Blackwater guards were also known for driving on the wrong side of the road and crashing into civilian cars. According to Reuters, in 2009, the State Department finally decided not to renew their contract with Blackwater in Iraq. 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. Heard, Liberty, and Slough were given sentences of 30 years. The trial against Heard, Liberty, Slatten, and Slough began around June 2014 and lasted over two months. [40], On October 11, 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit against Blackwater USA under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of an injured Iraqi and the families of three of the seventeen Iraqis who were killed by Blackwater employees during the September 16, 2007, shooting incident. The military's report, which was completed within a month of the Nisour Square. It outraged Iraqis, put severe strain on. But the inquiry was abandoned after Blackwater's top manager there issued a threat: "that he could kill" the government's chief investigator and "no one could or . The Blackwater guards appeared to have fired grenade launchers in addition to machine guns, according to the report. 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. 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. 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 square footage of a room measuring 12 feet wide by 12 feet long is 144 square feet. [36], On September 19, as a result of the incident, the United States temporarily suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. 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. Protesters in Nisour Square demand reforms Last updated Sep 3, 2022 Dozens of citizens organized a protest this Friday afternoon in Nisour Square in capital Baghdad, to demand putting an end to corruption and quotas, as well forming a "national salvation" government with absolute power. 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. 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. The other three guards faced decades in prison; the weapons charges carried a minimum 30-year sentence under a law enacted during the 1990s cocaine epidemic. Raven 4 sent up a distress signal, triggering a . [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. The Russian Deep State. Women, children, young people, they shot everyone," said Hassan Jaber Salman, a lawyer who survived the attack with his son, during the trial.. [45] Also, it is not clear whether the license revocation is permanent. To calculate feet squared (or sq. Four guards from private security corporation Blackwater Security Consulting, now known as Academi, have . 132. After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work and followed the U.S. military into Afghanistan. We responded to a threat accordingly." In the aftermath, 17 Iraqi civilians were dead and twenty injured. Their first contract, awarded in June 2004, was for $100 million for one year. This contract ended up being extended into 2006 and the total cost of that single contract came out to over $300 million. Thus, Blackwater had no evidence that its guards were only returning firean action that would have been within the rules of engagement, and not illegal. As the Blackwater convoy approached Nisour Square, a Kia sedan drove directly towards the convoy and disregarded a police . [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". ft. B: 12 ft. x 10 ft. = 120 sq. Raven 23's commander Jimmy Watson reportedly made the "tactical decision" to go to Nisour Square and block traffic for an evacuation route. This event goes to show how the US military has a tendency to make excuses and cover up its inexcusable actions, as well as not holding military personnel who perpetrate these actions accountable. [21]:116[22] The Blackwater commander, Jimmy Watson, had received an order to stand by and not leave the Green Zone upon reaching a checkpoint, but he made a "tactical decision" to advance to Nisour Square after waiting for a few minutes; upon informing the Blackwater Tactical Operations Center of this, he was ordered to return to the Green Zone. 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. Following the US invasion of Afghanistan, Blackwater was amongst the hundreds of private military firms employed by the US government but their contracts were more high end than others. The Nisour Square massacre occurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of Blackwater Security Consulting (now Constellis), a private military company contracted 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. 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. ft. = 141 sq. So your 1 board example is 1.133 sq foot. [41] Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to pass similar legislation as soon as possible. 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." And that harm was only the beginning, before the world would learn of Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and Nisour Square. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. [99], Clemency caused outrage among Iraqi citizens and family members of the victims. Very difficult. It remains unclear whether the team member mistook the civilians for insurgents. and thus prosecution by U.S. When painting a house, installing flooring, or building a home, the square footage of the property is often used to determine the cost or materials to be used. Drawn from the ranks of the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, former According to CNN, between January and September 2005, Blackwater guards fired their guns 195 times, "an average of 1.4 times a week." TwoFeather - 308 Views. This is calculated by multiplying the width by the height. 3", is named Paul Slough. His father may be the one man standing between Blackwater and total impunity. The Blackwater guards were escorting a diplomatic convoy when, without provocation, they opened fire in the crowded square with machine guns, grenade launchers and other weapons. 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. [78] The opinion elaborated "the government failed to establish that the Iraqi witnesses it presented to the second grand jury were not in any way influenced by their previous exposure to the defendants' compelled statements. [29] The banning was described by P. W. Singer, an expert on the private military industry, as "inevitable", given the US government's reliance on and lack of oversight of the private military industry in Iraq. Rogers. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. However, as the War on Terror broke out in 2001, Blackwater took on an entirely new role and became the security company we know now which would go on to become one of the most infamous modern mercenary companies to have ever existed. And Blackwater didn't make the investigation easy. [66] Howard Krongard, who was appointed Inspector General of the U.S. State Department in 2005,[67] resigned in December 2007 after he was accused by the House Oversight Committee of improperly interfering with investigations into the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Human Rights Watch reports that some helicopters above ever started shooting at the street below. [38] Waxman stated that "the controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors. The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square. 308 Views 1. 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. [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. Durch Klicken auf Alle akzeptieren erklren Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass Yahoo und unsere Partner Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeiten und Technologien wie Cookies nutzen, um personalisierte Anzeigen und Inhalte zu zeigen, zur Messung von Anzeigen und Inhalten, um mehr ber die Zielgruppe zu erfahren sowie fr die Entwicklung von Produkten. Easy. Blackwater Guards Sentenced To Prison For Nisour Square Slayings. [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. Tip: If you can't picture what a square foot is . The trial against four Blackwater guards involved in the shooting Nicholas Slatten, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, and Paul Slough did not begin until June 17, 2014, because of previous issues the FBI had regarding evidence. Blackwater kills 17, bribes to keep Iraqi contracts. As a result, on October 17, 2013, the Department of Justice once more filed charges against the Blackwater security guards, according to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. 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. Becki Gass. 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. "[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. [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. From firing rifles into traffic and smashing cars out of the way to running a woman over trying to cross the street, the footage added fuel to evidence that the PMC "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life." The massacre took place in 2007, when the. [72] A sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, struck a deal with prosecutors on December 4, 2008 and pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting,[72][3] and agreed to testify against the other five men. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. Add a Comment. Five Blackwater security guards are getting ready to turn themselves in, after being indicted on manslaughter and gun charges in connection with a 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisour Square. This is a mashup from the men of Raven 23 (SRS EP . [84], The other four went on trial starting on June 17, 2014;[5] ten weeks of testimony and 28 days of jury deliberations resulted in convictions for all four men on October 22, 2014. In fact, they even renewed the contract in 2008. In 2003, the firm was tasked with its first overseas contract following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 when it was given a $21 million contract to provide security and two military-grade helicopters for the head of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, Paul Bremer. 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. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. ft. Then, add the three values together to get the total square footage you'll need: 120 sq. 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 Blackwater guards also shot at cars, taxis, and buses. Receive exclusive resources to become a better writer, economist, and historian. Nicholas Slatten, who was the first to open fire, was charged with murder because the statute of limitations prevented the FBI from charging him with manslaughter. 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. The New York Times reports that when Richter confronted Daniel Carroll, Blackwater's Iraq project manager, about this on August 21, 2007, Carroll became incredibly aggressive and told Richter "that he [Carroll] could kill me [Richter] at that very moment and no one could or would do anything about it as we were in Iraq. Fareed Walid Hassan remembers that "the shooting started like rain." Very easy. [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]. By the time the shooting died down, 14 Iraqi civilians lay dead in what became known as the Nisour Square massacre. On Sunday the 16 th, a Blackwater convoy on contract for the State Department came to a halt at a Baghdad intersection called Nisour Square. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. 273. one of the most infamous modern mercenary companies to have ever existed. [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 U.S. government will retry a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard after a federal appeals court threw out his first-degree murder conviction in shootings that killed 14 unarmed Iraqi. 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. The days of Blackwater, however, were numbered, following a security incident which occurred in Nisour Square, Baghdad, on September 16, 2007. [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. Furthermore, after the shooting at Nisour Square had stopped, a Blackwater convoy (which could have been Raven 23) opened fire on civilians in traffic at another intersection just a few hundred yards away. [80], On April 22, 2011, after closed-door testimony, a federal appeals-court panel revived the Justice Department's prosecution of the former Blackwater Worldwide guards by reinstating the manslaughter charges against the five men. Describing the video dated April 2006 that shows a woman being hit by a Blackwater vehicle, Glass writes: "A woman in a black full-length burka began to cross the street. According to Vox, investigators Jean C. Richter and Donald Thomas Jr. discovered, among other issues, that migrant workers were being used as guards for the Blackwater compound and Blackwater guards had neglected to even give them beds to sleep on in their living quarters. The trial lasted ten weeks, and the FBI had flown in 30 witnesses from Iraq, which marked the largest number of foreign witnesses to ever be brought to the US in a criminal trial. 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. [26][29], An Iraqi government account of the incident stated that as the convoy drew close to Nisour Square, a Kia sedan with a woman and her adult son in it was approaching the square from a distance, driving slowly on the wrong side of the road, and that the driver ignored a police officer's whistle to clear a path for the convoy. 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." [58] Nor is the US a signatory of the 1977 additional protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions in which Article 47 specifies that mercenaries are civilians who "take a direct part in the hostilities" and are "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain". [6][85][86] Jurors sided with prosecutors' contention that the shooting was a criminal act, not a battlefield encounter gone wrong. A security detail from the . 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. Responsible for firing the first bullet in the Nisour Square massacre in 2007, former Blackwater security contractor Nicholas Slatten was sentenced Wednesday to life in federal prison. The FBI also concluded that there was no evidence to support Blackwater's claims that they'd been fired upon by Iraqi civilians. [56], On April 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince's seven-hour testimony about what allegedly transpired. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians. One of the Blackwater guards reportedly screamed "No! Despite the reports and investigations that determined that the use of force was unjustified, the Blackwater guards maintain that they'd "never take an innocent life. 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. [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. [32] In response to the guards' killing of the Iraqi policeman, other Iraqi police officers began to fire at the Blackwater men, who communicated to the State Department operations center that they were under attack. In 2015, Slatten was sentenced to life in prison while Slough, Heard, and Liberty were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Blackwater flip side. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. 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]". The Nisour Square massacre came at the high point of the bloodletting in Iraq, when President George W. Bush had ordered a "surge" in troop deployments and operations throughout Iraq to. 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." The Nisour Square massacre was a blot the US cannot get rid of even today. [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. Opines that the iraqi shooting by blackwater guards was unethical and impacted public impressions of all private security companies operating overseas. PETE HEGSETH (CO-HOST): Back in 2007, four Blackwater contractors were tasked with defending American diplomats at the height of the Iraq War -- remember, 2007, dangerous times. The massacre lasted four hours and only ended when another US soldier, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, intervened and ordered his men to shoot any Charlie Company troops who shot at the civilians. And despite numerous failures to comply with its security contract, including a failure to maintain the required number of security specialists, the State Department never sought out the $55 million in penalties that Blackwater should've been charged. Riz Khan - Blackwater in Iraq - 24 Apr 07. "[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. Batya founded Reaper Feed to provide unprecedented insight into the lesser-seen sides of human conflict and modern warfare. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. From firing rifles into traffic and smashing cars out of the way to running a woman over trying to cross the street, the footage added fuel to evidence that the PMC encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.. The BBC reports that during Slatten's second trial in 2018, a mistrial was declared after the jury deliberated for 16 days. Overall, Blackwater had been given over $1 billion in US government contracts. 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. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the most publicized US crimes of the 8-year Iraq war. 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. The report found that the guards fired their weapons 195 times from the beginning of 2005 through the second week of September 2005. 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]." [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. Soldiers, 4 Deadly Home Decor Ideas in War-Torn Liberia, Brutal Libyan Ambush Sends Enemy Vehicles Into a Death Roll. Additionally, the massacre was first reported as a US military victory. 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. Despite being heavily involved with the United States' military involvement in Southwest and Central Asia, Blackwater was often harmful and rarely helpful. [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. 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. They were tasked with providing security services to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia as well as a different CIA base that was at the center for the mission to capture Osama bin Laden. [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 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. The Intercept reports that others who tried to run for cover were killed by machine gunfire. [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. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. 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 key people in this have not spoken with investigators. In 2007, whilst providing an armed escort of U.S. State Department vehicles through Baghdad, Blackwater mercenaries claimed they were ambushed on Nisour Square Massacre and opened fire from all directions. Circuit Holds It Cruel and Unusual to Impose Mandatory Thirty-Year Sentence on Military Contractors for Gun Charge, "Former Blackwater contractor found guilty of murder in Iraq massacre", "Former Blackwater Guard Sentenced to Life for 2007 Baghdad Traffic-Circle Shooting", "Former Blackwater security contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings; In all, 10 men, two women and two boys, ages 9 and 11, were killed", "Blackwater Contractors Resentenced in 2007 Attack on Baghdad Civilians", "Survivors of Blackwater massacre in Iraq slam Trump's pardons for US guards behind killing", "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency", "Relative of Blackwater victim in Iraq says pardons 'unfair', "UN criticises Trump's pardons for Blackwater guards jailed over Iraq killings", "I Sued Blackwater for the Massacre of Iraqi Civilians. Aide to al-Maliki said that three of the road and crashing into civilian cars $ 100 million for year... 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