republican lawmakers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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! (These remarks were never actually delivered; the Department of Justice launched an investigation the day before the hearing and asked the committee not to discuss the details of the Sept. 16 incident. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. If successful, it will be the first time the US government has held private security contractors criminally liable for abusive behavior directed at Iraqis. It looks at the rise of private security contractors such as Blackwater in the era of modern warfare. 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. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. This evidentiary use of tainted information constitutes yet another Kastigar violation. The shooting then turned heavier, Khalaf said, his eyes red-brimmed and serious. Share this via Twitter None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. Blackwater guards were also known for their aggression. Circuit ordered for a new trial to be held, stating that Slatten should've had a separate trial. Four young women tourists are hunted by ruthless woodsmen in the Florida Everglades. 3", is named Paul Slough. (L-r) Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough, Nicholas Slatten. Recent episodes in U.S. 1:08 'Look at That Thing': Footage Shows. Rogers. 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. Blackwater was founded by ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince in 1997 as a shooting range and military training ground in Moyock, North Carolina. 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." U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the incident. [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] The Burke O'Neil lawsuit may be the only way that victims receive compensation for their loss. "I kept calling, but thought there must be some sort of cellphone interruption.". He also maintained that he wanted to limit and reduce the authority of all security contractors, not just Blackwater, Timereports. "[21] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki harshly criticized the dismissal. 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. Slattern was sentenced to life and the others to 30 years in prison each. But the State Department representative kept insisting on a number. His tough faade cracked as he described the moment he learned about the shootings. Ahmed Haythem and his mother, Mohasin, were both killed in the Blackwater shootings in Baghdad on September 16, 2007. In August 2019, Slatten was once more sentenced to life in prison without parole, Al Jazeera reports. He documented what was left of his brother's car. [89][90][91] The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's fractured per curiam decision first found that Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act authorized the prosecutions, over the partial dissent of Judge Janice Rogers Brown. [77] "Prosecutors should therefore have built their case against the men without them", a BBC report explained. "Convoys are common," explained Khalaf. [19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. In August 2017, the D.C. Within 10 days of the massacre, it appeared as though the State Department had already investigated the incident based on a report leaked to the media. 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. With experience learned from a similar lawsuit filed two years ago against US contractors implicated in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Burke O'Neil is perhaps the only law firm in the nation that could so quickly gather eyewitness and victim accounts, make the right legal arguments and begin the process of holding Blackwater to account. "I said their lives are priceless," said Haythem. According to CNN, between January and September 2005, Blackwater guards fired their guns 195 times, "an average of 1.4 times a week." "If you perceive marriage as half of your life, Mohasin was my best half," he said. 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. Meanwhile, although Moonen admitted that he was intoxicated, he maintained that he shot in self-defense. [1] The ambush [ edit] However, according to Reuters, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that "the U.S. government had recklessly violated the defendants' constitutional rights." His brother went to the emergency room, then to the morgue. The scene as the Blackwater convoy exited the square was also described to the group of lawyers by Hooby, a 32-year-old bank employee who was there on lunch break, returning from a failed attempt to buy a gift for a friend's newborn. In one of the most in-depth collection of testimonials to date regarding Blackwater, Khalaf was among five witnesses and victims flown from Baghdad to meet with Susan Burke, William O'Neil and their team of lawyers and investigators. 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. ", Failure to Uncover the Fate of Syrias Missing, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in close to 100 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. Sadly, this lawsuit may be the only way that the victims and their families receive remotely adequate compensation for their losses. ", Meanwhile, on October 11, 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed charges against Blackwater U.S.A. on behalf of an injured survivor and the families of three men who were killed during the Nisour Square massacre. They were also contracted for personal protective services in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Israel, and Palestine. According to The New York Times, after the initial gunfire on the first car, the Blackwater guards "unleashed an overwhelming barrage of gunfire" onto Iraqi people who were trying to flee. In other cases, investigations don't even get off the ground, because of lack of political will, limits in the extraterritorial reach of US criminal laws, and the absence of investigative units on the ground. Five independent UN experts condemned United States President Donald Trump's pardoning of private security contractors, convicted in 2015 for war crimes in Iraq, on Wednesday. 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". Blackwater has made more than $1.5 billion in "security" contracts in Iraq alone since 2003. 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. Join our movement today. He was shot through the roof of his car as the Blackwater convoy drove past firing down into traffic. But according to ICD, some of the plaintiffs claimed that they were "forced to accept the settlement.". No!" While they weren't the only private contractor to provide military security, the name Blackwater would soon be so notorious that the company would change their name. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. The Nisour Square massacreoccurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of BlackwaterSecurity Consulting (now Constellis), a private military companycontracted 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. [73], The trial was set for early 2010,[74] but the charges were dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Ricardo Urbina on December 31, 2009, who ruled that the Justice Department had mishandled evidence and violated the guards' constitutional rights. Khalaf's observations are backed up by official accounts, including leaked FBI findings, which concluded that at least 14 of the 17 shooting deaths were unjustified, and statements by military officials disputing Blackwater's claim that its guards had been fired upon or under any sort of attack. [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". 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 . None of the Iraqis we interviewed last month could describe their losses without breaking down in tears. 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. The film's primary themes are: This decision was appealed by the Department of Justice and in 2011, the ruling was reversed. 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. [26][27] A U.S. Army convoy arrived at 12:39p.m., backed by air cover, to escort TST 22 back to the Green Zone. "I raised my left arm high in the air to try to signal to the convoy to stop the shooting," he said, thinking that it would respond to such a gesture by a police officer. 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]". In his testimony, Prince noted that, "It seems the ballistics analysis was done to prove the guilt of the Americans, not to just try to identify what happened there." My son!" [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. With tears in his eyes, Haythem described his beloved wife and son. These are not isolated events. Assadi, 31, a stoic, unsmiling man, became the head of the family after his older brother Usama was killed in the shootings. In 2008, the United States Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten (pictured, center), and Paul Slough, all of whom were Blackwater guards during the Nisour Square massacre. AFP. Khalaf turned back toward the Yarmouk road to see what might have spurred the shooting and heard a woman yell, "My son! Director Mark Manning Writers Natalie Kalustian Mark Manning Stars Rana al Aiouby Tariq Ali Reza Aslan 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. Khalaf's observations are backed up by official accounts, including leaked FBI findings, which concluded that at least 14 of the 17 shooting deaths were unjustified, and statements by military. (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them", the official continued. 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. (An unrelated bombing in a nearby market cut the shopping trip short.) 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. On YouTube.The Blackwater Shooting (2007) | The New York Times http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNewYorkTimes Haythem eventually told him that "if he could give me my loved ones, I would gladly give him $200 million.". At stake is the future of other innocent lives, as well as America's reputation throughout the Middle East and across the world. [93], On December 19, 2018, Slatten was found guilty of murder[94] and again was sentenced to life in prison on August 14, 2019. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. [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]. [21][75] In the memorandum opinion, Judge Urbina ruled the cases against Slough, Liberty, Heard, Ball, and Slatten had been improperly built on testimony given in exchange for immunity;[76] that evidence included statements the guards had been compelled to give to State Department investigators, and as these statements would have been self-incriminating, they could not be used as evidence under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Khalaf, who was there before the shooting began, said he never saw anyone fire on or approach the convoy. [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. The Kia continued to roll forward after the driver was killed, according to an eyewitness, and Raven 23 continued to fire on it, killing the passenger (the driver's mother); eventually, the Kia was struck by a grenade and was incinerated. 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. [82][20] On June 5, 2012, the US Supreme Court declined to review the Appeal Court ruling, allowing the trial to proceed. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. Around midday on September 16, 2007, Ahmed Haithem Ahmed and his mother Mohassin were driving to the hospital to pick up Ahmed's father, Haythem, who worked as a pathologist. Private. [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is the untold truth of the Blackwater massacre. They beat citizens and scorn them. When Slatten was tried for a third time, the jury deliberated for five days before finding him guilty of first-degree murder in December 2018. 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. The 2004 Fallujah Blackwater incident occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS. John M. Patarini was the FBI agent leading the investigation, and although they went into the investigation thinking that civilians had merely been caught in crossfire, they soon realized that "it was a massacre along the lines of My Lai in Vietnam," per The Guardian. Blackwater Security Consulting, also known as Blackwater Worldwide, was founded in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince as a private security firm. [25], A State Department spot report published the same day as the incident stated that eight to ten attackers opened fire on Raven 23 "from multiple nearby locations, with some aggressors dressed in civilian apparel and others in Iraqi police uniforms" after the convoy had entered Nisour Square,[26] starting at 12:08p.m.[27] The report added that another Blackwater Tactical Support Team (TST 22), who had escorted the officials and TST 4 back to the Green Zone, was redirected to support Raven 23. [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. He watched as all four cars drove away as the 15-minute shooting spree ended, and huddled in fear as the helicopters began firing.

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