The US military conducted an initial investigation, interviewing eyewitnesses and reviewing video footage. On 16 September 2007, Blackwater employees escorted a convoy of US State Department vehicles to a meeting in western Baghdad. nitro2k. It earned so much notoriety that Blackwater was forced to rebrand itself as 'Academi'. 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. 1 acre = 43,560 square foot 1 square yard = 9 square foot 1 square meter = 10.76 square foot 1 square inch = 0.00064516 square foot Calculating Cost Per Square Foot. And that harm was only the beginning, before the world would learn of Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and Nisour Square. "[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. The Nisour Square massacre was a blot the US cannot get rid of even today. As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". 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. 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. In September 2007, Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard fired live ammunition and threw grenades into Nisour Square, a busy traffic roundabout in Baghdad, killing 14 . 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. Raven 23 "returned defensive fire" and withdrew from Nisour Square with one of its BearCat vehicles in tow. This evidentiary use of tainted information constitutes yet another Kastigar violation. [97], On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump granted full presidential pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. In December of 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned the four Blackwater guards in a similar fashion to President Richard Nixons pardoning of Lieutenant Calley, the man who ordered his soldiers to slaughter unarmed Vietnamese civilians in what is known as the My Lai massacre as well as participating in it himself. Batya founded Reaper Feed to provide unprecedented insight into the lesser-seen sides of human conflict and modern warfare. [46] On September 21, CNN reported that Blackwater would resume normal operations the following day. 2007-10-24 Nisour -- footage of the event?-- , You Tube, Nisour Square Massacre When the dust cleared it appears that 17 Iraqis were dead. 273. The firearm offense carries a mandatory sentence of 30 years, the attempted manslaughter conviction carries a maximum sentence of 7 years, and the voluntary manslaughter conviction carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. 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. courts. However, according to Reuters, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that "the U.S. government had recklessly violated the defendants' constitutional rights." 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. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers. As Raven 23 was departing Nisour Square, several members continued to discharge their weapons, causing additional civilian deaths and injuries. 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. Weapons Sold to the Saudis Are Hitting Hospitals in Yemen. They arrived at the square while driving on the wrong side of the road. No! POV from Ukrainian tank during an offensive, Point blank kills: intense trench firefight caught on GoPro camera. The military's report, which was completed within a month of the Nisour Square. [3][84] Prosecutors stated they reached their decision after an "assessment of the admissible evidence against him". 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. 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. [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. The days of Blackwater, however, were numbered, following a security incident which occurred in Nisour Square, Baghdad, on September 16, 2007. 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. Erik Prince. deadly force triangle police deadly force triangle police Home Realizacje i porady Bez kategorii deadly force triangle police On September 16, 2007, a car bomb exploded near a U.S.-Iraqi meeting site. 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. [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. A lawsuit filed in 2007 also accused Blackwater of killing five Iraqi civilians without justification just one week before the Nisour Square massacre. It outraged Iraqis, put severe strain on. 'Look at That Thing': Footage Shows Pilots Spotting Unknown Object. 20ft 20ft = 400 sq ft. How many square feet is a 12x12 room? The Blackwater company itself wasn't charged. Rogers. This is a mashup from the men of Raven 23 (SRS EP . And in 80% of the cases, Blackwater guards were the ones firing first. Becki Gass. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square. The Russian Deep State. One such incident is the Blackwater massacre, also known as the Nisour Square massacre. 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. [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. In 2015, Slatten was sentenced to life in prison while Slough, Heard, and Liberty were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. . Various incidents occurred of BW employees shooting Iraqi security guards and civilians dead, including one of the guards of the then vice-president of Iraq. Receive exclusive resources to become a better writer, economist, and historian. Some witnesses also claimed that the same Blackwater team subsequently opened fire on another line of traffic after the shooting in Nisour Square. ft. = 141 sq. . ft. B: 12 ft. x 10 ft. = 120 sq. [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. [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] One guard wouldnt stop shooting until another Blackwater guard drew a gun on him and threatened to shoot him if he didnt stop. The Untold Truth Of The Blackwater Massacre, no evidence to support Blackwater's claims, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. I am a senior at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California, and I swim and play water polo. The order confines most Americans to a 3.5 square miles (9.1km2) area in the center of the city so that they are unable to visit other areas without traveling in a helicopter. So your 1 board example is 1.133 sq foot. Blackwater had a history of being violent and aggressive: Blackwater guards regularly drove convoys up the wrong side of the road, used smoke bombs, crashed into civilian vehicles, and fired their guns as warnings. In the span of 20 minutes, 17 Iraqi people were killed and another 24 were left wounded. With the contract to provide security for L. Paul Bremer, Blackwater essentially "cement[ed] its presence at the center of conflict in Iraq," per PBS. This is the untold truth of the Blackwater massacre. Very difficult. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. The Blackwater guards also shot at cars, taxis, and buses. According to Reuters, in 2009, the State Department finally decided not to renew their contract with Blackwater in Iraq. The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square. Slatten faced a potential sentence of life in prison. The Blackwater team also claimed that some of the "aggressors" were dressed like Iraqi Police as well as civilians. A Blackwater sniper, Nicholas Slatten, opened fire first and shot the driver of the car. ft. + 21 sq. The convoy enters Nisour Square from the south, driving on an access road from the Iraqi Army base. The Iraqi government ordered Blackwater to leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee finished drafting new guidelines on private contractors under the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement. [34], In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Blackwater's rights to conduct work in Iraq were temporarily suspended. TwoFeather - 308 Views. The guard was immediately flown out of Iraq, but no charges have ever been filed against him. 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. Similarly, many people did not consider Nisour Square to be an isolated incident. [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. [71], In December 2008, the United States Department of Justice announced it was filing criminal charges against five of the Blackwater employees, and ordered them to surrender to the FBI. [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. However, according to "Blackwater" by Jeremy Scahill, the report was written by Darren Hanner, a Blackwater contractor. Brendt Christensen: 22127-026: The lawyer who represented families of the victims of the Nisour Square massacre shares their story. On September 16, 2007, a car bomb went off in Baghdad, Iraq, near the Izdihar Compound, where a U.S. diplomat was meeting with Iraqi officials, at approximately 11:53 AM. One such incident is the Blackwater massacre, also known as the Nisour Square massacre. No!" and tried to gesture to his colleagues in an attempt to stop the shooting. 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. He is a security advisor and a high-risk expedition leader across former and active conflict zones such as Eastern Ukraine, unrecognized post-Soviet states, the North Caucasus, and the Middle East. 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. [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. 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. 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. As the Blackwater convoy approached Nisour Square, a Kia sedan drove directly towards the convoy and disregarded a police . 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. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians. 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. The perimeter wall to the Army Base is just east of the square. 0. . [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. ", 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. [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. An Iraqi policeman went over to the car, possibly to help the passenger, but the vehicle kept moving and it looked to the guards as if the policeman was pushing the car towards the Blackwater TST. The facts of the Nisour Square massacre case have been well documented and authenticated. 0 rating. 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. [28] Nicholas Slatten was found guilty of first-degree murder, and Slough, Liberty and Heard were found guilty of voluntary and attempted manslaughter charges, and of using a machine gun to commit a violent crime. It is important to note that none of the civilians fired at the Blackwater guards. "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. When the smoke cleared, 17 Iraqi civilians lay dead. We are taking fire from insurgents and Iraqi police. [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. RT. We were in a combat zone where things can happen quite unexpectedly, especially when issues involve potentially negative impacts on a lucrative security contract." This is a mashup from the men of Raven 23 (SRS EP . 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