Video of Blackwater Contractors Driving Over Iraqi Woman

I saw the woman walk into the car. But I also saw the car swerve closer to her on the sidewalk before she stepped on the road. Both parties are guilty. Also, not all Arabs are bad so people need to stop assuming she was a suicide bomber. Or all Arabs are suicide bombers, for that matter. We're just people.

reply to post by Alien Abduct


You are not putting yourself in the situation. This is not downtown LA there are people everywhere that want to kill you. You see the driver swerve towards any car that is seen as a threat or possibly trying to block the direction of travel. The lead vehicle is there to be sure the vehicles behind them arrive at their destination at all cost even their own lives. So many bad boy backwater videos? They are in so many bad situations. They do this without the support of the military, which means they are on their own. The person knocked down was seen as a threat, and effectively neutralized. Anyone that believes that place and these circumstances are similar to anything in a civilized society needs a reality check

reply to post by Aim64C


You got me. I'm scared of Blackwater because I don't understand why the US government needs to hire a private army that's above our (or Iraq's) laws. Actually, I do understand why, but you know what? They still scare me. Your dismissal doesn't mean anything.

And I can't defend my statement? Watch me. There was nothing they could do to -not- hit her? I dunno; I think not swerving into her would've helped. Watch the video again. She's barely taken one step off the curb onto the crosswalk and the lead vehicle very noticeably 'drifts' (some were saying it 'swayed') into her. If they had been driving in a straight line, they wouldn't have hit her. It would have been a close call, but it wouldn't have been the accident we see in the video.

Maybe if this was an isolated incident I could deal with it. But we've seen evidence of Blackwater over and over and over pulling # like this WITHOUT repercussions. Look at some of the other Harpers videos; taking pot shots at people in cars (cars that were NOT obstructing their path) for no reason? I won't even get into all the other, even worse things we've seen to come out of Iraq thanks to yours truly, Blackwater USA.

And you got me again; I don't know any Blackwater operatives in my day to day life, but I'll tell you what; I know plenty of over-the-top military (actual military, not kids who are too wrapped up in testosterone-fueled fantasies) who think Call of Duty is an instruction manual for real life, and the idea of letting them run amok in the Middle East without oversight is not a pleasant one. I don't care if I met some Blackwater operative in the street and they were well-dressed, well-mannered and looked 'normal.' I don't buy the excuse that becoming a mercenary is the only decent job for ex-military. It -is- the most lucrative, though, and it definitely fulfills some red-blooded macho fantasies - and I think that says more about people who sign up.

I stand by my statement that Blackwater are, by and large, thugs. Maybe they haven't dropped their 'loyalty' to the US, but I have no doubt that many of them would if presented the chance.

It's threads such as this one that's making it painfully clear that there is indeed a war raging in cyberspace.

It's becoming quite obvious who has an agenda, who's brainwashed, who's lying to themselves and others, and who believes that American lives mean more than those of other countries.

Some people need to ask themselves why a person would work for Blackwater. I'm sure the money is good, but we have certainly seen through the years what these people are capable of. Some people really do go into a war zone so they can kill and maim. Some are horrified at what they witness. I'm sure the person(s) who leaked these videos are not of the brainwashed variety and view all lives as important.

We need to stop buying into the war propaganda. We are all residents of Earth. We all have family and friends. We all just want to go about our day and make it to the next. If we're ever in public and become injured, we all hope somebody stops to help.

If you've bought into the belief that a person in certain clothing are less than human and deserve to be left to die, you have some soul searching to do. I don't really care who's fault it is that this woman was hit, but to drive right on by after telling yourself that you might be ambushed is a cop out. Even on the streets of America, people have stopped to assist those in traffic and have become victims themselves. It happens, but I respect these people who didn't place their lives first and foremost when they decided to leave the safety of their vehicle and assist someone who was injured. Hell, people have been hit and killed trying to get turtles off the road. Such people should be commended because these are the human beings who still possess empathy and remorse who have not become desensitized and still find value in every life on this planet.

reply to post by Afterthought


you should print out that little message of peace and love and mail it to Assad

(Reuters) - Syrian troops pounded opposition areas, activists said, killing 74 civilians in an offensive that has sent thousands of refugees surging into Turkey before next week's U.N.-backed ceasefire aimed at staunching a year of bloodshed.

Amateur activist video showed scenes of carnage said to be the aftermath of the shelling. Mangled limbs and body parts in blankets were being loaded on a pick-up truck. A second video showed 13 men who appeared to have been tied up and executed.
No comment was immediately available from Syrian officials. The videos could not be independently verified. The government has placed tight restrictions on media access in Syria.
In an activist video from al-Latmana, mourners held aloft the limp corpse of a child. A row of bodies lay on the ground.
The Observatory report said 12 were killed by shelling as the army swept through villages in Idlib province.
A rocket hit a bus travelling from Lebanon to Syria at Jousa just inside Syria, a Lebanese security source said. Witnesses said six Syrians were killed. Lebanese medics confirmed two dead and nine wounded. It was not clear who had fired the rocket.
Rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad attacked army posts north of Aleppo before dawn, killing an officer and two men, and assaulted a helicopter base, activists said.
Syrian commandos shot dead three rebels in an overnight raid on a "terrorist den", Syria's state news SANA agency reported.
Country towns north of Aleppo have endured days of clashes and bombardment, prompting 3,000 civilians to flee over the Turkish border on Friday alone - about 10 times the daily number before Assad accepted Annan's plan 10 days ago.

This video is disgusting...

In the second video she did walk onto the road, but the fact is that they didn't stop to help.
Thats just vile.

Originally posted by redneck13
reply to post by Afterthought

 

you should print out that little message of peace and love and mail it to Assad

(Reuters) - Syrian troops pounded opposition areas, activists said, killing 74 civilians in an offensive that has sent thousands of refugees surging into Turkey before next week's U.N.-backed ceasefire aimed at staunching a year of bloodshed.

Amateur activist video showed scenes of carnage said to be the aftermath of the shelling. Mangled limbs and body parts in blankets were being loaded on a pick-up truck. A second video showed 13 men who appeared to have been tied up and executed.
No comment was immediately available from Syrian officials. The videos could not be independently verified. The government has placed tight restrictions on media access in Syria.
In an activist video from al-Latmana, mourners held aloft the limp corpse of a child. A row of bodies lay on the ground.
The Observatory report said 12 were killed by shelling as the army swept through villages in Idlib province.
A rocket hit a bus travelling from Lebanon to Syria at Jousa just inside Syria, a Lebanese security source said. Witnesses said six Syrians were killed. Lebanese medics confirmed two dead and nine wounded. It was not clear who had fired the rocket.
Rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad attacked army posts north of Aleppo before dawn, killing an officer and two men, and assaulted a helicopter base, activists said.
Syrian commandos shot dead three rebels in an overnight raid on a "terrorist den", Syria's state news SANA agency reported.
Country towns north of Aleppo have endured days of clashes and bombardment, prompting 3,000 civilians to flee over the Turkish border on Friday alone - about 10 times the daily number before Assad accepted Annan's plan 10 days ago.

What do you know - the Syrian government is violent and oppressive. What point are you trying to make? That we can't criticize Blackwater because the Syrians are killing their own citizens? Or are you trying to insinuate that people who are anti-Blackwater support terrorists and criminal governments just on principle? You do know these things aren't mutually exclusive, right? It's completely possible for somebody to be opposed to governments murdering their citizens, while being opposed to mercenaries murdering citizens in another country. Death is death is death, no matter how people on here try to rationalize or dress it up.

reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!


Get a clue. Backwater tactics are the operational methods you have to conduct when someone like Assad or Sadam is in power. The fact is if control of the country is not in the hands of the population there will be those that will always live in fear of there own government that should be there to serve them. If the citizen had the guts to take control of their own destiny, the US wouldn’t be over there trying to cleanse their festering cancer.

reply to post by redneck13


I see you're of the brainwashed variety. You are obviously convinced that a person has to be on one side or the other. I oppose ALL senseless killing and carnage. I don't care what country's government, military, contractors, etc. are conducting such ruthless tyranny. It all needs to stop.

I'm so happy I'm not a person who feels the need to justify any type of murderous actions.

My life is not more special than another person's. We're all on this planet for a short amount of time and those who insist on causing pain and suffering while they're here will get what's coming to them. I wholeheartedly believe this and I'm not even a religious person.

Originally posted by redneck13
reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!

 

Get a clue. Backwater tactics are the operational methods you have to conduct when someone like Assad or Sadam is in power. The fact is if control of the country is not in the hands of the population there will be those that will always live in fear of there own government that should be there to serve them. If the citizen had the guts to take control of their own destiny, the US wouldn’t be over there trying to cleanse their festering cancer.

Blackwater tactics such as...intentionally shooting at and terrorizing non-combatant civilians? That doesn't sound that far removed from the Syrian government's tactics, does it? Except Blackwater is doing it because they simply don't care about the civilians, whereas the Syrians are doing it to shut down opposition. I'm not sure which is more inhumane.

You do realize anti-American sentiment only grows and festers every time Blackwater runs over or shoots another innocent, right? You realize that we're creating an entire generation of anti-American, anti-Western fanatics over there through the actions of Blackwater and other soldiers of fortune?

People whose families and homes have been destroyed during the occupation are being brought into the fold of terrorist organizations. They're being radicalized BECAUSE of us and the problem is that it doesn't matter what we do now; the damage is done.

reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!

the damage is done.

Not yet. The full spectrum of the damage won't be realized until (some) military and contractors (FEMA, Blackwater) are on American soil killing and injuring civilians. It's only a matter of time though. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Originally posted by Afterthought
reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!

 

the damage is done.

Not yet. The full spectrum of the damage won't be realized until (some) military and contractors (FEMA, Blackwater) are on American soil killing and injuring civilians. It's only a matter of time though. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

That won’t happen, if you have an educated armed population capable of controlling the government. The founding fathers wanted to be sure we were in control and gave us the constitutional rights to do so; they were brilliant men tired of being oppressed. You don’t have to live in fear of your government as long as “us” (the armed general population) has the means to keep the government in line. Take away the guns and violence so we can live in peace and harmony? Some may be ready to move to that level but as long as there are repressive, regimes in this world, there will always be unrest. If you’re willing to be herded like animals and treated without any civil rights, I think there are some recently vacated homes in Syria that the owners are willing to sell below market value.

reply to post by redneck13

That won’t happen,

I truly hope you're right.

I'm all about honoring the Constitution and upholding the Founding Father's words and ethical standards, but I'm also well aware that there are tyrants in our government that want nothing more than to see these rights abolished.

With that said, I'm done responding to this thread since there's really nothing left to say.
I wish everyone a happy and pleasant weekend.

reply to post by Avalessa

Also, not all Arabs are bad so people need to stop assuming she was a suicide bomber. Or all Arabs are suicide bombers, for that matter. We're just people.

If I follow you around the park for four hours and back to your apartment... are you going to take the chance that I'm just some guy who lives in the same apartment and let me into the elevator with you?

reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!

You got me. I'm scared of Blackwater because I don't understand why the US government needs to hire a private army that's above our (or Iraq's) laws.

They are not above any laws. If they are identified and/or apprehended, they face trial for their actions just like any other contracted employee would.

And I can't defend my statement? Watch me. There was nothing they could do to -not- hit her? I dunno; I think not swerving into her would've helped.

The vehicle moved almost imperceptibly toward her. This movement was not substantial enough to cite as causation for the event; regardless of the reasons for it.

If they had been driving in a straight line, they wouldn't have hit her. It would have been a close call, but it wouldn't have been the accident we see in the video.

This is incorrect. The vehicle is longer than the front bumper. She would have continued into the vehicle.

Maybe if this was an isolated incident I could deal with it. But we've seen evidence of Blackwater over and over and over pulling # like this WITHOUT repercussions.

You can't back that claim up without sufficient evidence that the company has failed to take remedial and punitive action.

And you got me again; I don't know any Blackwater operatives in my day to day life, but I'll tell you what; I know plenty of over-the-top military (actual military, not kids who are too wrapped up in testosterone-fueled fantasies) who think Call of Duty is an instruction manual for real life, and the idea of letting them run amok in the Middle East without oversight is not a pleasant one.

There's a thing called "locker room talk" - or "barracks talk" in the case of the military. People say a lot of crazy things for the hell of it and to make conversation. It's a verbal game of "peanuckles" or "uncle."

I don't buy the excuse that becoming a mercenary is the only decent job for ex-military.

It wasn't an excuse. It was an evaluation of my goals in life combined with my functional experience and expertise.

It -is- the most lucrative, though,

No, not really. You can make a much more lucrative and peaceful living by walking around and checking solar powered lights for six figure incomes (trained monkeys can do it, but they require someone with a degree in #ing solar panels in an effort to try and keep their sinking ship afloat).

and it definitely fulfills some red-blooded macho fantasies

No, it really doesn't. Most of their contracts are security; not combat. Sure - you have some high-adrenaline contracts that they take up... but most of it is rather mundane work that occasionally extends into espionage.

- and I think that says more about people who sign up.

You go to your job because you get paid and, theoretically - it is something you are good at and get satisfaction from doing.

PMCs are no different. They contract a service they are good at and get paid for it. Just like you contract your services to an employer.

I stand by my statement that Blackwater are, by and large, thugs. Maybe they haven't dropped their 'loyalty' to the US, but I have no doubt that many of them would if presented the chance.

Stop and think about it for a minute. They live here in the U.S. ... right?

What good would it do them to, say, take out a U.N. contract to strike against American citizens (which seems to be the crux of your fear)? Or china... or some drug cartel?

What good is getting paid if you just helped burn down the city you dreamed of living in? Or scorched the fields you wished to farm? Or killed the friends you wanted to invite to your mini-bar?

I'm not saying there aren't those who would take up any contract for the right price: but there comes a point where sweet-talk and money aren't going to get you aboard a contract.

Originally posted by Afterthought
reply to post by redneck13

 

That won’t happen,

I truly hope you're right.

I'm all about honoring the Constitution and upholding the Founding Father's words and ethical standards, but I'm also well aware that there are tyrants in our government that want nothing more than to see these rights abolished.

With that said, I'm done responding to this thread since there's really nothing left to say.
I wish everyone a happy and pleasant weekend.

edit on 7-4-2012 by Afterthought because: (no reason given)

The first step is to unarm the general population.
Second step is dumb them down.
If those two things happen we are in trouble

Originally posted by redneck13

Originally posted by Afterthought
reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!

 

the damage is done.

Not yet. The full spectrum of the damage won't be realized until (some) military and contractors (FEMA, Blackwater) are on American soil killing and injuring civilians. It's only a matter of time though. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

That won’t happen, if you have an educated armed population capable of controlling the government. The founding fathers wanted to be sure we were in control and gave us the constitutional rights to do so; they were brilliant men tired of being oppressed. You don’t have to live in fear of your government as long as “us” (the armed general population) has the means to keep the government in line. Take away the guns and violence so we can live in peace and harmony? Some may be ready to move to that level but as long as there are repressive, regimes in this world, there will always be unrest. If you’re willing to be herded like animals and treated without any civil rights, I think there are some recently vacated homes in Syria that the owners are willing to sell below market value.

I think your missing some key points to consider, first point is that your "presuming" the people are armed and educated, and that the constitution is still being respected and honored by the government. There has been an erosion of "rights" occuring steadily since 9-11, and a vast amount of censorship and outright lies in MSM greatly influencing how "educated" people actually are. Many of us here at ATS come here because we are trying to get information that is not in MSM, and history books.

Not everyone is armed, and even if you are, how long do you think you could hold off a trained and armed "military" force, especially highly paid forces such as "Blackwater"? Waco is one example of how that probably goes down if you tried. Perhaps the actual American military would stand with the people, hopeful, but not holding breath.

While I appreciate your faith and optimisim, I think you are over simplifing the reality of the situation we are faced with.

reply to post by MountainLaurel


How many citizens in the united states?
How many in the military?
I think you are seeking to cloud the issue

What situation are we in?

Please clarify your statements if you desire a response.

reply to post by Swills


S&F That was thoroughly shameful & sickening. I haven't seen that before.

Its not just black water that drive like that... every one has too if you stop a convoy in the streets you are going to die. it has happened 100's of times. they will be ambushed if not or stuck. a stuck target is a dead target. sorry but these guys have to drive like this.

Originally posted by AuranVector
reply to post by Swills

 

S&F That was thoroughly shameful & sickening. I haven't seen that before.

You are correct those people should know how to conduct themselves when emergency vehicles are passing by.