Blackwater Guards Charged with Manslaughter

by Karenke4 | December 8, 2008 at 11:32 am

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Five Blackwater employees were charged with manslaughter on Monday following an investigation of the security guards who had reportedly killed 17 people after opening fire on a crowd of surrendering Iraqis, and sent a grenade in to a girls school. A sixth guard admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one.

Blackwater Worldwide is the largest private security company employed by the US armed forces in Iraq. Employing and training a network of thousands of former Special Forces Operatives, soldiers, retired law enforcement officials and former military personnel, Blackwater has made headlines in recent years for its questionable behavior in international incidents for which they are not under military or civilian law.

This investigation follows the September 16, 2007 shootings in Baghdad's Nismoor Square.

''None of the victims of this shooting was armed. None of them was an insurgent,'' U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said. ''Many were shot while inside civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee from the convoy. One victim was shot on the chest while standing in the street with his hands up. Another was injured from a grenade fired into a nearby girls' school.''

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.

The Iraqi government wanted to ban Blackwater from the country and charge the personnel in an Iraqi court. US law is unclear as to whether private security can and should be charged in US courts for crimes committed overseas.

Defense attorneys accused the Justice Department of bowing to Iraqi pressure .

''We are confident that any jury will see this for what it is: a politically motivated prosecution to appease the Iraqi government,'' said defense attorney Steven McCool, who represents Ball.”

In the meantime, a US Prosecutor working against the Blackwater employees is traveling to Baghdad this weekend to speak with the victim's families, gather information and offer advice.

The American Embassy in Baghdad is contacting victims’ families ahead of the Saturday meeting, the official said. The prosecutor will make a presentation to the families as a group, he said, briefing them about how the investigation has been conducted to date, taking them through what will happen during the trial, and explaining how they can make claims against Blackwater.

Blackwater itself was not charged in the killings and has expressed outrage at the charges filed against its employees.