Iraqis angered by renewal of Blackwater contract

US judge sets trial in 2010 for Blackwater guards

06 Jan 2009 21:21:48 GMT
Source: Reuters
By James Vicini

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday set a trial for early next year for five Blackwater security guards accused of killing 14 unarmed civilians in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that strained U.S.-Iraqi relations.

The judge scheduled jury selection to begin on Jan. 29 of next year after the five defendants formally entered a not guilty plea to the charges over the shooting that also injured 20 Iraqis.

The five men are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempt to commit manslaughter and one weapons violation count over the shooting that outraged Iraqis.

A sixth Blackwater guard pleaded guilty late last year to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter, and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify at trial.

The shooting occurred as the private security firm's guards escorted a heavily armed four-truck convoy of U.S. diplomats through Baghdad on Sept. 16, 2007. The guards, U.S. military veterans, were responding to a car bombing when shooting erupted in a crowded intersection.

North Carolina-based Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, has said that it understands the guards acted within the rules set forth for them by the U.S. government and that no criminal violations occurred.

U.S. Justice Department lawyer Kenneth Kohl said at the hearing that witnesses would be coming from Iraq and estimated it would take about four weeks for the prosecution to put on its case at trial.

"This is a straightforward shooting of a lot of people," Kohl said, adding that he does not expect the case to be delayed by complex classified intelligence issues.

While Kohl wanted the trial to begin in the fall, defense lawyers said they needed more time to file various motions and challenges, to gather evidence and to go Iraq for interviews.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina agreed to begin the trial early next year but made clear he would not allow needless delays that result in the defense unfairly benefiting from faded memories and witnesses becoming unavailable.

"My interest is getting this case tried as soon as reasonably possible," Urbina said.

U.S. Justice Department officials have said there was no evidence that any of the other 13 members of the convoy or that Blackwater itself committed any wrongdoing in the shooting.

The defendants are former Marines Donald Ball of West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard of Knoxville, Tennessee; Evan Liberty of Rochester, New Hampshire; and Army veterans Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tennessee, and Paul Slough of Keller, Texas. (Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Five former Blackwater guards plead not guilty to killing Iraqi civilians in Baghdad shooting

By JESSE J. HOLLAND , Associated Press

Last update: January 6, 2009 - 7:55 PM

WASHINGTON - Five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal manslaughter and gun charges resulting from a 2007 shooting in a crowded Baghdad square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others.

The five — all decorated military veterans — stood silently in a line behind their lawyers as their not guilty plea on all charges was entered in front of U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in federal court.

They are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence. The machine gun charge, typically used in drug cases, carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence.

Saying the case was complex, Urbina set jury selection to begin Jan. 29, 2010 with opening arguments Feb. 1 for former Marines Donald Ball of West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard of Knoxville, Tenn.; Evan Liberty of Rochester, N.H.; and Army veterans Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., and Paul Slough of Keller, Texas.

The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the Blackwater case. The shooting strained diplomacy between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, where many Iraqis saw the bloodshed in Nisoor Square as a demonstration of American brutality and arrogance.

The shooting took place around noon on Sept. 16, 2007, in a crowded square where prosecutors said civilians were running errands, getting lunch and otherwise going about their lives.

Prosecutors said the men unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis, with the slain including young children, women, people fleeing in cars and a man whose arms were raised in surrender as he was shot in the chest.

Twenty others were wounded in the crowded square, including one injured by a grenade launched into a nearby girls' school. Another 18 Iraqis were assaulted but not wounded, prosecutors said.


Iraqi witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked and left the square littered with blown-out cars.

"This is a straightforward shooting of a lot of people," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth C. Kohl said.

But the Blackwater guards contend they were ambushed by insurgents. One of the trucks in the convoy was disabled in the ensuing firefight, the guards say.

Blackwater radio logs made available to The Associated Press by a defense attorney in the case last month raised questions about prosecutors' claims that the guards' shooting was unprovoked. The log transcripts describe a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police.

North Carolina-based Blackwater is the largest contractor providing security in Iraq. Most of its work for the State Department is in protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The company has not been charged in connection with the shooting.

The five guards, all dressed in dark suits and ties, said nothing while in the courtroom.

A sixth, however, is cooperating with the government. Jeremy Ridgeway of California pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting. In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Ridgeway admitted there was no threat from a white Kia sedan whose driver, a medical student, was killed and his mother, in the front passenger seat, was injured.

Urbina ordered prosecutors to give defense lawyers copies of Ridgeway's sealed plea agreement in three months.

In a separate case, another former Blackwater security contractor will soon be charged in the killing of an Iraqi guard in 2006, his lawyer said.

Andrew Moonen of Seattle, a former Army Ranger, fatally shot a 32-year-old guard for Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi while wandering around drunk after a Christmas Eve party in 2006, according to a congressional report.

Moonen, now 28, said he had been in a gunfight with Iraqis. Blackwater arranged to have the State Department fly him back to the United States, fired him and fined him, and paid the slain guard's family $15,000.

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05 Apr 2008 14:47:51 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Khalid Al-Ansary

BAGHDAD, April 5 (Reuters) - Iraqis expressed anger on Saturday at news the United States had renewed the contract of Blackwater, a private security firm blamed for killing up to 17 people in a shooting incident last year.

"Renewing this contract means we will see this sort of thing again in the streets," Abbas Hasoun, a grocer, said. "I wish we could turn the page on this, but keeping this company here means bloodshed will continue."

A traffic policeman who said he was questioned in Turkey by the FBI about the shooting was patrolling on Saturday the same busy traffic circle where the incident took place.

"I went to Turkey and testified about what I saw, but all my efforts were in vain when I heard the news," said the policeman who asked that his name not be published for security reasons.

The FBI is investigating whether Blackwater employees broke the law during the shooting last September when Blackwater staff, apparently believing they were under attack, fired into cars in heavy traffic, killing civilians.

In spite of the criminal probe, the State Department announced on Friday the firm's contract to protect U.S. personnel in Baghdad would be renewed.

The State Department says Blackwater's tactics have been changed to prevent further incidents like last year's shooting.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the government believed its requests for tighter controls over Blackwater's activities had been met.

"The demands of the Iraqi government have been taken into consideration and Blackwater will follow the Iraqi government's laws. We were never against Blackwater's work in Iraq, but the company has committed a mistake," he said. Ordinary Iraqis were less tolerant.

"These companies should be removed from the country. They don't deserve to stay here a moment. They committed massacres and killed innocent people," said Naseer Kahdim, a soldier checking cars a few hundred metres from the site of the shooting.

The government's political opponents accused it of failing to enact measures that would control foreign security firms.

"So far we haven't passed laws governing the work of foreign companies. The government should have shown its influence and authority by taking the initiative," said Saleem al-Jubouri, spokesman for the mainly Sunni Arab Accordance Front bloc.

"But the Americans want to show that Iraq is under their control. It's a violation of the Iraqi judicial system." (Additional reporting by Wisam Mohammed; Editing by Robert Woodward)

There are other armed militias in Iraq besides Al-Mehdi army!
The Prime Minister of Iraq fourth occupation government called on Al-Mehdi army to lay down their arms. Al-Maliki has also sent an American force supported by Kurdish Besh Merga to surround and to bombard Al-Sadr city of Baghdad. It was correct for Al-Sadr movement to refuse Al-Maliki’s call and to ask the government to disarm, Badr Forces, the Kurdish Besh Merga and the US-paid foreign (140000) and local (70000) mercenaries. The U.S.-backed neighbourhood security units, called "Concerned Local Citizens" by the U.S. military, have been credited with helping to bring down violence in Iraq.

Around 90,000 men, mainly Sunni Arabs and including some former Sunni Arab insurgents who have turned against al Qaeda, have been recruited. They largely man checkpoints and provide intelligence tips to the U.S. military.

The Badr forces belong to pro-occupation Mr Al-Hakim which had carried out most killings of Sunnis. The Kurdish Besh Merga are currently fighting in Mosul and police a number of areas in Kirkuk, Diala and in Baghdad. They are not under the control of the Iraqi minister of defence but received orders directly from the Americans though their respective Kurdish parties (PUK, PDK).
In reality there is no sovereign Iraqi government but a client regime imprisoned in the Green Zone of Baghdad. The recent renewal of the contract of Black Water was a slap in Al-Maliki face; since they have killed 17 Iraqis in cold blood and assassinated one of the body guards of Vice President, Adil Abdul Mehdi, in his presence. No American in Iraq can be tried under Iraqi law. Similarly the Besh Merga kill people with impunity. And despite all the investigations no-member of Al-Badr army was put on trial for torturing or killing Sunnis.
Inside the green Zone, Talibani has his own Militia, Al-Hakim has Badr, Al-Hashimi has the armed Sunni awakening group and the Americans have armed mercenaries. Al-Mehdi army was targeted because it is anti-occupation. The government want to disarm the people and leave the arms in the hands of the occupiers and their mercenaries. For thse reasons Al-Mehdi Army should never accept surrendering their weapons until the last US soldier has left the country.

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Blackwater approved payments in Iraq shooting - NYT

11 Nov 2009 01:48:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Top Blackwater executives authorized about $1 million in payments to Iraqi officials to buy support and silence criticism of the private security firm after a deadly shooting in Baghdad in 2007, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

In September 2007, Blackwater workers fatally shot at least 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square, an incident that provoked protests in Iraq and prompted the Iraqi government to deny Blackwater a license.

Four former executives said in interviews that Blackwater approved the payments in December 2007 but they did not know whether the cash was delivered to Iraqi officials or the identities of potential recipients, the Times reported.

Blackwater's strategy, which would have been illegal under U.S. law, created a deep rift inside the company, the sources told the newspaper.

A spokesman for the company, now known as Xe Services, was not immediately available to comment on the report.

Two of the former executives told the Times they took part in talks about the payments. The two others said they were told by several Blackwater officials about the discussions.

The four officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they left the company because they were troubled by a pattern of questionable conduct by Blackwater, the paper reported.

The Times said Stacy DeLuke, a company spokeswoman, dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and said the company would not comment about former employees.

One Blackwater guard has pleaded guilty in U.S. court to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter over the 2007 shootings, while five others are awaiting trial next year on manslaughter and other charges. The company denies wrongdoing.

Blackwater was a target of Iraqi anger even before the 2007 shootings because of its size, high profile and aggressive posture on the streets.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki branded the incident a "massacre" and complained when the U.S. State Department subsequently renewed Blackwater's contract.

The U.S. government said in September it had asked the company to continue providing security services to U.S. diplomats in Iraq because the firm hired to replace it was not ready to take over.

Xe Services, the former Blackwater, had been notified in January that its State Department contract in Iraq would not be renewed.

Privately held Blackwater earned more than $600 million in revenues last year -- about a third of that from its State Department contract to protect diplomats in war zones. (Reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by John O'Callaghan)