Posted by Cockney Robin | I always had a vague notion that these soldiers of fortune one heard about were ruthlessly efficient, cool-headed cyborgs with nerves and sinews of steel. Apparently not. Consider Blackwater. On Sept. 16, a preoccupied mother failed to notice a roadblock, and in consequence saw her son's head blown away before being slaughtered herself.
We in Britain or America wouldn't have to worry about being blown back to Creation by the timorous, hysterical mercenaries of Blackwater, who---having killed the negligent driver and her son---then panicked and fired at everyone in sight. (NYT) Better to mow down everyone than take chances, I suppose.
When they tallied up the dead, the score was: Blackwater security personnel, nil; Iraqi civilians, 17. Federal investigators concluded that at least 14 of the 17 killings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules (NYT)
According to The New York Times, "Investigators have concluded that as many as five of the company’s guards opened fire during the shootings, at least some with automatic weapons. Investigators have focused on one guard, identified as 'turret gunner No. 3,' who fired a large number of rounds and was responsible for several fatalities." (NYT )
Astonishingly---remember I am but a simple Brit---some US officials "expressed pessimism" whether there are "adequate laws to enable them to charge any Blackwater employee with criminal wrongdoing." Possibly "justified" were the shootings of the mother and son who didn't stop when told. (NYT) There's a third person they might have legitimately regarded as a threat. Well then, I hear you say, why not slaughter everyone in sight---as a precaution? But you'd be wrong. There's a time and a place for lethal force against civilians, it seems.
Under the firearms policy governing all State Department employees and contractors, lethal force may be used “only in response to an imminent threat of deadly force or serious physical injury against the individual, those under the protection of the individual or other individuals.”
But, says the New York Times, "the investigators determined that the subsequent shootings of 14 Iraqis, some of whom were shot while fleeing the scene, were unprovoked. (NYT) Presumably also unprovoked were the shootings of the other 10 or so people who were injured rather than killed.
A military review has already concluded that the shootings were not justified. "One of the military investigators said the F.B.I. was being generous to Blackwater in characterizing any of the killings as justifiable." (NYT)
Blackwater, as everyone knows, has friends in high places. Could this be why, or even partly why, "no charges have been brought, and officials said a number of theories had been debated among prosecutors in Washington and Seattle without a resolution of how to proceed in the case"?(NYT)
Twenty-seven people injured; 17 dead. What would Americans or Brits think if Iraqi contractors fired randomly into a crowd of Americans or Brits, killing 17 or even one? You can see why the representatives of the real military---people in Iraq to do service for their country rather than to live out an adolescent fantasy of bloody pulp fiction adventure in exchange for large amounts of dosh----are so fed up with Blackwater.
Shaun Mullen at The Moderate Voice has posted a photo of the ill-fated white Kia here. Mullen assures me that
[T]here has been outrage in Congress – as well as in Iraq – over the trigger-happy antics of Blackwater and some other private security contractors, as well as the Bush administration’s repeated failure to hold them accountable for their actions.
Representative David E. Price, a North Carolina Democrat who has sponsored legislation to extend American criminal law to contractors working overseas, said the Justice Department must hold someone accountable for the shootings. (NYT)
At the RBC, Mark Kleiman thinks that "creating the Iraq adventure as a chance to enrich its political friends turned out to be the Bush Administration's political downfall is entirely appropriate." Downfall, eh? I'll believe it when I see it, mate.
Oversight Hearing: Rice was Evasive, Republicans Don't Want Probe
House Passes Contractor-Accountability Bill
Blackwater Seeks More Tax Dollars, Govt. Corruption More Evident
Aussie Contractors Shoot Two Iraqi Women; P.W. Singer on Blackwater et al.
Jon Stewart: Blackwater
Blackwater to Blame for Shootings, State Dept. Plans to Start Monitoring Blackwater?
Have U.S. Officials Protected Blackwater?
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