Blackwater charges: 14 counts of manslaughter

Blackwater charges: 14 counts of manslaughter

start.verizon.net...

Blackwater Worldwide security guards used machine guns and grenade launchers against unarmed Iraqi civilians, some who had their hands up, federal prosecutors said Monday in announcing manslaughter indictments against five guards.

A sixth guard admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Seventeen Iraqis were killed in the assault, which roiled U.S. diplomacy with Iraq and fueled anti-American sentiment abroad.

The five guards surrendered Monday and were due to ask a federal judge for bail.

"The tragic events in Nisoor Square on Sept. 16 of last year were shocking and a violation of basic human rights," FBI Assistant Director Joseph Persichini said.

In addition to being charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, the five guards also face 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 sentence.

(visit the link for the full news article)

ADDITIONAL LINK!!!
www.navytimes.com...



[edit on 8-12-2008 by cmd18B]

Nobody is above the law and justice was served, I am a former combat vet of numerous deployments and there was a good chance that I thought I knew these men but this particular group I did not know as Blackwater is pretty diverse and has many different jobs. This is just another incident that really makes this country look bad..AGAIN and I am a bit disheartened over this and it makes me sick. We really need to get everybody the hell out of that country and let the ING deal with its own people so things like this will not happen again. I am also quite disappointed that Blackwater would even hire individuals that were potential loose cannons given the extremely professional background of the owner and some of its higher up executives. I just sit here and shake my head in disbelief....

start.verizon.net...
(visit the link for the full news article)





[edit on 8-12-2008 by cmd18B]

[edit on 8-12-2008 by cmd18B]

This is another link located below to more detailed information on this case that further sickens me and really makes me mad..There is no reason to open fire on unarmed civilians with automatic weapons and grenades and launching a grenade into a school?..WTF MAN....Im embarrassed today to be an american

start.verizon.net...

Missed this thread when I started my own but Ill add what I said there:

A grenade in a girls school?
Holy smokes!

If this turns out to be true, then it is truly a shame. Certainly lends credit to the accounts of Iraqi citizens complaining of attacks, rapes, and beatings. As well as accounts from Americans working and/or serving in Iraq right now. As if some people went over there with an axe to grind and the hearts and minds of the people were the last thing on their mind.

I am sure this is only scratching the surface of the true extent of the abuses of the Iraqi people at the hands of representatives of the US.

I hope justice is served but I am skeptical.

Originally posted by cmd18B
Nobody is above the law and justice was served...

I agree that no one is above the law, but we will see if justice is served.
If they are proven guilty and convicted then yes it will have been.

- Lee

It is no coïncidence that the Americans who got lynched in Iraq belonged to Blackwater.

www.thenation.com...

Contractors have provided the Bush Administration with political cover, allowing the government to deploy private forces in a war zone free of public scrutiny, with the deaths, injuries and crimes of those forces shrouded in secrecy. The Administration and the GOP-controlled Congress in turn have shielded the contractors from accountability, oversight and legal constraints.

Invoking Rumsfeld's designation, the company has in effect declared its forces above the law--entitled to the immunity from civilian lawsuits enjoyed by the military, but also not bound by the military's court martial system.

edit to add: To me, it's a surprise these men even got charged at all.. must be because this particular action mucked up relations between Washington and Bagdad..

[edit on 8-12-2008 by Phatcat]