Get News & Views Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Blackwater Drama Unfolds on 2 Cross-Country Stages
WASHINGTON - The legal drama surrounding five Blackwater Worldwide security contractors charged with killing Iraqi civilians was unfolding Monday on two stages thousands of miles apart.
A bullet hole is seen on a traffic light pole at al-Nisoor square in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. At this square, more than a year ago, Blackwater Worldwide security guards shot dead 17 Iraqi civilians. The US Justice Department has indicted five Blackwater Worldwide security guards and is negotiating a plea deal with a sixth, according to people close to the case.The six guards have been under investigation since a convoy of heavily armed Blackwater contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection on Sept. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) In
Washington, the Justice Department planned to make public the
manslaughter indictment it obtained last week. And in Utah, the five
guards were to surrender and question the legitimacy of the
government's case.
They will be the first public events in an FBI investigation that has been carried out in secrecy since the September 2007 shooting, which left 17 Iraqis dead and strained U.S. relations with Iraq.
The five guards face charges including manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence. The latter falls under a law that passed during the height of the crack epidemic. It carries a mandatory 30-year prison term.
A sixth guard struck a plea deal in Washington to avoid that lengthy sentence, people close to the case have said. Details of the deal remain sealed in Washington but could be made public Monday.
Though the case has already been assigned to U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in Washington, defense attorneys plan to argue that there's no reason for the case to be tried here. None of the guards live in the Washington area and the shooting occurred overseas.
Utah is a much more conservative, pro-gun venue than Washington. It's a long-shot legal strategy, but it underscores just how contentious the court fight will be, long before the case ever gets to trial.
Steven McCool, a lawyer for Blackwater guard and former Marine Donald Ball, confirmed Sunday that his client would surrender in Utah. Ball is from West Valley, Utah.
"Donald Ball committed no crime," McCool said. "We are confident that any jury will see this for what it is: a politically motivated prosecution to appease the Iraqi government."
The other guards indicted are Dustin Heard, a former Marine from Knoxville, Tenn.; Evan Liberty, a former Marine from Rochester, N.H.; Nick Slatten, a former Army sergeant from Sparta, Tenn.; and Paul Slough, an Army veteran from Keller, Texas.
Based in Moyock, N.C., Blackwater is the largest security contractor in Iraq and provides heavily armed guards to protect U.S. diplomats. Since last year's shooting, the company has been a flash point in the debate over how heavily the U.S. relies on contractors in war zones.
The shooting erupted when a Blackwater convoy, responding to a car bombing, entered Baghdad's crowded Nisoor Square. Blackwater says its guards were ambushed in the square, touching off a firefight, but witnesses said the shooting was unprovoked.
Young children were among the victims, and enraged Iraqis have been calling for charges against the Blackwater guards ever since. Blackwater also became the theme of violent, anti-American insurgent propaganda.
- Posted in
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
11 Comments so far
Show AllThe guards will use the Adolf Eichmann excuse, they were obeying orders.
And like Eichmann, these guys ran.
Part of the historical wisdom about mercenaries is that in the long run, they are more trouble than they are worth. Thus it is not surprising that Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli both disdained them. The upcoming trial is the beginning of this being "discovered" by the American public.
www.wunderman-comics.com
I would point out that of these 6 guards being tried.
All either ex-marine or ex-army. All released with medals and or honorably. Did they suddenly become thugs , or were they always that?
Do Americans REALLY want these kinds of people "defending America"?
I would prefer the swiss myself. At least they have no record of murdering Civilians.
PK
The real story is that the government is looking for scape goats to distract and deflect responsibility for the war to underlings.
Indeed, under Nuremberg rules, if the soldiers are being tried for murder, it would follow that the leadership is more culpable and deserving of a greater responsibility.
The war was illegal and the occupation, likewise, is illegal. The greatest crime has been committed by the Bush crime family.
Do not be distracted. Wake up and put responsibility were it belongs on the administration.
Excellent post. And the same thing happened at the Nuremburg trials, to some degree.
come on, don't you know that sometimes you have to kill innocent civilians in order to defend our freedom. if we don't kill them over there, ya know...
after all, those children were probably going to join al qaida anyways, seeing as how we destroyed--i mean liberated--their educational infrastructure and any chance of a normal life
US: Blackwater used grenades on unarmed Iraqis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/blackwater_prosecution
"None of the victims of this shooting was armed. None of them was an insurgent," U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said. "Many were shot while inside civilian vehicles that were attempting the flee from the convoy. One victim was shot in the chest while standing in the street with his hands up. Another was injured from a grenade fired into a nearby girls' school."
The guards were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They are also charged with using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think that thirty years for such mass murder and carnage is far too long. About tem minutes hanging from a bridge in Fallugia is about right. All six of these 'decorated' soldiers should hang along with their Princely employer and their supervisor, the Secretary of State. I'll never be able to look at any ex-military person without thinking of inhuman murder and mayhem. This is far worse than the Rape of Nanking because they knew better. This is far worse than anything the SS did for the same reason. This military and the politicians that urge them on are all completely devoid of any human values. In my opinion it's time for all good men to secede!
IN ORDER FOR US TO REGAIN A GOOD NAME AROUND THE WORLD TODAY----WE MUST PUSH CONGRESS TO INDICT ALL THE WAR CRIMINALS FROM THE TOP DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP.
THE RULE OF LAW OF CONSCIENCE FIRST AND OUR CONSTITUTION SECOND MUST REGAIN THE PRESTIGE THAT WAS ONCE HAD.
WAYS for JUSTICE to prevail against BLACK WATER ETC:
1. Charge try judge then fine sentence to banish from American soil ------ ALL BLACK WATER operatives and pundits of the BUSH BUNCH and those men in this article.
2. CONGRESS NEEDS to buy BLACK WATER according to provisions in our CONSTITUTION imminent domain then dismantle or use their facilities and things of war by our military.
3. CORPORATE MILITARY should never be allowed to exist in AMERICA again. It is and has been a CON ALL ALONG for the extremist in Government to get the upper hand by having mercenaries to do their dirty nasty deeds.
They're going to use the twinkie defense. I find it very difficult to believe that ordinary persons no matter their standing can be placed in no mans land out of reach of judicial process and prosecution. How on Earth can any democracy make the claim that we operate under the rule of law on the one hand but grant blanket immunity for crimes on the other? This entire fiasco from beginning to end was a complete utter scam. I think Alberto Gonzales and John Yoo should also be prosecuted. This is beginning to look like the Lyndie England prosecution. They hung an illiterate out to dry for lack of will to prosecute Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, lest their fiefdom come crumbling down.
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/NASAcert.html
http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planetary.html
It is very important to note the difference between whether these accused committed a crime, and whether or not they can be prosecuted. At this point, the defense lawyers (I'm one myself, though not involved in this case) seem to be making both arguments. The purpose of a trial is to determine whether or not they committed a crime. The other argument is based on the idea that they cannot be tried. I think any serious thought about the latter position leads implacably to the conclusion that these people are somehow not subject to any law at all, and that should be shocking to liberals and conservatives alike.
In other blogs, much has been shouted about "if they are prosecuted, so should their bosses be prosecuted." Unfortunately, that is not the history of such matters. It's usually the guys on the ground who are made scapegoats to protect the bosses, because the bosses just say that the men acted in violation of their rules. That would be the worst possible result, again, and we cannot allow this to happen (again). If these accused are guilty, so are the people who put them there, period. Blackwater cannot be found to be beyond the scope of law, if we are to have a government of law and not of men.