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. The four guards Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slatten were part of an armoured convoy that opened fire indiscriminately with machine-guns, grenade launchers and a sniper on a crowd of unarmed people in a square in the Iraqi capital. A. A 20,000-strong mercenary army is being assembled in Poland. The Iraqi government condemned the pardons, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in a statement late on Wednesday that it would follow up with the U.S. through diplomatic channels to urge a reconsideration. Also quoted in the memorandum was David Boslego, a retired US army colonel, who said the massacre was a grossly excessive use of force and grossly inappropriate for an entity whose only job was to provide personal protection to somebody in an armoured vehicle. Despite the public display of uncharacteristic valor by sporting military fatigues and flaunting images and video clips of soldiers proudly standing beside caches of MANPADS and Javelins on social media, Ukraines conscript army was so frightened following Russias military intervention that it wanted to surrender territory and opted instead for mounting guerrilla warfare by adopting hit-and-run tactics from the safety of border regions of Poland and Romania. [24] The driver of the Kia was shot once in the head by a Blackwater contractor and was killed. Their cover: "return of Ukrainians from the French Foreign Legion.". [49], An Interior Ministry spokesman said Iraqi authorities had completed their investigation into the shooting and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. He was shot through the roof of his car as the Blackwater convoy drove past firing down into traffic. Hussein Saheb Nasser, 35, told NBC News by telephone from his home in Baghdad on Wednesday. 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. "Before he died, he went crazy as he used to go out into the street and whenever he saw a young man, he imagined that he was Mahdi," he said. Blackwater mercenary sentenced to life in prison - NationofChange Russian Forces strike Ukrainian Armys Electronic Intelligence Center in Kiev Region. The Blackwater incident cost the American military in the Middle East a lot more, experts interviewed by RT believe. To understand the carnage that happened on the streets that day, you need to hear it in Mohammeds words as he explained it to me. [63], A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world. [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. The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. As he was leaving, his youngest son, who was affectionately given the nickname Alawi, asked to go with his father. Before Nord Stream Sabotage, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs Jack Heart, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling The Pandemic, More Home Care Services Needed for Military Veterans, VA is Lying Facebook Group is Social Media Done Right, Pregnant Dog Found Starving to Death in Cage Needs Help to be Reunited With Marine Who Rescued Her, Healthy Eating Options More Accessible to Military Community through the Exchange, Israels Illegal Violent Occupation: When De-Escalate Means Ramp Up, Citizen Kane Rupert Murdoch Openly Admits Fox News is Complete Bullshit. The majority of the Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq after the . [41], On September 18, 2007, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said Blackwater is "not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq". It was an honor to represent these victims and their families. A caption at the bottom of the screen states . Four Blackwater operatives were found guilty one of murder in a 2007 Baghdad massacre. None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. Then-Vice President Joe Biden held a press conference to tell the citizens of Iraq that they would not be abandoned. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. "[32] According to Blackwater vice-president Marty Strong, the convoy was hit with "a large explosive device" and "repeated small arms fire" which disabled a vehicle. Slattern was sentenced to life and the others to 30 years in prison each. The only way these men could be brought to justice was in the United States. But its the much more subtle and insidious tactic of economic warfare for which Russia has no antidote, as the global neocolonial order is being led by the United States and its Western European clients since the signing of the Bretton Woods Accord in 1945 following the Second World War. Majid Al Kareem was 51 years old when he was shot. [70] A second civil lawsuit filed jointly by the families of six victims against Blackwater was settled on January 6, 2012 for an undisclosed sum. [14], On October 13, 2007, the FBI reported that it had concluded that at least 14 of the 17 Iraqis who died in the square had been killed without cause. Bullets were everywhere. [55], On April 1, 2009, the Associated Press reported that forensic tests on bullets were inconclusive. 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. Blackwater mercenary defends role in Iraq massacre after Trump pardon While the #RussianOligarchs are vile post-Soviet capitalists, the hypocrisy of the US media is revealing. Their belief in our legal system was misplaced. Trump Pardons Blackwater 4 for Nisour Square Massacre in Iraq, because [93], On December 19, 2018, Slatten was found guilty of murder[94] and again was sentenced to life in prison on August 14, 2019. Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. Baghdad massacre: US court finds ex-Blackwater mercenary guilty of The four were convicted at then VP Joe Biden's insistence, and were serving jail terms. Private Military Companies: Blackwater - Silent Professionals They beat citizens and scorn them. ", "After years of waiting, the victims finally saw justice served when these men were convicted," she said in an email. Three Ex-Blackwater Guards Are Resentenced in Iraq War Massacre The men will serve about half of their original 30-year sentences for their roles in a 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq . Sarah Holewinski, Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said Trump's pardons were an insult to justice, "but it's also an insult to the victims. "This was the slaughter of innocent civilians who were merely going about their day when a Blackwater convoy rolled through a traffic circle after having violated orders to stand down and not exit the Green Zone and began firing indiscriminately into cars that were carrying people going to work.". Blackwater and the Corporate Mercenaries who've - NationofChange Using the good offices of his sister Betsy Devos, who worked as Trumps secretary of education, Erik Prince even made an offer to Trump for the outsourcing of the Afghanistan war to private military contractors advising and assisting Afghan security forces following the withdrawal of US troops. Prosecutors said the Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers. Survivors and victims' relatives of a 2007 shooting in Iraq by Blackwater contractors meet with United States prosecutors in Baghdad in 2008. 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. About the author:Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geostrategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Af-Pak and the Middle East regions. Six of my Blackwater brethren contractors are on the helicopter going to Tikrit. 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. [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. Free shipping for many products! An ambulance was called, and Ali and Mohammad were rushed to the other side of town. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the, at the best online prices at eBay! [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. [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. "[21] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki harshly criticized the dismissal. Abraham Al Mafrage was a 70-year-old farmer and father of seven who was also shot in the head and died that day. 2004 Fallujah ambush - Wikipedia After the convictions, Blackwater which changed its name to Xe and then Academi after being sold said it was relieved that the justice system has completed its investigation into a tragedy that occurred at Nisour Square in 2007 and that any wrongdoing that was carried out has been addressed by our courts. Four guards fired on unarmed crowd in Baghdad in 2007, killing 14 and sparking outrage over use of private security in war zones. The My Lai massacre took place on 16 March 1968. The Dark Truth about Blackwater - Brookings AP I had never imagined that Trump or any other politician would affect American justice.". We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. "We showed the world that we were going to hold people accountable," he says. Mohammed could see other cars being shot. "We've backed off that. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. US pardons Blackwater guards: An 'affront to justice' - UN experts On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. No wonder Russia formally issued an ultimatum on Tuesday, March 1, that it would target the hub of covert warfare. "On what basis did Trump depend on to release them? The convictions made the victims feel that justice had been obtained. Iraqi police and Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the stun grenades for fragmentation grenades, opened fire at the Blackwater men, to which they responded. [62] After a group of Iraqi ministers backed the Iraqi Interior Ministry's decision to shut down Blackwater USA's operations in Iraq,[29] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater[39] and called on Blackwater to pay the families $8million in compensation. Who would be responsible for the myopic and vindictive policy of providing anti-aircraft munitions to Ukraines irregular militias once Kyiv falls and those MANPADS are found in black markets posing a grave risk to civilian airlines across the globe? For those of you who are not aware, Erik Prince (Blackwater/Academi) personally sold to the CIA the concept of a mercenary army to conduct hybrid war ops and/or crypto-guerrilla war against Russia. Ali was the youngest of Blackwaters victims that day. They started out as a private security firm providing training support to law enforcement, the justice department, and military organizations and received their first contract from the United States government in 2000 after the bombing of the USS Cole. It was as if someone had targeted the area in his SUV where a persons head would have been. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? Majid survived because he was on the passenger side of the car and was protected from most of the barrage of bullets. When Slattens conviction was overturned, I was concerned that the case would be ignored. Notorious mercenaries convicted of massacre in Iraq pardoned by Trump Although NATO powers did provide Stingers to their jihadist proxies that helped turn the tide in the Soviet-Afghan war in the eighties, since then, despite providing anti-tank munitions and rest of weapons to militant groups during the proxy wars in Libya and Syria, Western powers have consistently avoided providing MANPADS to proxy forces, because such deadly anti-aircraft munitions could become a long-term threat not only to military aircraft but also to civilian airlines. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. Prosecutors argued the men did not face hostile gunfire when they began shooting, and continued to shoot despite the lack of threats. When the first indictments were dismissed on New Years Eve in 2009, they were told that the prosecutions would continue.
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