Blackwater Guards Killed 16 as US Touted Progress
BADGHDAD - On Sept. 9, the day before Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Congress that things were getting better, Batoul Mohammed Ali Hussein came to Baghdad for the day.
A clerk in the Iraqi customs office in Diyala province, she was in the capital to drop off and pick up paperwork at the central office near busy al Khilani Square, not far from the fortified Green Zone, where top U.S. and Iraqi officials live and work. U.S. officials often pass through the square in heavily guarded convoys on their way to other parts of Baghdad.
As Hussein walked out of the customs building, an embassy convoy of sport-utility vehicles drove through the intersection. Blackwater security guards, charged with protecting the diplomats, yelled at construction workers at an unfinished building to move back. Instead, the workers threw rocks. The guards, witnesses said, responded with gunfire, spraying the intersection with bullets.
Hussein, who was on the opposite side of the street from the construction site, fell to the ground, shot in the leg. As she struggled to her feet and took a step, eyewitnesses said, a Blackwater security guard trained his weapon on her and shot her multiple times. She died on the spot, and the customs documents she’d held in her arms fluttered down the street.
Before the shooting stopped, four other people were killed in what would be the beginning of eight days of violence that Iraqi officials say bolster their argument that Blackwater should be banned from working in Iraq.
During the ensuing week, as Crocker and Petraeus told Congress that the surge of more U.S. troops to Iraq was beginning to work and President Bush gave a televised address in which he said “ordinary life was beginning to return” to Baghdad, Blackwater security guards shot at least 43 people on crowded Baghdad streets. At least 16 of those people died.
Two Blackwater guards died in one of the incidents, which was triggered when a roadside bomb struck a Blackwater vehicle.
Still, it was an astounding amount of violence attributed to Blackwater. In the same eight-day period, according to statistics compiled by McClatchy Newspapers, other acts of violence across the embattled capital claimed the lives of 32 people and left 87 injured, not including unidentified bodies found dumped on Baghdad’s streets.
The best known of that week’s incidents took place the following Sunday, Sept. 16, when Blackwater guards killed 11 and wounded 12 at the busy al Nisour traffic circle in central Baghdad.
Iraqi officials said the guards were unprovoked when they opened fire on a white car carrying three people, including a baby. All died. The security guards then fired at other nearby vehicles, including a minibus loaded with passengers, killing a mother of eight. An Iraqi soldier also died.
In Blackwater’s only statement regarding the Sept. 16 incident, Anne Tyrell, the company’s spokeswoman, denied that the dead were civilians. “The ‘civilians’ reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies,” she said in an e-mail, “and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire.”
A joint commission of five U.S. State Department officials, three U.S. military officials and eight Iraqis has been formed to investigate the incident, though almost two weeks later, the commission has yet to meet. A U.S. Embassy statement on Thursday, the first official written comment from the embassy since the al Nisour shooting, said that the group was “preparing” to meet.
Blackwater and the U.S. Embassy didn’t respond to requests for information about the other incidents.
But interviews with eyewitnesses and survivors of each incident describe similar circumstances in which Blackwater guards took aggressive action against civilians who seemed to pose no threat.
“They killed her in cold blood,” Hussein Jumaa Hassan, 30, a parking lot attendant, said of Hussein.
Hassan pointed to the bullet-pocked concrete column behind him. He’d hidden behind it.
“I was boiling with anger, and I wished that I had a weapon in my hands in those minutes,” he said. “They wanted to kill us all.”
Anyone who moved was shot until the convoy left the square, witnesses said. Also among the dead was Kadhim Gayes, a city hall guard.
It took two days for Hussein’s family to retrieve her body from the morgue. Before they could, her sister signed a sheet acknowledging the contents of her purse, which had been collected by security guards at the Baghdad city hall - a Samsung cell phone, a change purse with six keys and 37,000 Iraqi dinars ($30), gold bracelets, a notebook, pens, and photos of her and her children.
Three days later, Blackwater guards were back in al Khilani Square, Iraqi government officials said. This time, there was no shooting, witnesses said. Instead, the Blackwater guards hurled frozen bottles of water into store windows and windshields, breaking the glass.
Ibrahim Rubaie, the deputy security director at a nearby Baghdad city government office building, said it’s common for Blackwater guards to shoot as they drive through the square. He said Blackwater guards also shot and wounded people in the square on June 21, though there are no official reports of such an incident.
On Sept. 13 - the same day Bush gave his “ordinary life” speech - Blackwater guards were escorting State Department officials down Palestine Street near the Shiite enclave of Sadr City when a roadside bomb detonated, ripping through one of the Blackwater vehicles.
The blast killed two Blackwater guards. As other guards went to retrieve the dead, they fired wildly in several directions, witnesses said.
Mohammed Mazin was at home when he heard the bang, which shattered one of his windows.
Then he heard gunfire, and he and his son, Laith, went to the roof to see what was going on.
What they saw were security contractors shooting in different directions as a helicopter hovered overhead. Bullets flew through his home’s windows, he said.
No civilians were killed that day, but five were wounded, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry.
The following Sunday, Blackwater guards opened fire as the State Department convoy they were escorting crossed in front of stopped traffic at the al Nisour traffic circle.
While U.S. officials have offered no explanation of what occurred that day, witnesses and Iraqi investigators agree that the guards’ first target was a white car that either hadn’t quite stopped or was trying to nudge its way to the front of traffic.
In the car were a man whose name is uncertain; Mahasin Muhsin, a mother and doctor; and Muhsin’s young son. The guards first shot the man, who was driving. As Muhsin screamed, a Blackwater guard shot her. The car exploded, and Muhsin and the child burned, witnesses said.
Afrah Sattar, 27, was on a bus approaching the square when she saw the guards fire on the white car. She and her mother, Ghania Hussein, were headed to the Certificate of Identification Office in Baghdad to pick up proof of Sattar’s Iraqi citizenship for an upcoming trip to a religious shrine in Iran.
When she saw the gunmen turn toward the bus, Sattar looked at her mother in fear. “They’re going to shoot at us, Mama,” she said. Her mother hugged her close. Moments later, a bullet pierced her mother’s skull and another struck her shoulder, Sattar recalled.
As her mother’s body went limp, blood dripped onto Sattar’s head, still cradled in her mother’s arms.
“Mother, mother,” she called out. No answer. She hugged her mother’s body and kissed her lips and began to pray, “We belong to God and we return to God.” The bus emptied, and Sattar sat alone at the back, with her mother’s bleeding body.
“I’m lost now, I’m lost,” she said days later in her simple two-bedroom home. Ten people lived there; now there are nine.
“They are killers,” she said of the Blackwater guards. “I swear to God, not one bullet was shot at them. Why did they shoot us? My mother didn’t carry a weapon.”
Downstairs, her father, Sattar Ghafil Slom al Kaabi, 67, sat beneath a smiling picture of his wife and recalled their 40-year love story and how they raised eight children together. On the way to the holy city of Najaf to bury her, he’d stopped his car, with her coffin strapped to the top. He got out and stood beside the coffin. He wanted to be with her a little longer.
“I loved her more than anything,” he said, his voice wavering. “Now that she is dead, I love her more.”
(Special correspondents Mohammed al Dulaimy, Hussein Kadhim and Laith Hammoudi contributed to this report.)
© 2007 McClatchy Newspapers
I am crying reading this, it’s just so senseless and sad. These people MUST be held accountable for their wanton violence and murder. How we, as Americans can allow these atrocities to be commited in our name I will NEVER understand. WAR CRIMINALS ALL OF THEM!
I find it hard for words to conceal my seething anger. Blackwater is the Gestapo privatized and deserves the same fate.
“Blackwater: a summary of what Americans are paying for with their tax dollars”
http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1023
It has taken a long time for the mainstream media to finally report on what is referred to as “America’s Private Army”. We welcome them to the truth, but unfortunately, as children who have recently discovered that there is no Santa Clause, they seem to be surprised as to the revelations of what is and has been happening.
If their disbelief about Blackwater is genuine, or not, is something that you will have to personally decide. Many believe that the mainstream media has been conveniently asking the wrong questions and looking in the wrong places to find the truth. And if they have known the truth, they have either decided not to report it, or as Dan Rather of CBS Evening News is declaring, they have been forbidden from reporting it.
No matter, we forgive them for their transgressions.
One thing to keep in mind however, since the mainstream media is playing catch-up with the bloggers and the truth movement they will most likely continue to water down the story so that their viewers will not be shocked as to what has been transpiring while they were sleeping.
To help expedite the information about what American tax dollars have been paying for the last few years consider reviewing the following articles and videos:
Article and Video: Bush’s Shadow Army - “Jeremy Scahill reports on the Bush Administration’s growing dependence on private security forces such as Blackwater USA and efforts in Congress to rein them in.”
Video: The Hidden Massacre of Fallujah (27:07) - The War Crimes the United States is willing to commits to avenge these mercenaries.
Article: Blackwater: Inside America’s Private Army - “Enter a world where the military has become a business – where citizen soldiers work for a private company whose currency comes from conflict. It’s a place some salute and others fear. And it’s right in our backyard. This series was one of three finalists for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.”
Video, Audio and Transcript: Democracy Now! Report: Pivotal Family Lawsuit Against Blackwater USA Blocked from Court, and Moved to Panel with Company Ties - “A landmark lawsuit brought by the families of four employees of the security firm Blackwater USA killed in Iraq three years ago has been partially derailed. This week, a federal judge ordered the lawsuit to be decided behind closed doors in arbitration — allowing Blackwater to avoid public examination of its practices in Iraq.”
Video: Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers (1:15:40) - “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war. Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so. Brave New Films are both funded and distributed completely outside corporate America. Over 3000 people donated to make Iraq for Sale, and it is up to you to distribute it. Give copies to co-workers and organize a screening in your neighborhood. Get involved!!”
Article: Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans - “Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been ‘deputized’ by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms.”
Article: After Fallujah: The Truth About the Blackwater Mercenaries - “Blackwater was founded in 1997. Like dozens of similar companies, it has been growing with amazing speed, thanks to huge contracts from the Pentagon. And Blackwater is just a small piece of a much, much larger trend.”
Article: Protest Grows over Blackwater U.S.A Training Camp - “Blackwater USA, a security company that supplies hundreds of armed civilian personnel for duties in Iraq, is seeking to build a 220-acre training camp on an 800-acre parcel (in eastern San Diego County) that now is dedicated to egg farming and cattle ranching.”
Article: Blackwater Refuses To Leave Iraq Despite Ban - “Despite having their license revoked by the Iraqi government, and being banned from operating in the country all together, The private contractor company Blackwater USA is continuing operations in Baghdad and has refused to pull its operatives out of Iraq.”
Two short Videos: Blackwater killing innocent Iraqi civilians, and an Iraqi sniper killing Americans soldiers - “Many videos have come out of Iraq showing the results of the US invasion. Some have shown the complete brutality of the war, some the humanitarian efforts to save lives, while others show the day to day activity of Iraqi civilians and/or American troops. Two videos however have captured the true nature of this war better then any other that I have seen.”
It just does not seem to be possible, how do we stop it? No one in Congress is doing a thing about this, our media does not give the truth. I dunno, I just don’t know what to do or say.
Being cursed with empathy, this is hard to write as I can see and feel both sides. For the regular soldiers, they are in a situation similar to Vietnam. The people want them out, their government tells them to stay and fight. Every hand is against them. They don’t know if the little girl with the flowers and smile is holding a live grenade or not. This leads to fear, which leads to a shoot first and apologize later attitude.
The people fear and have learned to hate the occupiers. That is a truism regardless of who the occupiers are. They will do what is necessary to drive them out of their country. That is not terrorism, that is a patriotic act. I’d do the same if we were occupied.
However, when it comes to Blackwater, it is another story. Those guys are highly paid to kill and terrorize. They are given immunity, lots of weapons and ammo, and told to go do it! Mercenaries have always been more ruthless than regular troops. They do it for pay, and the better they do it, the more they make. The only thing that will stop them is either stop their pay (in which case they’ll look for another employer) or pay them more to switch sides.
Until someone can convince our “leaders” and “policy makers” that it is much cheaper and more productive to sit down and negotiate, perhaps to help, than it is to kill, we seem to be stuck with what is going on.
Millions of us are writing and phoning our Senators and Congressmen, sometimes several times a day, asking them to bring this to a halt. Shut off funding for the war, impeach the war criminals that are pursuing this course.
What answer do we get? That it is impractical to do this, that impeachment is “off the table,” that more spying on American citizens is needed, that Bush needs more permission to start yet another war, so they gave it to him.
Every government worker, from the private joining the army to the President of the United States takes an oath to Protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
It is not foreigners that are shredding and flushing our Constitution; it is the same people that took that oath, and that violate it every day in every way.
So, we come back to the article and the endless human tragedy that this illegal occupation is causing. What can we do?
End the occupation and withdraw the troops. End the Blackwater contracts and they will dry up and blow away in no time. Somehow, try to help the Iraqi People to get back on their feet, and vow that the United States will renounce forever its at the point of a gun “diplomacy” forever.
I have no sympathy for Blackwater or its employees. With respect to US troops, I sympathize with their being forced to make a difficult decision, but I must condemn them for making the wrong one. They need to grow up, refuse to fight, and if they go to prison for it, it will be an honorable act. Instead, they kill at random and create terrorism, endangering their nation.
The terrorists are actually Blackwater ..go get em Bu$hie….ooops their our terrorists… how dare any fool get in their way….Can anyone else see that maybe its not insurgents causing civil strife in Iraq….Its Blackwater playing both sides against the other….for blood sport say tonight lets go out capture and torture some Shia’s tomorrow nigth its the Shi’ites turn……..in who’s best interest does a civil war serve Bu$hco and his puppet Iraqi clowns along with his Bosses the Oil group and of course Cheney’s lot and other sucking the teat of the public purse here in the US and I will bet my testicles they are busy now converting their illbegoten $$ into Euros as the US $$ is going down like a lead balloon We have sold even our great grandkids inheritance when the crash comes as it must…..watch the so called elite desert like rats off a sinking ship to countries where their is no extradition Paraguay sound just fine they can then live in the custom they believe is their due…a safe haven
This is more blood on the Cheney/Bush regime’s hands! Beginning with their complicity in the 9/11 attacks and continuing through to today. What is the count? Including innocent Iraqi citizens as well as our own troops, the toll is now well over 100,000.
What a legacy to leave - - and what a black mark on our history! Are we a civilized people or not? Or are we simply more sadistic killers ?
George C. Brown
No editing necessary - - what is there to edit when the text is true?
And Blackwater is under investigation by federal prosecutors for smuggling weapons into Iraq. Who is getting those weapons and how are they being used?
The sad thing is that by the time this war ends the U.S. military will be indistinguishable from Blackwater, just as today the WWII German army is indistinguishable from the SS. And perhaps justly so.
The US is winning hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. We have tried it psychologically and failed. Now we are going after their hearts and brains physically. If the military snipers do not achieve the goal the Blackwater professionals do.
The principle of the Collective Responsibility escapes us all. We did elect the Bush/Cheney team for the second time in 2004. We the American people are resposible for all the atrocities happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the German People were held responsible for what happened in their country in the 1940s. The history will judge us even if we were the winners of this war. Although indications so far show that we are not.
waning days and they remain in the chairs of decision,so much apathy that the future is on fire already…men are just marvelous creatures,my border collie makes better judgements.
There’s a video clip of either a Blackwater punk or a GI holding a machine gun and shouting to his buddies, after killing Iraqi civilians, that it was just like a “turkey shoot.” It’s fun for them, entertainment.
What a sad country this is. Its leaders and their enablers have no conscience.
i am going to repeat this until i am blue in the face or until someone recognizes the levity of what i am trying to tell…..bush official slogan is”youre with us or youre with the enemy”it is also the mantra of blackwater….in a combat theatre,anyone speaking out against the bushagenda is considered fair game..this would include u.s. military soldiers…mercenaries infiltrate regular platoons to gauge ‘loyalty’ the deaths of tillman,mora,gray and many others is most likely connected to blackwater(or triple canopy,or other mercenarie outfits)these private and untouchable armies are there to guard dignitaries and such,but that is not their only orders or their ‘true’mission….they are there to protect the”integrity”of the war agenda and to insure that ALL subversives are eliminated or nuetralized…it is probable that their mission will morph into eliminating ‘domestic subversives’(they had a little practice in new orleans)it is imperative to drag their murderous agendas out into the light of day….now.
It is all too clear why the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq and the continued occupation without approval of the UN Security Council is in violation of the Geneva Conventions and other laws on our books called “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.” Many of our military have come back from Iraq with similar stories of involvement in such actions. To continue operations in Iraq is to continue to sanction the commission of war crimes. Collateral damage is an unacceptable euphemism that cannot exonerate anyone. We have a choice. LEAVE!
Talk and no action will get them on the streets of the United States of America. Not just New Orleans. They are coming to a street near you. This is just a training mission for them. The real act will be when they return to North America for the final act.
Only when the US feels the iron heal upon its own neck will it have the fortitude to abandon these barbaric acts in the rest of the world.
And it “will” feel them upon its neck.
It use to be that more Policemen in the US died in assisting with family fights than in any other criminal incident.
The US approaches a country wide family fight. You are caught in the headlights of your own making. You have met the enemy and the enemy is You…
AmeriKKKa the real terrorists
I have read so many heart-rending responses from honest, real Americans on here to such stories as this - the heart of your country is still in great shape………….easy to say (at the moment!!) but how, and when will the great American public say AN END TO THIS INJUSTICE!” when, oh when will you remove the Bush threat to your nation Do you really think he will go out like a damp squib at the end of his term?