Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter

Iraq
Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter
NPR.org, December 8, 2008 · Five American security guards charged in connection with the shooting deaths of 14 civilians in Baghdad last year surrendered to federal agents in Utah on Monday.
The Justice Department, which unsealed the indictments on Monday, said the five Blackwater Worldwide guards fired a grenade into a girls' school, shot an unarmed civilian point-blank as he held up his hands and used machine guns on bystanders.
The five guards, who were contracted by the U.S. to protect State Department personnel, surrendered Monday and were due to ask a federal judge in Utah for bail. A sixth Blackwater guard has admitted to killing at least one Iraqi in a plea deal.
"None of these victims was an insurgent, and many were shot while inside of civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "One victim was shot in his chest while standing in the street with his hands up."
The five were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter and 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 incident occurred last year in a busy Baghdad intersection known as Nisoor Square. At the time, witnesses said the security guards opened fire unprovoked. Women and children were among the victims, and the shooting left the square littered with blown-out cars.
The shootings increased tensions between Washington and the fledgling Iraqi government in Baghdad. The Iraqi government sought the right to prosecute the men in Iraqi courts.
The guards who surrendered in Salt Lake City were reportedly hoping to get the case moved to Utah, where they think they'll find sympathetic jurors.
From staff and wire reports

_NorthSide_ I Believe that there may be more to this story than has actually come to light thus far. Furthermore I find it hard to believe that an army for hire such as Blackwater comprised mostly for former military personnel who know first hard the ramifications of violating U.N. and NATO guidelines would fire on innocent civilians unprovoked. Not to say that the Blackwater personnel may not have had made some serious mistakes and and miscalculated split second decisions when being fired upon. Its is easy for us here in the comfort of our homes to make assumptions as to what happened. I think that where this incident first happened the U.S. government tryed to sweep this under the rug and as the Iraqi government continued to pressure Washington for action they finally realized this wasn't going away and expected actions to be taken. I do however find it easy to believe that a company like Blackwater who wouldn't jeopardize its multi-billion dollar defense contracts would quickly throw its personnel under the bus due to increased pressure from the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Should the evidence as the trial progresses further implicate them as they're currently being prosecuted as I do believe that they should be held fully accountable. And I'll eat my words.

Ali- Interesting that Blackwater, a government security contractor, held off prosecution for so long. I don't think moving the case to Utah will help them. True, that place is full of nut jobs, racists, and religious fanatics, but I doubt that even they (probably an all white jury) would condone a murder spree by madmen. Remember Trolley Square? I believe they should be thrown to the mercy of Iraqi courts, since they didn't fall under the UCMJ which normally excludes international prosecution. If the Iraqis get them though, I'm pretty sure they will be hung as soon as the very short trial is over.