[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. A rocket grenade was fired into one of the cars, killing its driver. [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]. This wasn't the first time that Blackwater was involved in an unnecessary shooting. 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. 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. For a moment, it appeared as though Blackwater was going to be responsible for guarding the FBI agents, but the Bureau soon announced that the FBI agents would instead be guarded by "official personnel," rather than the very company that they were to be investigating. 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. ", Meanwhile, on October 11, 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed charges against Blackwater U.S.A. on behalf of an injured survivor and the families of three men who were killed during the Nisour Square massacre. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. 284. [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. 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. Pronunciation of Nisour square massacre with 1 audio pronunciations. Blackwater guards were also known for their aggression. All in all, Blackwater had a dark history in Iraq prior to the Nisour Square Massacre. [41], On September 18, 2007, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said Blackwater is "not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq". Drone Captures Speeding Tank Crush Fleeing ISIS fighters. Slough, Liberty and Heard were convicted on multiple charges of voluntary and attempted. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. 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. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. In their view, this confirmed that they were under attack by a vehicle bomb, whereupon they fired at the car, killing both people in it as well as the Iraqi policeman. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. [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. 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 the last month of his term, U.S. President Donald Trump issued pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. Heard, Liberty, and Slough were given sentences of 30 years. Rogers. [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. Riz Khan - Blackwater in Iraq - 24 Apr 07. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. A Blackwater sniper, Nicholas Slatten, opened fire first and shot the driver of the car. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators. [68][69], On September 24, 2007, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced it would file criminal charges against the Blackwater staff involved in the shooting, although it is unclear how some of them will be brought to trial. 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. 'Look at That Thing': Footage Shows Pilots Spotting Unknown Object. The so-called Nisour Square massacre was the single bloodiest incident involving American private security contractors during the Iraq conflict. [79] Three weeks later, Vice President Joe Biden, who was overseeing U.S. policy in Iraq, promised Iraqi leaders the U.S. would appeal the dismissal of these charges. Circuit ordered for a new trial to be held, stating that Slatten should've had a separate trial. [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". In total, the defendants faced 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. In one incident on December 24, 2006, one drunk Blackwater guard, Andrew Moonen, got into an argument with one of the Iraqi vice presidents guards and shot and killed him. 2007-10-24 Nisour -- footage of the event?-- , You Tube, Nisour Square Massacre ", According to the memo Richter wrote to State Department officials in Washington after the incident, "Mr. Carroll's statement was made in a low, even tone of voice, his head was slightly lowered; his eyes were fixed on mine. [I]f such a thing happened in America or Britain, would the American president or American citizens accept it? Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians. [8][98] A White House statement said the men had a "long history of service to the nation" as veterans of the US Armed Forces, and that there was strong support for the pardons from the public and elected officials. 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. [56], On April 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince's seven-hour testimony about what allegedly transpired. An Iraqi traffic officer, Sarhan Thiab, halted northbound traffic on Yarmouk Street. [36] Several Iraqi and American investigations have been conducted into the incident. However, according to Reuters, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that "the U.S. government had recklessly violated the defendants' constitutional rights." [59] (The Protocol makes no distinction between defensive and offensive actions, but the U.S. does make such a distinction, in that it does not regard defensive actions by security guards to be combat. This contract ended up being extended into 2006 and the total cost of that single contract came out to over $300 million. 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. The vehicle struck the . Receive exclusive resources to become a better writer, economist, and historian. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. 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. [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. [73], The trial was set for early 2010,[74] but the charges were dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Ricardo Urbina on December 31, 2009, who ruled that the Justice Department had mishandled evidence and violated the guards' constitutional rights. Instead, it appears as though the massacre was started by a single bullet fired by Nicholas Slatten, a Blackwater guard. His father may be the one man standing between Blackwater and total impunity. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. Subscribe 947. 273 comments. 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. And it's estimated that at least one other person died from the second shooting incident. 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. They interview members of the 19-man Raven 23 team about their minute-by-minute experiences during the Nisour Square incident and its aftermath. BMP-2 still a great Infantry Fighting Vehicle? In 2015, Slatten was sentenced to life in prison while Slough, Heard, and Liberty were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. 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. Add a Comment. Operatives emerged from the four vehicles and started opening fire on a perceived threat. Last year, Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder after murdering an aspiring doctor without provocation. The following compilation of footage leaked by Harpers Magazine in 2007. This is the untold truth of the Blackwater massacre. By the time the shooting died down, 14 Iraqi civilians lay dead in what became known as the Nisour Square massacre. [21]:116, During opening arguments for a criminal trial held in 2014, defense lawyers representing former Blackwater members of Raven 23 argued the men felt the approaching Kia was a credible threat as a possible car bomb, and opened fire in self-defense. [41] Senate Democratic leaders said they planned to pass similar legislation as soon as possible. Reports differ on what actually happened at Nisour Square that caused the employees to open fireBlackwater claimed that Iraqi insurgents had ambushed the convoy and the Blackwater employees were returning fire. Drawn from the ranks of the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, former In Nisour Square, the Blackwater team later claimed that they were "engaged with small arms fire" by an "estimated 8-10 persons." 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. 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. 0. . Nine-year-old Ali Kinani died from a gunshot wound to the head in the Nisour Square massacre. But according to ICD, some of the plaintiffs claimed that they were "forced to accept the settlement.". 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. [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. 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. There were 1,000 Blackwater security guards in Iraq on the day of the massacre. [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. Without his intervention, the massacre would have continued. Slough was found guilty of one firearms offense, 17 counts of attempted manslaughter, and 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter. The Nisour Square shooting damaged the reputation of Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe Services and then Academi. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the most publicized US crimes of the 8-year Iraq war. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. Fr nhere Informationen zur Nutzung Ihrer Daten lesen Sie bitte unsere Datenschutzerklrung und Cookie-Richtlinie. As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". [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. They then set off stun grenades to clear the scene. [4] In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried[5] and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges;[6] all four convicted were controversially pardoned[7] by President Donald Trump in December 2020,[8] in violation of international law. Why the case of four Blackwater guards, charged with murdering 14 Iraqis in Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007 (the Iraqi government had originally accused them of killing 17), took so long to reach . Subscribe 944. ft. Then, add the three values together to get the total square footage you'll need: 120 sq. 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. 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. 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. 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. [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. In the wake of the massacre in 2007, the Iraqi government banned Blackwater from working in the country and cancelled their license. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. 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. 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. We are taking fire from insurgents and Iraqi police. 0. . 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. [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. Blackwater footage in Iraq. None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. This private militia is among the entities . In an instant, Ahmed was shot through the head. ft. for short), determine the length and width of the area you are working with, measured in feet. Very easy. 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. 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. [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". Around midday on September 16, 2007, Ahmed Haithem Ahmed and his mother Mohassin were driving to the hospital to pick up Ahmed's father, Haythem, who worked as a pathologist. 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. [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. 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. 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. Seven-Hour testimony about what allegedly transpired without provocation came out to over $ 300.... Its aftermath was fired into one of the massacre in 2007, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince seven-hour! 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