The company said the civilians were killed during a shootout after one of their convoys came under attack in Nisoor Square, in an affluent neighbourhood of the capital. 0ur_Benefactors 6 yr. ago. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. Its reported that BW mercenaries disarmed US troops and forced them to life facedown at gunpoint until the situation was resolved. 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. "Anything that moved in Nusoor Square was shot. Within 20 minutes, 17 civilians had been fatally shot, including two boys who were only nine and eleven years old, and 20 more had been wounded. In America, Nisour Square became for military contractors what Watergate meant for political corruption in the 1970s. Meanwhile, the Blackwater guards continue to maintain that they "didn't shoot at anybody that wasn't shooting at me," as Liberty stated in an interview with the Associated Press. Despite being heavily involved with the United States' military involvement in Southwest and Central Asia, Blackwater was often harmful and rarely helpful. However, according to Reuters, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that "the U.S. government had recklessly violated the defendants' constitutional rights." Ultimately, the Nisour Square shooting is the classic example of the horrible and controversial things that happen in the fog of war. Very difficult. 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. The report further said that Blackwater had reported that its forces fired first in over 80 percent of the cases. [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. courts. The Nisour Square Massacre 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. The Russian Deep State. Essentially, Prince wanted a "free-market version" of military training. Formed in 1997 as Blackwater Training, the companys initial aim was to provide training services to US military and law enforcement and soon they opened multi-million dollar training facilities in the US to do so. [41] Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to pass similar legislation as soon as possible. Former Blackwater USA guard Nicholas Slatten was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison nearly eight months after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for his role in the September 2007 massacre of 17 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square in Baghdad. [88], On August 4, 2017, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned Slatten's murder conviction and ordered the other defendants to be re-sentenced to time already served. They then set off stun grenades to clear the scene. On 16 September 2007, Blackwater employees escorted a convoy of US State Department vehicles to a meeting in western Baghdad. 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. 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. Batya founded Reaper Feed to provide unprecedented insight into the lesser-seen sides of human conflict and modern warfare. 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. During one incident in the Green Zone of Baghdad in 2006, a car accident took place between a US Army Humvee and a Blackwater SUV. The unprovoked murder of 17 unarmed civilians in 2007, including women and children, was a horror show that enraged Iraqis, even after years of violence following the U.S. invasion. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. [3][84] Prosecutors stated they reached their decision after an "assessment of the admissible evidence against him". And that harm was only the beginning, before the world would learn of Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and Nisour Square. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. In some instances, like in 2004 when Blackwater members were hired to locate and assassinate top Al-Qaeda operatives, they failed to capture or kill anyone. The Charlie Company of the US military tortured and slaughtered 504 unarmed civilians, mostly women, children, and elderly people, on March 16, 1968, in the My Lai sub-hamlet during the Vietnam War. Show me some footage of Azov battalion on foreign soil doing something like this, please, I beg you. [64], US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified before Congress that the Pentagon has sufficient legal authority to control its contractors, but that commanders lack sufficient "means and resources" to exercise adequate oversight. In August 2017, the D.C. On that day, a bombing took place a few miles from a busy traffic circle called Al Nisour Square, which is used by Iraqis to access major roadways across Baghdad. RT. 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. This contract ended up being extended into 2006 and the total cost of that single contract came out to over $300 million. [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. In an instant, Ahmed was shot through the head. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians. Last year, Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder after murdering an aspiring doctor without provocation. 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. [28] TST 22 arrived at Nisour Square after Raven 23 had left; when TST 22 tried to withdraw, its route was blocked by Iraqi Army and Police vehicles. Other times, Blackwater guards left a trail of civilian casualties. The so-called Nisour Square massacre was the single bloodiest incident involving American private security contractors during the Iraq conflict. [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]. 0. . Rejecting claims from defense attorneys and family members that U.S. prosecutors scapegoated former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to improve U.S.-Iraqi relations, a federal judge sentenced former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison Wednesday for his role in the notorious 2007 Nisour Square . Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. [55], On April 1, 2009, the Associated Press reported that forensic tests on bullets were inconclusive. "[21] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki harshly criticized the dismissal. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work and followed the U.S. military into Afghanistan. Ali Khalaf Salman, a traffic cop who was there, recounted seeing an American shoot Ahmed. Slough, Liberty and Heard were convicted on multiple charges of voluntary and attempted. It was September 16, 2007, when a Blackwater security team - following a very massive explosion in Nisour Square, Baghdad - responded to assist another team in the protection of a U.S. diplomat. Monday, April 13, four Blackwater contract killers were sentenced to long prison terms for the 2007 massacre of 17 unarmed civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad during the height of the Iraq war. [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. The FBI also concluded that there was no evidence to support Blackwater's claims that they'd been fired upon by Iraqi civilians. 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. [16] The FBI investigation found that, of the 17 Iraqis killed by the guards, at least 14 were shot without cause. 3:28. Additionally, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating Blackwaters account of events, Blackwater claimed that their account of events could be corroborated and proven by damage done to Blackwater vehicles. Iraqi police and Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the stun grenades for fragmentation grenades, opened fire at the Blackwater men, to which they responded. [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. 'Look at That Thing': Footage Shows Pilots Spotting Unknown Object. The massacre took place in 2007, when the. "The jury got it exactly right, this was murder," US Judge Royce Lamberth said while pronouncing the life sentence in Washington, DC. This is a mashup from the men of Raven 23 (SRS EP . The days of Blackwater, however, were numbered, following a security incident which occurred in Nisour Square, Baghdad, on September 16, 2007. Somali Pirates in Intense Firefight With U.S. Maritime Security Operators, CQB Between Hamas & IDF During The Brutal Nahal Oz Tunnel Attack, Chaos of war. When the smoke cleared, 17 Iraqi civilians lay dead. Circuit ordered for a new trial to be held, stating that Slatten should've had a separate trial. [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. But according to ICD, some of the plaintiffs claimed that they were "forced to accept the settlement.". Here is the history of his path of destruction. Members of Blackwater are petitioning the Supreme Court in an effort to find the justice that has eluded them. Following this, it became one of the main private military companies employed in Iraq, but soon earned a reputation for being trigger happy and going rogue. 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 . However, the vehicles had already been repaired and repainted by the time the FBI found them. ", Once their name was associated with the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater ended up changing its name to Xe Services. [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. Becki Gass. This is the untold truth of the Blackwater massacre. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. However, according to the Joint Audit of Blackwater Contract, the State Department offered little-to-no oversight of Blackwater's performance or cost, and often monthly invoices were "paid without adequate review of support documentation." [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. Blackwater flip side. Liberty was found guilty of one firearms offense, 12 counts of attempted manslaughter, and 8 counts of voluntary manslaughter. Easy. Heard, Liberty, and Slough were all charged with manslaughter. [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. As the Blackwater convoy approached Nisour Square, a Kia sedan drove directly towards the convoy and disregarded a police . [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. "[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. 0 rating. By the time the shooting died down, 14 Iraqi civilians lay dead in what became known as the Nisour Square massacre. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. ft. for short), determine the length and width of the area you are working with, measured in feet. Immediately, after the trial, the four Blackwater guards were taken to prison. This wasn't the first time that Blackwater was involved in an unnecessary shooting. [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. Footage was nowhere to be found and many other things that would have justified the actions of Raven 23 after they were being fired upon by enemy forces. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. W hen Blackwater contractors opened fire in Baghdad's Nisour Square on September 16, 2007, spraying bullets into cars carrying families and killing seventeen Iraqi civilians, the shooters had. The audit also revealed that Blackwater overbilled at least $70,000 in travel costs. "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. We are trying to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did for the Postal Service. Their first contract, awarded in June 2004, was for $100 million for one year. In fact, they even renewed the contract in 2008. They were also contracted for personal protective services in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Israel, and Palestine. ft. + 21 sq. In the last month of his term, U.S. President Donald Trump issued pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard.