Now justice has been undone by the stroke of a pen," Sarah Holewinski, the organization's Washington director, said in a statement. Blackwater Mercenaries: NATOs Secret Weapon in Ukraine War, VT RADIO: Alternative Foreign Policy Talk, Khazarian Mafia at War: The Jewish Oligarch Who Planned the Terror, Russias Future Predicted by Well-Known Christian Saints, Most Front-Line Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Within 4 Hours, How Russia managed to survive Western sanctions, How War Began The Genesis of NATOs Coup in Ukraine , From Global Warming Denial to Holocaust Denial, On this day in 1940, Woody Guthrie writes This Land Is, Former U.S. President Carter to Hospice, Will Pariah Trump Attend State, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling. Erik Prince, chair of the Prince Group LLC and Blackwater USA, holds up a picture showing the effect of a car bomb while testifying during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Oct. 2, 2007 in Washington, D.C. Mohammed was going to visit his sister and her children. Ukraine War Anniversary: UN and China Work for Peace, Devilish Zelensky, Kiev Hid Its Dead Soldiers in the Ravines. "On what basis did Trump depend on to release them? When he arrived at the hospital, it was a war zone. 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. hide caption. 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. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. It is unfortunate and sad that those efforts have now been wasted. I commented when the convictions were first brought that I was certain my clients who were still residents of Iraq were pleased to know that justice had been served. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. Because any state, particularly those pursuing socialist policies, that dares to challenge the Western monopoly over global trade and economic policies is internationally isolated and its national economy goes bankrupt over a period of time. 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." An Iraqi looks at a burned car in Nisour Square in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmukh, on Sept. 24, 2007, eight days after Blackwater guards who were escorting U.S. Embassy officials opened fire there. A former security guard working for US mercenary firm Blackwater has been found guilty of murder for his role in a notorious massacre of unarmed civilians in downtown Baghdad in 2007. [2] 16,000 volunteers coming to Ukraine, Zelensky: https://www.rt.com/russia/551149-zelensky-ukraine-foreign-fighters/. "I am overwhelmed with emotion at this fantastic news.". Bulk comes from private military companies of the Blackwater/Academi kind. The pardons could damage the United States' reputation abroad, as they undo the significance of the convictions, which had demonstrated that U.S. military contractors could be held accountable if they conducted criminal actions. [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". Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. As shootings in the square were not uncommon, it is unclear whether the shells were from the shooting in question or from other incidents. 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. [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". Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. That may be the overriding damage caused by these pardons. The Associated Press contributed to this report. What Is Blackwater? The news shows the helicopter falling to the ground as it burns. The killing of innocent civilians, including two young boys, sparked international outrage and public scrutiny into the use of private military companies . Now they'll go free. 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"[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. "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. Dickinson says the great expense that the FBI put into the prosecution of the case has now come to nothing. December 23, 2020 at 2:57 pm. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. IE 11 is not supported. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. courts. [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. Ali was slumped over against the glass. [17], Just before noon on September 16, 2007, a car bomb exploded near the Izdihar Compound where US and Iraqi officials were meeting,[20]:547 and a 19-man Blackwater Tactical Support Team (TST) consisting of a convoy of four trucks, answering to the call sign "Raven 23", took up positions on the south side of Nisour Square to secure an evacuation route for the US officials and another Blackwater team providing security for them. Nassar Hamza was 67 years old when he was shot and wounded in the arm. The My Lai massacre took place on 16 March 1968. But supporters of the military contractors, who argued the investigation was tainted and the punishments too severe, cheered the news. She turned the location into an exotic bookstore and caf, offering erotica readings, among other licentious pastimes. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. 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As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. Trump's Blackwater Pardons Reveal Security Contractor - JURIST