World

Blackwater Tried to Bribe Iraqi Officials for Nisour Sq. Shooting

by Scott Wu | November 10, 2009 at 04:05 pm

94 views | 4 Recommendations | 1 comment

Blackwater top executives approved $1 million to silence Iraqi officials after the deadly shootings in Nisour Square in September 2007. Four former Blackwater executives said Gary Jackson approved the bribes, but they did not know if the money was delivered to Iraqi officials.

Blackwater was condemned for Nisour Square shooting, which killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. The Iraqi government announced that Blackwater would be banned as a result of their conduct.

Blackwater top executives feared losing the lucrative contract with the US government, and planned to buy off the Iraqi officials.

The four former Blackwater executives, who had held high-ranking posts at the company, would speak only on condition of anonymity. Two of them said they took part in talks about the payments; the two others said they had been told by several Blackwater officials about the discussions. In agreeing to describe those conversations, the four officials said that they were troubled by a pattern of questionable conduct by Blackwater, which had led them to leave the company.