BLACKWATER MERCS INDICTED IN BAGHDAD ATROCITY

World War 4 Report
Dec 9 2008
NY

Here’s a case study in what Iraq’s besieged secular left calls the "two
poles of terrorism." The news reports now are not recalling it, but we
noted at the time of the attacks last year that the victims in this
atrocity were Armenian Christians–and Iraq’s indigenous Christians
have also been massively targeted for "sectarian cleansing" by the
jihadis (or, to use the too-flattering media term, "insurgents"). From
the Washington Post, Dec. 6:

WASHINGTON — Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been
charged in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians
dead and raised questions about the U.S. government’s use of security
contractors in combat zones, according to two sources familiar with
the case.

The guards, all former U.S. military personnel, worked as
security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect
U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq.

Federal prosecutors obtained the indictment Thursday, and it was
sealed.

Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in
the District of Columbia, declined to comment. The exact nature of
the charges could not be determined. The five security guards are
expected to surrender to authorities on Monday, the sources said.

Authorities have not publicly identified the guards.

The indictment caps a yearlong probe into the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting
as the guards’ convoy arrived in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square.

An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security
contractors opened fire without provocation. And the U.S. military
and initial findings by the FBI found Blackwater guards were the only
ones who fired weapons that day. Blackwater has said its guards were
fired on and acted in self-defense.

A federal grand jury in Washington has heard testimony from dozens
of witnesses, including some Iraqis, the sources said.

Blackwater is not a target of the investigation but has been paying the
guards’ legal bills, sources said. Anne Tyrrell, a company spokeswoman,
said "it would be inappropriate to comment on anything under seal."

But she added: "Based on the information available to us, however,
we do not believe criminal violations occurred."

"If it is determined that an individual acted improperly," she said,
"Blackwater would support holding that person accountable."