Two
Months After Deadly Shooting,
No Charges Against Blackwater Mercenaries
By Kate Randall
16 November, 2007
WSWS.org
Two
months after the deadly September 16 shooting in Baghdad by contractors
of Blackwater Worldwide, no charges have been filed against any of the
mercenaries involved. The incident left 17 civilians dead and as many
as 27 wounded.
Based on a preponderance
of evidence, an Iraqi government investigation as well as a US military
report had previously determined that the killings were unprovoked.
Witnesses described a horrifying scene that day in which vehicles were
pummeled with bullets and victims were gunned down as they tried to
flee on foot.
The FBI, which took over
the government investigation from the Diplomatic Security investigators
for the US State Department, is continuing its probe into the shootings,
but has still not provided a prosecutorial report or case summary of
its findings to US Justice Department lawyers. Justice Department spokesman
Dean Boyd commented, “This is an ongoing investigation and, therefore,
it is inappropriate to discuss or speculate on any decisions with respect
to possible prosecutions.”
FBI officials, speaking to
the New York Times, have indicated that their preliminary investigations
have revealed that the killings of at least 14 of the 17 civilians were
unjustified. The investigators also reportedly reject the claims of
Blackwater Worldwide (formerly Blackwater USA) that its security agents
fired in self-defense.
These findings, however,
leave open the possibility that the bureau believes that three of the
deaths may have been justified. The violent response of the guards may
well have been in keeping with the US military rules of engagement,
which call for “escalation of force” and preemptive opening
of fire against a perceived threat. The murder of countless innocent
civilians by security contractors and US soldiers—gunned down
at checkpoints on Iraqi roads and highways—have been justified
on this basis.
Claims that the guards fired
in self-defense, however, are at odds with all eyewitness testimony
and evidence gathered in the massacre’s aftermath. Vehicles photographed
at the scene were riddled with bullet holes, including on their roofs,
damage that could have only been sustained from a helicopter attack.
Video of the incident obtained by Iraqi investigators showed Blackwater
helicopters hovering overhead. Firearms used by the Blackwater guards
arrived in the Washington DC area on Wednesday and will reportedly be
examined by the FBI.
Although the Justice Department
still insists that charges could be brought against all the Blackwater
guards, the FBI’s investigation and any potential prosecution
have been severely hindered because State Department officials in Baghdad
offered “limited use immunity” to the mercenaries in the
immediate aftermath of the shootings in exchange for giving sworn statements
about the incident.
Although this immunity does
not technically bar their prosecution, it means that none of their statements—and
any evidence gathered as a result of them—can be used as evidence
in a trial. Any charges brought against them must be based on information
gathered independently of the interviews.
A prosecution of the Blackwater
mercenaries also comes up against legal roadblocks. While security contractors
can be prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act
of 2000, this law only applies to those working for the US military,
and might not cover those working for the State Department in “diplomatic
security.” And while the Iraqi government has called for prosecution
of the guards involved in the September 16 shootings—calling them
“premeditated murder”—contractors are immune from
prosecution in Iraqi courts under Order 17, issued by Coalition Provisional
Authority head L. Paul Bremer in June 2004, the day before handing over
power to “sovereign Iraq.”
Agents from Blackwater, along
with security contractors employed by DynCorp International and Triple
Canopy, are estimated to number between 20,000 and 30,000 in Iraq. They
have the full support of the US government and form an integral part
of the neo-colonial occupation. They operate with impunity as a private,
mercenary force with no oversight or accountability and their violent
and murderous conduct has earned them the hatred of the Iraqi people.
The conduct of US authorities in the aftermath of the September 16 shootings
is a chilling demonstration of this state of affairs.
Most or all of the Blackwater
guards involved in the incident, the majority of whom have returned
to the US, have yet to be interviewed by the FBI. According to Anne
Tyrrell of Blackwater Worldwide (formerly Blackwater USA), “to
the best of our understanding, the key people involved in the incident
have yet to even speak with authorities.” The four or five guards
who allegedly fired their weapons declined to speak with FBI investigators
in Baghdad because “at the time they did not have legal counsel,”
Tyrrell said.
ABCNews.com obtained a copy
of the statement made by one of these guards to an agent of the State
Department’s Diplomatic Security Service in the aftermath of the
Baghdad shooting. He describes in frightening detail his actions that
day as a turret gunner in the security convoy. His remarks expose the
fascistic mindset predominating among these forces.
“Paul,” a 29-year-old
US Army veteran of deployments in Bosnia and Iraq, recounts numerous
instances in which he opened fire on vehicles and individuals in Baghdad’s
Nisoor Square. He is likely the shooter referred to by a US official
who said, in comments reported in the New York Times, “There has
been a lot of chatter that one guy really lost it. I have seen these
reports consistently.”
The turret gunner describes
how he gunned down civilians, claiming to have come under fire from
both small-arms fire and at one point an AK-47—a claim contradicted
by all hitherto witnesses.
“Paul” states:
“I engaged the driver and stopped the threat,” “I
engaged the vehicle and stopped the threat,” “I engaged
the individuals and stopped the threat,” “I engaged in order
to stop the threat”—all euphemisms for slaughtering what
were subsequently shown to be innocent civilians, fearing for their
lives and attempting to flee the scene.
The close connections between
the Bush administration and Blackwater were further demonstrated this
week when the State Department’s inspector general, Howard Krongard,
was forced to recuse himself from all investigations involving the private
security firm.
During testimony Wednesday
before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired
by Rep. Henry Waxman (Democrat, Calif.), investigating Blackwater, the
construction of the US Embassy in Baghdad, and other Iraq-related issues,
it was revealed that Krongard’s brother and former top CIA official,
Alvin “Buzzy” Krongard, recently became a member of the
Blackwater advisory board and was paid to attend a meeting in Virginia
earlier this week.
Inspector General Krongard
initially disputed the claim, but acknowledged its veracity following
a phone conversation with his brother during a session break, then recused
himself.
On Thursday, the State Department
announced that Krongard had also given up his role in examining corruption
allegations involving the construction of the mammoth, $600 million
US Embassy in Baghdad. While serving as the State Department’s
top fraud investigator, Krongard has been charged with refusing to pursue
allegations of fraud and labor trafficking by First Kuwaiti, a contractor
involved in the embassy’s construction.
Leave
A Comment
&
Share Your Insights
Comment
Policy
Digg
it! And spread the word!
Here is a unique chance to help this article to be read by thousands
of people more. You just Digg it, and it will appear in the home page
of Digg.com and thousands more will read it. Digg is nothing but an
vote, the article with most votes will go to the top of the page. So,
as you read just give a digg and help thousands more to read this article.