blackwater massacre documentary

They claimed they were fired on, but prosecutors . [97], On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump granted full presidential pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. [16] The FBI investigation found that, of the 17 Iraqis killed by the guards, at least 14 were shot without cause. And despite subsequent trials, it's unclear if the victims of the massacre and their families got the justice they deserve. 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. [46] On September 21, CNN reported that Blackwater would resume normal operations the following day. A few token prosecutions of a handful of Blackwater employees will not be enough. There was also an incident on December 24, 2006, when Andrew Moonen, a Blackwater guard, murdered Raheem Khalaf Saadoon, a security guard for Adel Abdul Mahdi, the Iraqi vice president. In August 2017, the D.C. [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. Blackwater Security Consulting, also known as Blackwater Worldwide, was founded in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince as a private security firm. Inspired by the true story of a crocodile attack in Australia's Northern Territory in December 2003, a . 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. And in 80% of the cases, Blackwater guards were the ones firing first. utility stunts Ahmed would count upwards of 40 bullet holes in their car alone. stunt double: Courtney B. Turk Niko Dalman . [55], On April 1, 2009, the Associated Press reported that forensic tests on bullets were inconclusive. Despite being heavily involved with the United States' military involvement in Southwest and Central Asia, Blackwater was often harmful and rarely helpful. In 2002, Blackwater received its first contract from the United States government. In other cases, investigations don't even get off the ground, because of lack of political will, limits in the extraterritorial reach of US criminal laws, and the absence of investigative units on the ground. [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. Haythem eventually told him that "if he could give me my loved ones, I would gladly give him $200 million.". 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. An error occurred while subscribing your email address. Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war. The report found that the use of contractors such as Blackwater was a "new form of mercenary activity" and illegal under international law; however, the United States is not a signatory of the 1989 UN Mercenary Convention banning the use of mercenaries. The Iraq government's own investigation found no evidence that the guards had been provoked or attacked, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's spokesperson called the shootings "deliberate murder.". Khalaf, who was there before the shooting began, said he never saw anyone fire on or approach the convoy. He described how he crouched by the car, his right arm reaching inside, his head out and left arm up in the air, signaling to the convoy, his gun secure in its holster. They arrived at the square while driving on the wrong side of the road. [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. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. His brother left behind a wife and four children. [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 team is suing Blackwater on behalf of the victims of the Sept. 16 shooting. My son!" ", Once their name was associated with the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater ended up changing its name to Xe Services. Share this via WhatsApp The case was consolidated with four other cases against Blackwater and on January 1, 2010, the plaintiffs agreed to a settlement and to withdraw their complaint. Trump pardons ex-campaign aide and disgraced Republican lawmakers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. At first, this seemed completely normal for the totally abnormal world of Baghdad in September 2007. [12] On October 4, 2007, the U.S. House passed a bill that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act[65] The Untold Truth Of The Blackwater Massacre, no evidence to support Blackwater's claims, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. He ran three cars back to a white sedan to find a woman holding a young man slumped over and covered with blood. and tried to gesture to his colleagues in an attempt to stop the shooting. "Please, we want to live in peace, surrounded by friends not killers. Fifteen minutes later, 17 Iraqi civilians were dead, dozens more wounded, and a white sedan that had been engulfed in flames contained two bodies charred beyond recognition. [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 film's primary themes are: Instead, it appears as though the massacre was started by a single bullet fired by Nicholas Slatten, a Blackwater guard. In the last month of his term, U.S. President Donald Trump issued pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. The Nisour Square massacreoccurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of BlackwaterSecurity Consulting (now Constellis), a private military companycontracted 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. Legislation now working its way through Congress would resolve some of the gaps in the law, and hold all US private security contractors subject to criminal sanctions for felonies committed abroad. The trial against Heard, Liberty, Slatten, and Slough began around June 2014 and lasted over two months. [40] The US House passed a bill, titled the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. Join our movement today. From Iraq to New Orleans, it's continued to pull in multimillion-dollar government contracts, mostly without accountability and in near secrecy.. A State Department employee who was walking into the department's Baghdad operations center on the day of the incident heard a radio call from the convoy: "Contact, contact, contact! Black Water is a 2007 Australian horror film written and directed by Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich. "All of a sudden, I felt pain in my right arm and left leg, opened the car door, and rolled out," said Hooby. [6][85][86] Jurors sided with prosecutors' contention that the shooting was a criminal act, not a battlefield encounter gone wrong. Even General David Petraeus and former ambassador Ryan Crocker, top officials in charge of Iraq policy at the time of the massacre, issued a joint statement called the pardons "hugely damaging, an action that tells the world that Americans abroad can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity.". "I said their lives are priceless," said Haythem. After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work and followed the U.S. military into Afghanistan. With Georgia Chris, Amy Simon, McCayne Blomberg, Jenny Robinson. 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. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. Five independent UN experts condemned United States President Donald Trump's pardoning of private security contractors, convicted in 2015 for war crimes in Iraq, on Wednesday. The Kia continued to roll forward after the driver was killed, according to an eyewitness, and Raven 23 continued to fire on it, killing the passenger (the driver's mother); eventually, the Kia was struck by a grenade and was incinerated. He documented what was left of his brother's car. US prosecutors are now reportedly trying to build a case against those involved in the Sept. 16 shootings. Other ways to share I don't know how to manage my life or care for my other two children without her. [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. And he contended that the helicopters never fired on those below. [28] TST 22 arrived at Nisour Square after Raven 23 had left; when TST 22 tried to withdraw, its route was blocked by Iraqi Army and Police vehicles. The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. Blackwater guards were also known for driving on the wrong side of the road and crashing into civilian cars. "I tried to help the young man, but his mother was holding him so tight," said Khalaf. This time, only four out of the five guards were charged, since the charges against Ball were dropped based on "prosecutorial discretion. Director Pasha Patriki Writers Chad Law Tyler W. Konney Richard Switzer Stars Jean-Claude Van Damme Dolph Lundgren Al Sapienza See production, box office & company info Watch on Freevee Watch Free on Freevee More watch options But according to ICD, some of the plaintiffs claimed that they were "forced to accept the settlement.". The Blackwater guards also shot at cars, taxis, and buses. I am overwhelmed with emotion at this fantastic news.. Blackwater was founded by ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince in 1997 as a shooting range and military training ground in Moyock, North Carolina. The numerals and letters matched the family's plate. Share this via Telegram [19] According to this account, the security team fired warning shots and then lethal fire at the Kia. We responded to a threat accordingly." [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. Iraqi police and Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the stun grenades for fragmentation grenades, opened fire at the Blackwater men, to which they responded. - 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. 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. But this convoy made an unexpected U-turn, drove the wrong way around the one-way square, stopped in the middle of it and started shooting. "Everyone loved him. Share this via Twitter In less high-profile cases involving US contractors, no one has offered anything. Ali Khalaf Salman, a traffic cop who was there, recounted seeing an American shoot Ahmed. [95][96] Heard, Liberty, and Slough were resentenced on September 5, 2019 to terms approximately half the original 30-year periods. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. 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. The man was Ahmed, a 20-year-old medical student at the top of his class, and the woman his mother, Mohasin, a successful dermatologist and mother of three. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged the United States to end their contract with Blackwater. Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, whose sister, Betsy DeVos, was appointed Trumps education secretary. On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. Sign up for the VE Newsletter https://www.vigilanceelite.com/newsletterErik Prince is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer,and . [42] A spokesman stated that the ban would last for the duration of the investigation, and that it would not be permanent. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. NOW ON DVD www.noendinsightmovie.com The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq's descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality . [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. Along with a few hundred others, he stayed there as the chaos unfolded, watching as the helicopters circling above the street started shooting at those below. Haythem identified his son from what was left of his shoes. In total, the defendants faced 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. He identified his wife of 20 years by a dental bridge. He spent the next two months at home, recuperating. "We were always together. [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them", the official continued. [56], On April 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported on Erik Prince's seven-hour testimony about what allegedly transpired. [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. 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. Stuck in heavy traffic on the opposite side of the square from Yarmouk road, he heard the shooting start. The 2007 incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square caused an international outcry. The US government said in a memorandum filed after the sentencing: None of the victims was an insurgent, or posed any threat to the Raven 23 convoy. The memorandum also contained quotations from relatives of the dead, including Mohammad Kinani, whose nine-year-old son Ali was killed. [92] However, the court then found that the mandatory minimum sentences as applied to the defendants were unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishments, over the partial dissent of Judge Judith W. 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]." The pardons are one of several the US president has granted to American service personnel and contractors accused or convicted of crimes against non-combatants and civilians in war zones. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. The White House further stated that the Court of Appeals "ruled that additional evidence should have been presented at Mr Slatten's trial", and recently that prosecutors said "that the lead Iraqi investigator, who prosecutors relied heavily on to verify that there were no insurgent victims and to collect evidence, may have had ties to insurgent groups himself". [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. Action Drama Thriller A deep-cover operative awakens to find himself imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine. [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.
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