However, there's never been any evidence that the Blackwater convoy took hostile fire. The so-called Nisour Square massacre was the single bloodiest incident involving American private security contractors during the Iraq conflict. [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. On September 16, 2007, a car bomb exploded near a U.S.-Iraqi meeting site. (The mercenaries were only charged for 14 of the 17 murders.) [9], Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. courts. USP Coleman I was opened in 2001, and in 2004 Clark Construction completed a 555,000-square-foot (51,600 m 2) additional component for USP Coleman II. 20ft 20ft = 400 sq ft. How many square feet is a 12x12 room? [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. 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. 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. 13 of the Iraqi witnesses were people who had been injured in the massacre and several others were relatives of people who had been murdered. The guard was immediately flown out of Iraq, but no charges have ever been filed against him. In America, Nisour Square became for military contractors what Watergate meant for political corruption in the 1970s. For several years, a private security firm known as Blackwater Security Consulting received an unprecedented level of funding and incredibly limited oversight from the United States. 0 rating. Daten ber Ihr Gert und Ihre Internetverbindung, wie Ihre IP-Adresse, Browsing- und Suchaktivitten bei der Nutzung von Yahoo Websites und -Apps. The Iraqi government, citing eyewitness reports, concluded that the Blackwater guards fired on . As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". 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. Prosecutors argued the men did not face hostile gunfire when they began shooting, and continued to shoot despite the lack of threats. [37][38] The incident caused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater USA,[39] and for the Iraqi government to push for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". [54] He received an honorable discharge in 2002 and then enlisted in the Texas National Guard. Unfortunately, Blackwater continued to operate in Iraq and the United States didn't cancel their contract. 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. [47], The U.S. State Department said it planned to investigate what it called a "terrible incident". [54], Radio logs released in December 2008 seemed to affirm that the guards had been responding to an attack on September 16. 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 Nisour Square massacre was a blot the US cannot get rid of even today. 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. Iraqi police and Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the stun grenades for fragmentation grenades, opened fire at the Blackwater men, to which they responded. Most reports, however, state that Blackwater guards opened fire when one car didnt stop at the intersection. Pronunciation of Nisour square massacre with 1 audio pronunciations. 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]". [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". 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. [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". Authorities said most were unarmed, shot as they ran for cover the youngest . 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. Batya founded Reaper Feed to provide unprecedented insight into the lesser-seen sides of human conflict and modern warfare. to find out the entire room add up all the sq in then divide by 144 to give you the total sq ft. Don't forget to allow for waste, deduct 10 to 20%. A . The aide also said that the Iraqi government was pushing for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". Moderate. If you found this article, please share it: Where we discuss economics, history, and everything in between. [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. [54] He enlisted in 1999, and served in Bosnia with the 3rd Infantry Division. This is calculated by multiplying the width by the height. 273. The Blackwater team also claimed that some of the "aggressors" were dressed like Iraqi Police as well as civilians. Some of the counts resulted in a mistrial, but none of the defendants got an acquittal on any count. [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. Immediately, after the trial, the four Blackwater guards were taken to prison. The State Department announced an American-Iraqi joint commission to investigate both the shooting and the broader issue of employing private security contractors. The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square. - Asser Institute (Decision Date: 31 December 2009)", "Ex-Blackwater Guards Face Renewed Charges", "Blackwater guards face new U.S. charges for Iraq shooting deaths", "Legal questions loom in Blackwater convictions", "Blackwater guards found guilty in Iraq shootings", "Emails Reveal Discord Over Blackwater Charges", "Ex-Blackwater Guards Sentenced to Long Prison Terms in 2007 Killings of Iraqi Civilians", "U.S. Appeals Court Tosses Ex-Blackwater Guard's Conviction in 2007 Baghdad Massacre", "Murder conviction in Blackwater case thrown out, other sentences overturned", "In Blackwater Case, Court Rejects a Murder Conviction and Voids 3 Sentences", Recent Case: D.C. We are taking fire from insurgents and Iraqi police. [23]:32 Shortly after assuming their positions, "Raven 23" began firing on civilians in response to an approaching car, killing fourteen and wounding twenty more. [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. The Blackwater company itself wasn't charged. 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. Additionally, the massacre was first reported as a US military victory. 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. None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. 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. [43], The Private Security Company Association of Iraq, in a document last updated on July 3, 2007, listed Blackwater as not having a license to operate in Iraq despite their attempts to apply for one. Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. By the time the shooting died down, 14 Iraqi civilians lay dead in what became known as the Nisour Square massacre. [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. And examine the transcripts of the Iraqi witness statements to deconstruct why the body count and survivor accounts changed so wildly in the aftermath of the incident. [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. Women, children, young people, they shot everyone," said Hassan Jaber Salman, a lawyer who survived the attack with his son, during the trial.. To calculate feet squared (or sq. Very difficult. 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.. A sixth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators, World reports. 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. [38] Waxman stated that "the controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors. TwoFeather - 308 Views. 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. Women, children, young people, they shot everyone," said Hassan Jaber Salman, a lawyer who survived the attack with his son, during the trial.. "Anything that moved in Nusoor Square was shot. 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. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. "The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. This case study addresses on incident that arose with one such contractor, Blackwater Worldwide. . Difficult. As he slumped forward, his weight on the accelerator meant the car kept moving. 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. In the aftermath, 17 Iraqi civilians were dead and twenty injured. Raven 23, under the command of Blackwater contractor Jimmy Watson, was ordered to secure an evacuation route through Nisour Square for . [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. [3][84] Prosecutors stated they reached their decision after an "assessment of the admissible evidence against him". However, the company was allowed to continue to operate in Iraq until January 2009 when the U.S.Iraq Status of Forces Agreement took effect. As the Blackwater convoy approached Nisour Square, a Kia sedan drove directly towards the convoy and disregarded a police . They arrived at the square while driving on the wrong side of the road. Drawn from the ranks of the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, former Haythem Ahmed was barely able to identify his son and his wife when he got to the scene, since their car had been completely burned. According to eyewitness accounts of both Iraqi civilians and other Blackwater employees, several Blackwater guards began shooting recklessly at Iraqi civilians in the square, even those who were fleeing or turning their cars around to flee. 10:45. square_footage = length_A * length_B This might sound like a simple mathematical formula, but it is precisely how to measure the square footage of a rectangular room in real life. 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. While reports differ on the death toll, the Iraqi government eventually found that the Blackwater employees had killed 17 civilians and injured 20 more. RT. is not pillaging. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators. Subscribe 947. 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. The square footage of a room measuring 12 feet wide by 12 feet long is 144 square feet. I also love stand-up comedy! 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. This is a mashup from the men of Raven 23 (SRS EP . 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. 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 . 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. 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. 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 . [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. 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. They interview members of the 19-man Raven 23 team about their minute-by-minute experiences during the Nisour Square incident and its aftermath. Essentially, Prince wanted a "free-market version" of military training. Last year, Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder after murdering an aspiring doctor without provocation. Blackwater mercenaries acting as security guards for the U.S. State Department officials opened fire on civilian traffic on a busy Baghdad street without warning. 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. Slatten faced a potential sentence of life in prison. (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them", the official continued. [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. [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. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. 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. 3", is named Paul Slough. 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. And after the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Blackwater won a $25 million contract to provide security for L. Paul Bremer, an American diplomat who led the transitional government following the invasion. They then set off stun grenades to clear the scene. Erik Prince. 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 . 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]." [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". BMP-2 still a great Infantry Fighting Vehicle? And none of the I.P. 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