More than seven years after his nine-year-old son, Ali, was killed by contractors working for the American security firm Blackwater Worldwide, Mohammed Kinani says he’s finished his mission “to push these people to the law.”
Four former Blackwater employees were given long sentences yesterday for killing 14 unarmed Iraqis, including Kinani’s son, and wounding many others, when in 2007 they shot at a crowd in Baghdad’s Nisour Square with machine guns and grenade launchers.
“I still have hurt. Every night I bother my neighbors. I yell in the night with nightmares,” Kinani told The Intercept by phone from the junkyard he runs in Dearborn, Michigan. Kinani survived the massacre, was a witness in the trial and spoke yesterday at the sentencing.
Nicholas Slatten, who fired the first shot and was convicted of murder, received a life sentence. Paul Slough, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty, who were convicted of voluntary manslaughter, received 30 years each.
One other guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, testified for the prosecution and pleaded guilty to lesser charges. He has not yet been sentenced.
In handing down the sentences, the judge called the defendants “fine young men” who “panicked,” but rejected claims that they were acting in self-defense in a war zone. “The overall, wild, thing that went on here can just not be condoned by a court,” said Royce Lamberth, of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The defendants all maintain their innocence and have vowed to appeal, which will likely drag out an already protracted case. The long prosecution was derailed several times by the Justice Department’s mistakes, and dismissed once over accusations of prosecutorial misconduct. Last year, prosecutors missed a deadline for statute of limitations for certain charges against Slatten.
The sentences are a severe penalty for one of the Iraq War’s most horrific incidents, which turned Blackwater and its founder, Erik Prince, into emblems of the worst excesses of the American military misadventure.
“The lawyer for [one of the guards] yesterday after we talked in court said, ‘Mr. Kinani, I am apologizing,’” Kinani said. “Too late! After seven years, too late!”
Prince, an auto-parts heir and former Navy SEAL who netted more than $1 billion in contracts for Blackwater, has not faced any official accountability for the incident. “Erik Prince, he was in charge,” Kinani said. “And he should be in that courtroom yesterday.”
Blackwater’s operations have continued and expanded under different names. Prince sold Blackwater in 2010, after rebranding the firm as Xe Services. The newly bought firm was renamed again, Academi, and has received more than $300 million in Pentagon funding for counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan.
In the meantime, Prince has moved on with a new venture called Frontier Services Group, reportedly pitching its services to Nigeria and other governments and companies across Africa.
He’s also penned a memoir (which has generated a lawsuit of its own) and sold the rights to his life story to the Hollywood producer behind “The Hurt Locker.” Prince said last fall that he was “thrilled that they will share with audiences” how Blackwater, through, “innovation, efficiency and daring – took on some of the most challenging and contentious missions in the War on Terror.”
Kinani is building a life in Michigan with his wife and three college-age children. About a year ago, he hired a security guard for the night watch at his junkyard. The man told Kinani he had once worked for Blackwater in Afghanistan.
“I told him, ‘OK, that doesn’t change anything,’” Kinani said. “I don’t have any problem with anyone.”
Photo: AP
Now just imagine how many of these “contractors” got away with killing Iraq’s.
These “contractors” are returning to America and joining your local police forces. This is no accident, it’s by design.
You shall reap what you have sown America.
Cora,
Would it be possible to reach out to Doug Blackmon and have you and Jeremy Scahill do a taping for the Miller Center at UVA on the topic of US foreign policy? It’s really the least that Blackmon could do. He’s the chair and host of the Miller Center Forum. His number is 434 243 3172 .
Take a look at the only clip UVA and the Miller Center have released so far from yesterday’s event with Erik Prince:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J4C0dInchg
“Gentlemen”?
please read:
Blackwater and the crimes of US imperialism
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/04/16/pers-a16.html
Thank you for posting Vivek Jain.
For reader emphasis:
Snip: [“More importantly, the politicians and generals who organized and led the US war in Iraq have gotten off scot-free. Under the principles laid down by the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II, the leaders of the US government during the Iraq War—George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, George Tenet, Paul Wolfowitz—and top military commanders from Tommy Franks to David Petraeus are guilty of the crime of planning and executing a war of aggression. They are collectively responsible for all the deaths that ensued as a result of their actions.
The list does not stop with the Bush-Cheney administration. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, and their top military-intelligence officials continued the US occupation for another three years, and have relaunched the war beginning in August 2014, using as a pretext the emergence of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a former Al Qaeda affiliate that was armed and financed as part of the US-backed war against the Assad regime in Syria.
Under Obama, the US war crimes against the Iraqi people have become war crimes against the entire population of the Middle East. Libya, Syria and now Yemen have been destroyed as functioning societies by US-backed civil wars, bombing and drone missile strikes.”]
Some do believe that these are Few Bad Apples.
If you are one of those please continue reading:
I got a bridge to sell that runs between CA to Hawaii. It is 80% OFF right now. Yes I do take bitcoins.
read:
I Just Asked Erik Prince To Stop Bribing Politicians
http://davidswanson.org/node/4728
Journalist and author of “Conversations with Terrorists: Middle East Leaders on Politics, Violence and Empire” Reese Erlich spoke with Sharmini Peries of The Real News Network about the Blackwater Guards being sentenced for the murders at Nisour Square, Baghdad. Check out the full interview here: bit.ly/1PNKBg2
Moderator, can you please return my long response to Cindy to me at my email address? I spent a long time on that explaining many things, specifically the ‘boxing in’ of space in order to create electromagnetic radio waves. I am gravely disappointed in The Intercept’s removal of the comment as it explains how targeted individuals are being ‘touchless tortured.’ That Cindy was too lazy to investigate further speaks volumes as to how much of a tool she is. I would be grateful if you returned the comment to me so that I can provide it to other journalists to investigate.
Thank you.
Yeah, sorta like all the white cops shooting black men who were no threat to them. “Fine young men” my ass. But at least they’re being held responsible, unlike all but a tiny majority of those cops I guess.
While I understand your sentiment, I am saddened to think that you believe that these “fine young men” were born this way. They were indoctrinated into a society that applauded actions that were very similar to theirs.
Yes, they fu..ed up and should be held accountable. But Eric Prince is walking away with the money. Money the US government gave to him. Money the government accumulated by taxing you and me.
Prosecuting these guys (which I agree with) is like getting the street level drug guy. The ‘kingpin’ gets away.
Cindy at Pat B:
“In short, please put up or shut up”
Cindy at EC:
“Window washer, for God’s sake, get a grip.”
Times a thousand recommends.
And: ‘EC’ and ‘Pat B’ and ‘ec’ are one single commenter using at least those three handles.
“The newly bought firm was renamed again, Academi, and has received more than $300 million in Pentagon funding for counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan.”
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/constellis-holdings-inc-acquires-constellis-group-inc-262388561.html
Constellis Holdings, Inc. Acquires Constellis Group, Inc.
NEW YORK, June 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Constellis Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire Constellis Group, Inc., a leading provider of security, support and advisory services to government, multinational corporations and international organizations operating in challenging environments around the world. Constellis Holdings was formed by the founders of Triple Canopy and the private equity investors who formed ACADEMI.
The transaction brings together a global team of industry leaders, including: Triple Canopy, Constellis Ltd., Strategic Social, Tidewater Global Services, National Strategic Protective Services, ACADEMI Training Center and International Development Solutions.
Operating under the oversight of a distinguished Board and an experienced management team, the combination of these companies will enable a significant expansion of services within the global security market, delivering mission support, integrated security solutions, training and advisory services at home and abroad.
“This move allows us to create a suite of services to better provide critical support capabilities for government and commercial clients and will utilize ACADEMI’s world-class training facility, the largest and most comprehensive private training center in the U.S.,” said Jason DeYonker, Managing Director of Constellis Holdings, Inc.
Constellis Holdings’ Board of Directors includes: Red McCombs (Chairman), former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former White House Chief Counsel Jack Quinn, Admiral Bobby Inman (Ret.), Russ Robinson, Jason DeYonker, Dean Bosacki and Triple Canopy co-founder Tom Katis.
“This combination of companies shares our core values of integrity and transparency, ensuring our clients of our ongoing dedication to oversight and good governance through our award-winning compliance practices,” said former U.S. Attorney General and current Board member John Ashcroft.
Board member and Triple Canopy founder Tom Katis reinforces, “This combination will provide our customers with the best possible service at the most competitive price. We share a commitment to flawless delivery of mission critical services. We share a bond with our employees, who are mostly decorated veterans who continue to serve their country in the private sector. We share a willingness to do the toughest jobs in support of the efforts to make our world a better place.”
The combined ownership group will employ more than 6,000 of the industry’s most experienced and best-trained employees and will be led by CEO Craig Nixon.
SOURCE Constellis Holdings, Inc.
Appeals are coming. Lt. Calley of the My Lai massacre was convicted of mass murder, then pardoned by the President some time later and he did far worse than these men. If history is any indication, Americans will forgive these men no matter what they did. The ambivalence is already there by the judge calling them fine young men.
Since there is no up/down vote. I vote “up”.
Isn’t it strange there isn’t one word of motivation – nothing said about how much money these people were being paid.. or by whom. Were these people part of the original – trained in California? hired as bodyguards? While we can not say they were anywhere near innocent WE should look at the culture that created them….
WAR – based on lies? C.I.A. torture at Abu Grail – secret prisons. Our society is fast to throw money at the victims – but not to go anywhere near fixing the situation(s) that created it……..WILL YOU KILL – FOR A DOLLAR? START A WAR – BASED ON LIES…….
quote”While we can not say they were anywhere near innocent WE should look at the culture that created them….”unquote
It was already looked at in 2010. The culture is created by “the revolving door”. Ex-Blackwater scumbags become State Department Diplomatic Service employees who “oversaw” and blatantly tried to cover up Blackwater’s criminality.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2010/03/state-department-diplomatic-security-blackwater
At least for once, “justice” prevailed. Now, if only the same were true for the Bush & Co. war criminals.
you do two things – admit Bush was worse than they are and will never face justice – IF you read the headline “diplomatic-security” and that was approved by WHO???
It’s important to hand out tough sentences to demonstrate that the US is governed by rule of law, and also so no one thinks to ask why the US was in Iraq in the first place.
As wars in the Middle East multiply, it has become difficult to maintain an all volunteer army, so hiring mercenaries has become necessary. However, there’s a limit to the number of mercenaries and putting them in jail reduces the number further. Perhaps foreign mercenaries or mechanical drones will fill the gap.
But it’s also possible these prisoners may eventually find themselves conscripted and sent back to fight in Iraq.
quote”It’s important to hand out tough sentences to demonstrate that the US is governed by rule of law,….”unquote
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Beeno..I have to admit. Sometimes your sense of humor is dead on. I’m sure all the victims who’ve been incinerated by Hellfire missles will appreciate it.
“fine young men” do not commit mass murder
Maybe it’s the camera angle, but the guy in the bottom right corner has a weird shaped head.
What justification is there?? GUILTY – as charged. BUT?? Is this another throw money (taxpayers) at the victims?? Justice is BLIND until heads roll
What in the hell are you rambling about?
Why is the US government feeding corporate mercenaries 300 million dollars to eradicate opium fields in Afghanistan?
And why are taxpayers going along with footing the bill for not only it, but also the sprawling National Surveillance State, the bombing of Syria and Iraq, the presence of troops and mercenaries in Iraq, drone-strikes and other targeted killings in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia, special ops missions all over the world, troops in Africa, backing of the Saudi bombing of Yemen, funding the apartheid state in Israel, supporting of Egypt’s regime… (etc.)
Oh, why do the taxpayers put up with it?
Is it because Obama is president, and he seems nice?
Are they stupid? Do they even know about it? Do they care? Do the words “Federal Reserve” or “banking interests” mean anything to them?
Or are they just going for *winning* like a nation of Charlie Sheens in a runaway train?
Questions, questions…
Because some taxpayers do agree with the bombing in Iraq and Syria, the drone strikes, military support to Nigeria… If a government policies were based on what each taxpayer wants or does not want, then it would be total chaos as it is impossible to satisfy everybody.
“Are they stupid? Do they even know about it? Do they care? Do the words “Federal Reserve” or “banking interests” mean anything to them?”
They are not necessarily stupid, but your arguments are not convincing enough to them, so they reject them. So, be more convincing. (Hint: just stating that they reject your argument because they are propagandized is not a strong argument because they could automatically assume that you are as propagandized as you claim they are).
Good. Justice is done.
On a different note, these guys look like mutants, their heads are so oddly shaped.
lol I thought the same thing. The guy in the bottom right has an especially weird shaped head.
These four guys, and many others like them, had two options: 1) shoot and eliminate threat immediately, or 2) follow all the rules and procedures and risk coming back in a box. That they chose option 1 is understandable.
They are not the guilty people.
They also had this choice:
3) Refuse to work for a corrupt and mercenary killing outfit.
Sure they’re guilty. Not as guilty, certainly, as those cynical and morally idiotic politicians and officials who ordered them there and propagandized them to be wired, strung-out lunatics, but guilty regardless.
However, most of the crimes not only of mercenaries, but the military, also, and those who sent both (including Obama, who is *still* sending both, and drone-striking etc.), will never be punished.
This is, as usual, just theater – to approximate dealing with the issue.
You should factor in how these guys are recruited and sent on mission. Usually working for low salaries, they walk into the cozy little recruitment office, meets a vivacious young receptionist who hands them a form to fill, and very soon after a few questions and some background checks they are on their mission. The pay is good and all they have in mind is a bright future and lots of happiness. Nothing prepares them for what they would see on arriving at their destination. And then they are on their own. Think a minute for these guys – they are folks like you and me, trapped in circumstances that they never dreamed of and, once in there, no way to escape. I am sure several of the evil 9/11 hijackers must have been in the same situation. The people who create the circumstances are the evil ones but they are never convicted.
I agree that others are more responsible, but I honestly can’t imagine any circumstance where I would agree to butcher people whether up close or from a drone monitored in Vegas. I’m only 120 pounds, but I have 3 black belts in 3 martial arts (and some experience with no-touch Qi Gong), and even though I could seriously harm someone if I chose, my conscience would kick in – even at my worst pique (thankfully my disposition to a bad temper is now healed) I was able to stop myself damaging a would-be assailant, leaving him merely temporarily incapacitated. Perhaps others would agree with you that given “no way to escape” and no other options might reasonably compel a person to be coerced into unnecessary violence (and I can truly see how this does make for extenuating circumstances for some who are mentally ill – which validates your point somewhat), but for myself I find it all pretty much inexcusable.
I agree that others are *more* responsible for this situation, as I said, and I’ve witnessed treatment of war vets that I had to walk out of as I couldn’t stop crying at the level of soul-wrenching remorse exhibited. But I couldn’t ignore the thought that it’s a bit late for remorse, at that point.
Lady, I see you are very dangerous, though in a very nice way. I wish all people in the world were as capable as you in taking care of themselves.
But you don’t get my point. Those guys were not “coerced into unnecessary violence”. They were fooled into going into a war zone that is like Hotel California – you can get in any time you like but you can never leave. Ask Bergdahl – if you can contact him. Their job took them into a situation where it was routine to meet with IED’s and suicide bombers. And they reacted excessively to their perceived threat in both a sense of duty and instinctive self-preservation. We can fault them but not condemn them as psychopathic killers that they are not.
It’s my understanding these guys are paid well, very very well……
I don’t feel a thing for these guys because they and others like them put themselves in those hostile environments for all of the wrong reasons.
They are not military. They are civilians in a war zone behaving like they are military?
I hope several 300 lb Muslims turn them into Alla’s concubines before they go into solitary…….
low pay?? do you want to say that – try truth – all of it and stop covers your ass
HIGH PAY – WITHOUT ANY TAXES – they were paid outside of the tax laws – there are no taxes on monies earned outside the U.S.A.
ANY MORE LIES . excuse me madam?? NO SIR – MADAM
You are a goddamned idiot.
HEY FOOL try to find any IRS records
See “Sir No Sir” (2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nPJgeg6hpA
I know that phrase – it was a game we played as kids. To say: Yes sir and answer No sir and vice versa and repeat it over and over again. And we had so much fun but totally weird. I never knew where it came from. It was like singing Kumpajamailort.
Vietnam: The Soldier’s Revolt – International Socialist Review
isreview.org/issues/09/soldiers_revolt.shtml
You are a prize asshole. This was as clear a war crime as you will ever find. These “fine young men” opened fire on unarmed civilians. There was no threat. They terrorized all the people there that day and ruined many lives. Any person with an ounce of decency hearing the father of a child (whose brain was blown out of his skull) describe the horror of this incident should be disgusted by such cowardly ugliness. Once more so we are clear… let’s bookend this shall we? You are a prize asshole.
Their actions have caused death to people and they must be held to account, somewhere, somehow. No doubt about that. Their guilt was really not a desire to occupy and loot a foreign government of all its wealth. Their guilt, if you can call it that, was a desire for self-preservation in a war arena, and maybe some greed for a few extra bucks that the mission would give them. They did make some excessive efforts to secure the place and they are now paying for it, but they are not the inhumane, psychopathic killers that is being made out of them.
And, much as you detest them, if you have been paying your taxes regularly, you have contributed to the salaries of these four and their boss Mr Prince, plus you will be paying for free and compulsory accommodation and lodging of theirs for the rest of their lives. Pity you …
Dearest Prize~Sphinctor, What a load of tripe… great trolling job… if there is such a thing. Your time would be better spent creating commercials for the sale of useless garbage to gloriously flatulent rancid~meat puppets.
I am happy to pay for the incarceration of someone who actually deserves it… just for a change of pace : )
I am happy to let you pass through, if you know what I mean.
realize that the so-called self appointed …… garbage refuses to look at lady justice or the see her scales of justice
the scales are not balanced because of fools justifying lies and fraud …. The scale aren’t balanced anymore than his morality
imbalanced mental facilities
Those four guys, and many others like them, are cold blooded murderers. There is nothing “understandable” about their cold blooded actions. I don’t know if you’re a fucking idiot, or if you haven’t seen and heard how this all came down, or if you think it’s funny or cute to say idiotic trash, such as you have done, in order to get a rise out of people who aren’t apologists for cold blooded murderers or for those who are apologists for cold blooded murderers.
This is the youtube link to Scahill’s film about this that someone linked to earlier here from Democracy Now.
Herc,
The patient (the American public) presents with several year history of progressively worsening weakness, political confusion, irresponsibility, despair, softmindedness, and paralysis. The management of this condition calls for political education, the development of critical and analytical thinking skills, and assumption — not the evasion of — responsibility.
Vietnam: The antiwar movement we are supposed to forget
isreview.org/issues/22/feat-franklin.shtml
A life sentence and three 30-year sentences says just the opposite: guilty as charged.
Firstly, these people do not belong to the US Army. Secondly, their crime was as civilians in a foreign soil.
So, my question is, how does a US courthouse have jurisdiction over their actions? Is US Law universally applicable, or so we assume in our greatness? Should we not just extradite these people and let the Iraqi law deal with them?
Or 3) shoot and risk coming back in a box; or 4) follow all rules and procedures and not come back in a box and also not murder a dozen innocent people.
NO SIR – you disgrace the rank….. is a person less dead because of a Presidential Order?? Is a person less dead because they were killed by a “Drone Attack”
You Close Your Eyes to Pretend it didn’t happen – Does That make Them Less DEAD? Does that make your hands Cleaner??
quote”They are not the guilty people.”unquote
Oh bullshit. They murdered these people in cold blood. Now go crawl back under that rock you crawled out from under. And wipe that slime trail up as you go.
Glenn Greenwald retweeted Jeremy Scahill’s link to the video that he did with BigNoiseFilms about this:
http://www.bignoisefilms.com/videowire/38-latest/119-blackwater
My son is about the same age as the boy who was killed. It is really outrageous.
1) Blackwater’s orders for these guys were to not leave the Green Zone. So they shouldn’t have even been at Nisour Square to begin with.
2) No one ever shot at these guys and they opened up and killed every moving human they could spot in this busy square. One excuse mentioned was that a car backfired.
3) They kept shooting for a really, really long time.
4) In the aftermath, Blackwater would not accept any responsibility and tried to get the families to settle for 20 thousand dollars. If you killed my kid, I would want 20 billion and even then that would not be enough – which is basically the attitude that the family took since no amount of money can bring the dead back to life.
I hope these guys actually end up doing the time that the judge gave them. I also hope the US military stops allowing private contractors to operate in war zones and that the Marines start providing 100% of the security for the State Department.
100% agreed – however not to your last paragraph. It’s not like the military behaved always nicely. Just google “kill team”, for example.
Just how little American mercenaries care about the citizens of the countries they are sent to is quite evident in this:
The Young Turks –
Blackwater Contractors Driving Over Iraqi Woman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN0udPRnd2M
The war abolitionist David Swanson writes:
Blackwater Employees to Prison Today, Their Boss Honored Guest at UVA Wednesday
http://davidswanson.org/node/4726
Like and follow his page: https://www.facebook.com/davidcnswanson
Tomorrow Wednesday April 15th, from 11AM-12:15PM at UVA’s The Miller Center, Erik Prince will be participating in a forum, ” Mercenaries or Patriots: Privatizing American Security”
See http://millercenter.org/events/2015/mercenaries-or-patriots-privatizing-american-security
Thank you Cora. These four men will (maybe) go to jail. But I’ll bet they will not, in the end.
Who will pay for the more than 1 million innocent Iraqis slaughtered for nothing? Who will pay for the hundreds of thousands tortured straight to mental hospitals, inflicted with cancers and death, here at home under illegally classified, criminal mind control operations, via novel remote electromagnetic technologies, unaccountably and remotely?
Many wonder how I have managed to hold on myself. I live day to day. Never losing hope. Never surrendering my mind. Always believing that what you cannot produce, you cannot always destroy. And always hoping that, our voices will stir some conscience in someone, somewhere, someday, in the general population and deep inside the belly of the beast itself, to say : investigate this shame, and stop the crimes!
An incredibly brilliant journalist friend of mine, who works for a major international magazine, is now having seizures from the chronic pain from these weapons systems abuses.
I hope I am not too cynical by saying that, if these convictions mean anything, let’s hope they mean more are looming on the horizon…
Name this “brilliant journalist” friend, and the magazine they work for, if they are certain “weapons systems abuses” are being leveled at them.
You don’t have to name them here, use The Intercept’s secure drop.
Also, you claim to have proof of “energy weapons” or “electromagnetic weapons” being used against you or others. Again, submit this proof.
If you have done so, and The Intercept still thinks you’re a kook (or a distracting troll) and ignores you, why come here to elicit sympathy from readers who can do even less for you than the reporters here can? And if you think The Intercept is complicit in hiding evidence of such weapons, why persist with them at all?
In short, please put up or shut up.
This discussion is about real events, and that you wish to interject unverified sci-fi persecution fantasies into it is highly suspicious – not to mention annoying.
It is quite possible that Pat’s visits to this website has been tracked, for which he is now suffering from these nutri-nano protein bombardment. My suggestion is that he avoid visiting this site altogether, except maybe occasionally through a Tails boot-up drive, and with internet accessed from a free public wifi. And he should change his name to ED (as EC is already taken).
I can’t take any pleasure from this verdict. I feel like a couple of spear carriers have taken the blame for a defective system. It’s not like Iraqi civilians are never attackers and Iraqi police are always trustworthy. This is a case like that 73-year-old who can’t tell a gun from a taser – the blame should not fall very much on the people making panicked decisions in the heat of the moment, but more on those who planned and designed the situation that put them there, knowing what was bound to happen.
” It’s not like Iraqi civilians are never attackers and Iraqi police are always trustworthy. ”
If some nation were dumb enough to attack the United States, and you, an American civilian ( I presume ) were defending your country, would you accept the justification of your brutal treatment by the invaders because they believed you were an “attacker” or an “untrustworthy American” ?
Maybe I was raised under a wrong moral code, but it is very bizarre and absurd to invade a nation under false pretexts, kill a million of its citizens, destroy their country and history, and expect them to be very grateful to you for it ! It is even more insulting to the foundations of this country to expect others to accept this.
Is this what we really stand for? Pls tell me, because from everything going on, I may be the last one not knowing…
See http://www.salon.com/2011/06/22/terrorism_35/
From http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/04/14/blac-a14.html
While they indeed are part of a heinous criminal military organization, they chose to go on a murderous rampage. They joined a mercenary organization for the promise of loads of fast money, “excitement” and the ability to get their jollies engaging in murder and whatever other criminal opportunities presented themselves in the course of their “jobs”.
For those wanting more information about Blackwater:
http://www.democracynow.org/topics/blackwater
It is good that these four receive justice for their part in the Blackwater mercenary services.
It is disgusting what people will do for money; and these four were paid well.
Sadly Prince and the US Government puppet politicians at the top of the dunghill are still performing their mercenary functions at different levels, in many disguises; both through US Government contracts for mercenary fighting forces throughout the world and by holding strategic military and governmental political offices.
It would be well to note that an effective legislative and justice system would allow for exposure and prosecution of the deplorable puppet actors at the top of the dunghill. Shit rolls downhill.
Some brief historical context related to Mr. Scahill’s Book “Blackwater” at this link:
“Blackwater: the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/12/11/blackwater-the-worlds-most-powerful-mercenary-army/
[“Other companies that entered the lucrative mercenary market in 2004 include Control Risks Group, DynCorp, Erinys, Algis, Armor Group, Hart, Kroll and Steele Foundation. British security contractors were also extremely pro-active in Iraq. By October 2006, there were 21,000 British mercenaries in Iraq, in contrast with 7.200 conventional duty troops.”]
Thanks for the article Ms. Currier.
It would be very interesting to start investigating how many convicted police, military, government officials, bankers etc remain in prison in spite of lengthy prison terms. There is nothing to stop them from being given a new identity, released after things cool down and then someone else, similarly looking within the prison taking their place. Way too much faith that justice can actually be served by a system that is totally corrupt. The world is still filled with dumbed down sheep allowing themselves to be sheepdipped, sheared and slaughtered.
“Blackwater’s operations have continued and expanded under different names. Prince sold Blackwater in 2010, after rebranding the firm as Xe Services. The newly bought firm was renamed again, Academi, and has received more than $300 million in Pentagon funding for counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan.”
Instead of being closed down, which is obviously what should have happened.
Remember that “Pentagon funding” means it comes from the taxpayers. Which is to say Obama, the Commander-in-Chief, is still funding this wretched organization of maniacal ‘Christian’ mercenary killers with your money, openly
too bad the guy who runs the company and ordered an actual murder/hit on his former employees who blew the whistle, Erik Prince is not in jail.
seems like another case of the bad apples being thrown in jail while the architects get to roam free just like Abu Ghraib
Yes. Jeremy Scahill said it well in two earlier tweets:
“My brief thoughts on Blackwater massacre sentencing: the shooters need to be held accountable. But this is only partial justice 1/2″
“It’s always the lowest level people who go to jail. The Erik Princes, Rumsfelds, Petraeuses, Cheneys never face justice for their crimes”
But there should be no sympathy for those who thoughtlessly follow orders for monetary reward. These men are equally deserving of punishment for they choose to be complicit.
Agreed. And as JS said (and it’s in my comment): “But this is only partial justice 1/2″
There are too many who are all too willing to thoughtlessly follow orders and we’re seeing it played out on the streets of America today. As you rightly say and it bears repeating: “These men are equally deserving of punishment for they choose to be complicit.”
From the prosecution’s filing:
“The crimes here were so horrendous – the massacre and maiming of innocents so heinous – that they outweigh any factors that the defendants may argue form a basis for leniency.”
In no way is this a criticism of this article or the person who wrote it, but I guess I was hoping we’d see more stuff on the Intercept similar to what Scahill tweeted today. Erik Prince ordered a hit plain and simple this makes Erik Prince not only a psychopath christian crusader CEO but also a murderer.
Authoritarian regimes always protect, first, those that protect them.
just as the Obamas, Clintons, Kerrys, Pelosis, Albrights et al., in the “Democrat” wing of the same fascist party, also never face justice for their horrendous wars, crimes, and atrocities.
Jeremy Scahill is right: only the little fish get caught. The Bushes, Chenies, Rumsfelds, and Princes will never be held to account.