and thus prosecution by U.S. Erik Prince said that he didn't believe the FBI had fully investigated the sources of all the used bullets in Nisour Square, arguing that it would have been helpful if the defense had been in possession of a complete ballistics report. It remains unclear whether the team member mistook the civilians for insurgents. [87], On April 13, 2015, federal district judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Slatten to life in prison, while the other three guards were sentenced to 30 years in prison each. The perimeter wall to the Army Base is just east of the square. Members of Blackwater are petitioning the Supreme Court in an effort to find the justice that has eluded them. The Blackwater firm which . ft. B: 12 ft. x 10 ft. = 120 sq. Other times, Blackwater guards left a trail of civilian casualties. Add a Comment. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. Heard, Liberty, and Slough were all charged with manslaughter. Women, children, young people, they shot everyone," said Hassan Jaber Salman, a lawyer who survived the attack with his son, during the trial.. They interview members of the 19-man Raven 23 team about their minute-by-minute experiences during the Nisour Square incident and its aftermath. Circuit ordered for a new trial to be held, stating that Slatten should've had a separate trial. From left to right: Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten, and Paul Slough. And that harm was only the beginning, before the world would learn of Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and Nisour Square. 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. Analyzes how nisour square shooting was the last straw for blackwater. Their first contract, awarded in June 2004, was for $100 million for one year. [26][27], On September 27, 2007, The New York Times reported that during the chaotic incident at Nisour Square, one member of the Blackwater security team continued to fire on civilians despite urgent cease-fire calls from colleagues. [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". 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". 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. In December of 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards in a similar fashion to President Richard Nixons pardoning of Lieutenant Calley, the man who ordered his soldiers to slaughter unarmed Vietnamese civilians in what is known as the My Lai massacre as well as participating in it himself. A Blackwater sniper, Nicholas Slatten, opened fire first and shot the driver of the car. 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. [25][31], The account by the Blackwater firm differed from the Iraqi government's account; Blackwater's account stated the driver of the Kia sedan had kept driving toward the convoy, ignoring verbal orders, hand signals, and water bottles thrown at the car, and continued to approach even when fired upon. The Nisour Square shooting damaged the reputation of Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe Services and then Academi. Fr nhere Informationen zur Nutzung Ihrer Daten lesen Sie bitte unsere Datenschutzerklrung und Cookie-Richtlinie. is not pillaging. Find the length and width of each section (labeled A and B here), then calculate each square footage: A: 3 ft. x 7 ft. = 21 sq. By Jeremy Scahill. [54] He received an honorable discharge in 2002 and then enlisted in the Texas National Guard. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians. On September 16, 2007, employees of the Blackwater Security Consulting private security firm opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad while directing traffic. We are trying to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did for the Postal Service. 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. [92] However, the court then found that the mandatory minimum sentences as applied to the defendants were unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishments, over the partial dissent of Judge Judith W. One guard wouldnt stop shooting until another Blackwater guard drew a gun on him and threatened to shoot him if he didnt stop. IE 11 is not supported. Blackwater's contracts for protecting American diplomats also weren't limited to Iraq. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. [18][30] Iraqi investigators also alleged that Blackwater helicopters fired into the cars from the air, as at least one car had bullet holes in its roof; Blackwater has denied any of its aerial units discharged weapons. 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. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. The firearm offense carries a mandatory sentence of 30 years, the attempted manslaughter conviction carries a maximum sentence of 7 years, and the voluntary manslaughter conviction carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. One of the Blackwater guards reportedly screamed "No! However, there's never been any evidence that the Blackwater convoy took hostile fire. Four former security guards for Blackwater USA were found guilty today of charges stemming from the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting at Nisur Square in Baghdad, Iraq, that resulted in the killing of 14 unarmed civilians and the wounding of numerous others. The foot soldiers in these battles operate globally and inside the United States with orders from the White House to do whatever is necessary to hunt down, capture or kill individuals designated by the president as enemies. So your 1 board example is 1.133 sq foot. U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the incident. The days of Blackwater, however, were numbered, following a security incident which occurred in Nisour Square, Baghdad, on September 16, 2007. However, according to "Blackwater" by Jeremy Scahill, the report was written by Darren Hanner, a Blackwater contractor. An Iraqi policeman went over to the car, possibly to help the passenger, but the vehicle kept moving and it looked to the guards as if the policeman was pushing the car towards the Blackwater TST. Instead, it appears as though the massacre was started by a single bullet fired by Nicholas Slatten, a Blackwater guard. "[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. [46] On September 21, CNN reported that Blackwater would resume normal operations the following day. 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. On that day, Raven 4 - a diplomatic security team - had a close call with a vehicle detonating an IED (improvised explosive device) near their convoy. [55], On April 1, 2009, the Associated Press reported that forensic tests on bullets were inconclusive. Immediately, after the trial, the four Blackwater guards were taken to prison. He is a security advisor and a high-risk expedition leader across former and active conflict zones such as Eastern Ukraine, unrecognized post-Soviet states, the North Caucasus, and the Middle East. RT. This decision was appealed by the Department of Justice and in 2011, the ruling was reversed. The White House further stated that the Court of Appeals "ruled that additional evidence should have been presented at Mr Slatten's trial", and recently that prosecutors said "that the lead Iraqi investigator, who prosecutors relied heavily on to verify that there were no insurgent victims and to collect evidence, may have had ties to insurgent groups himself". 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. Mastering the elements: U.S. Army Train to Fight Underground, Armenian Journalist Pinned Down and Shot by Azeri Sniper on Camera, Armed Albanians in Rhodesia and an Exiled King in Brushstroke Camo, Watch North Korean Army Firing at U.S. 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. [23]:32 Shortly after assuming their positions, "Raven 23" began firing on civilians in response to an approaching car, killing fourteen and wounding twenty more. All in all, Blackwater had a dark history in Iraq prior to the Nisour Square Massacre. The State Department announced an American-Iraqi joint commission to investigate both the shooting and the broader issue of employing private security contractors. [I]f such a thing happened in America or Britain, would the American president or American citizens accept it? 10:45. When the guards got to the intersection at Nisour Square where the massacre took place, some of them got out of the trucks to stop traffic so the convoy could get through. After the massacre, the State Department, which had a history of allowing misconduct, did not hold the firm accountable. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. According to The Seattle Times, the lawsuit was reportedly settled in January 2010, and the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to seek an indictment against Moonen. It earned so much notoriety that Blackwater was forced to rebrand itself as 'Academi'. the convoy opened fire on a crowd of unarmed citizens killing 14 and wounding 18. "[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. However, in 2019, the three mens prison terms were cut in half when a court ruling vacated the mens original sentencing. In August 2019, Slatten was once more sentenced to life in prison without parole, Al Jazeera reports. The court determined that the Blackwater guards were unprovoked, and Heard was found guilty of one firearm offense, 11 counts of attempted manslaughter, and 6counts of voluntary manslaughter. Instead, they tried to help and protect Blackwater by cleaning up evidence in the square and promising the employees involved immunity for what they told State Department officials, which they didnt have the authority to do. What Really Happened in the 2008 Georgian War and Why it Matters [34], In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Blackwater's rights to conduct work in Iraq were temporarily suspended. 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. 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. [63], A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world. Rogers. For several years, a private security firm known as Blackwater Security Consulting received an unprecedented level of funding and incredibly limited oversight from the United States. 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. 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. Friend of mine was in Iraq he was a marine and he said blackwater would start shit call for assistance and then nope the fuck out and make them deal with a fucked situation. On 16 September 2007, Blackwater employees escorted a convoy of US State Department vehicles to a meeting in western Baghdad. Blackwater, which has since rebranded itself twice and is now known as Academi, is a private military company that, at the time, had a $1 billion contract with the United States government to provide security services to US officials in Iraq. The four were accused in connection with a Sept. 16, 2007, incident in Baghdad's Nisour Square, where 14 unarmed civilians were killed and 17 others were wounded. [41] Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to pass similar legislation as soon as possible. Around 12 pm on September 16, 2007, 15 Blackwater employees in the tactical support team known as Raven 23 were driving four trucks in an armed convoy through Nisour Square to get to the site of a car bombing, which had happened earlier in the day. When calculating sq in to sq ft divide the sq in by 144 to get sq ft. A sq foot is 12in by 12in or 144 sq in. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. ft. Then, add the three values together to get the total square footage you'll need: 120 sq. 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. Various employees of the PMC were also killed during the war in Iraq in their various sole to sole engagements with Iraqi insurgents. We responded to a threat accordingly." Operatives emerged from the four vehicles and started opening fire on a perceived threat. 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. [6][86] Bringing the weapons charges was disputed within the Justice Department, which initially opposed including them in the indictment. 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]." The report further said that Blackwater had reported that its forces fired first in over 80 percent of the cases. 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." In the last month of his term, U.S. President Donald Trump issued pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. Opines that the iraqi shooting by blackwater guards was unethical and impacted public impressions of all private security companies operating overseas. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. 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. 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. The following compilation of footage leaked by Harpers Magazine in 2007. No! 273 comments. [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. And Blackwater didn't make the investigation easy. On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. 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]". ft. for short), determine the length and width of the area you are working with, measured in feet. The trial against Heard, Liberty, Slatten, and Slough began around June 2014 and lasted over two months. After years of investigations and hearings, they had finally been convicted late last . It is important to note that none of the civilians fired at the Blackwater guards. 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