posted September 19, 2007 02:04 PM              

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- It was last Sunday in western Baghdad. Helicopters circled overhead while armed guards, privately hired by the U.S. government, were conducting an ordinary mission to protect U.S. State Department employees.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, speaking to reporters Wednesday, wants the U.S. to end Blackwater's contract.

But within minutes there was an explosion, a hail of gunfire, and bodies in the streets.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry says at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 10 wounded. Another government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told CNN that at least 20 people died, with 35 wounded.

So what happened on that day on a square in the Mansour district of Baghdad?

It depends on who you ask.

Blackwater USA, the private security firm at the center of the controversy, says its employees simply defended themselves against armed attackers.

Two men hospitalized with gunshot wounds disagree. They say the guards fired on people for no reason.

Hasan Jaber Salman lies in Yarmouk Hospital, bandages covering gunshot wounds in his back.

Salman says he is a lawyer who was headed from a courthouse to the Ministry of Justice when he found his route blocked by four armored Blackwater SUVs.
Don't Miss

* Iraqi PM urges U.S. to fire Blackwater
* U.S. suspends civilian travel in Iraq
* Blackwater statement: Employees 'acted lawfully'

The roadblock soon caused a traffic snarl, so armed Blackwater guards began waving at the drivers, telling them to turn around and leave the area.

"So we turned back, and as we turned back they opened fire at all cars from behind," Salman said. "All my injuries, the bullets are in my back.

"Within two minutes the security force arrived in planes -- part of the security company Blackwater. They started firing randomly at all citizens."

Blackwater, in a statement issued after the incident, denied that gunfire came from aircraft. "The helicopters providing aerial support never fired weapons," it said.

The firm also said its employees "acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack."

But Salman claims the attack was unprovoked.

"No one fired at them, they were not attacked by gunmen, they were not targeted by an explosion," he said.

The firing continued until Salman's car crashed into a police checkpoint and flipped over, he said, adding that eight bullets struck his car and four struck him.

"My left shoulder is broken ... and my arm is broken. I had a surgery. ... They opened up my stomach," he said. "I swear to God no one did anything to them at all."

The lawyer said he intends to sue Blackwater, which he already did in 2005 after his son was involved in a similar incident outside al-Muthana Air Base near Baghdad's international airport. That lawsuit has not yet been resolved, he said.

Laborer Abul-Raheem Amir said he was on his way to a job when the minibus he was in got caught in a traffic jam caused by an explosion.

"A security company called Blackwater, they got out and kept on firing randomly at people, starting with the people walking or working the street -- even the traffic policeman, even the people who work in the area," Amir said.

"People at first thought we were safe in the minibus, but when they realized they were not, they started getting out and went to other places to save themselves," he recounted. "Unfortunately that did not work. As they got out, people were shot and killed."

He said he tried to make a run for it after the driver and two women next to him on the minibus were shot.

"I ran about 50 meters [about 55 yards] and then was shot, the first bullet. Still I kept running, but the second bullet dropped me to the ground. ... It broke my bones, and the third one made me start crawling."

Some people helped get him off the street and away from the carnage. The shooting lasted for about a half-hour, and there were some 30 bodies in the street, he said.

"I remember people strewn on the streets, children, elderly, young men, elderly women. ... The street turned into the street of the dead, a graveyard," he said.

"There was nothing I could do. Every man was for himself."

Amir wonders what the Blackwater employees were thinking.

"Is this some kind of a show of force for them to flex their muscles?" he said. "Are they doing this to us, the victims, so they can advertise and promote their abilities through the Western media? ... Is their mission to protect one person by killing 10 unarmed people? And if they are protecting two people, then they shoot 100 unarmed people. ... Is this Vietnam? ...

"Enough, enough," he said. "Enough of all that's happening. God's fury is coming. Enough of this. Enough." E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

CNN's Aneesh Raman and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/19/iraq.fateful.day/index.html

posted September 20, 2007 04:47 AM            

British Uncover Operation in Basra: Agents Provocateurs?

by William Bowles

Global Research, September 23, 2005
williambowles.info

quote:

---

What is clear is that the two SAS “undercover operatives” had been caught red-handed by the British government’s alleged allies, the Iraqi police, dressed as Arabs, replete with wigs and armed to the teeth and in a car which according to one report, was packed with explosives (the car by the way, has been taken away by the British occupation forces).

The question the BSBC was not and still is not asking, is what were they up to, creeping around dressed up as Iraqis in what is meant to be a relatively peaceful Basra?

Once more the BSBC answered the question, sort of, courtesy yet another ‘official’ story, one that was to emerge only after a very angry crowd attacked two British armoured vehicles, setting at least one on fire. The “mob”, as the BSBC described them, were according to the report, angry over the arrest of two Mehdi Army members, also on 19 September, and that it had nothing to with the freeing of the two SAS. In reality of course, the ‘mob’ had already been informed about the two SAS undercover guys and were understandably upset.

So now, the two undercover SAS men were, it is imputed, searching for ‘insurgents’ as part of a counter-insurgency operation, which if true, what were they doing dressed as Iraqis?

Were they on some kind of provocative operation? According to one report, this is exactly what they were up to. Fattah al-Shaykh, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly told this account to al-Jazeera

If you really want to look for truth, then we should resort to the Iraqi justice away from the British provocations against the sons of Basra, particularly what happened today when the sons of Basra caught two non-Iraqis, who seem to be Britons and were in a car of the Cressida type. It was a booby-trapped car laden with ammunition and was meant to explode in the centre of the city of Basra in the popular market. However, the sons of the city of Basra arrested them. They [the two non-Iraqis] then fired at the people there and killed some of them. The two arrested persons are now at the Intelligence Department in Basra, and they were held by the National Guard force, but the British occupation forces are still surrounding this department in an attempt to absolve them of the crime.

And in yet another report from Syrian TV we read

[Al-Munajjid] In fact, Nidal, this incident gave answers to questions and suspicions that were lacking evidence about the participation of the occupation in some armed operations in Iraq. Many analysts and observers here had suspicions that the occupation was involved in some armed operations against civilians and places of worship and in the killing of scientists. But those were only suspicions that lacked proof. The proof came today through the arrest of the two British soldiers while they were planting explosives in one of the Basra streets. This proves, according to observers, that the occupation is not far from many operations that seek to sow sedition and maintain disorder, as this would give the occupation the justification to stay in Iraq for a longer period.

When viewed in the context of all the stories that have been circulating about the mythical ‘al-Zarqawi’ and the alleged role of al-Queda, the events in Basra are the first real evidence that we have of the role of occupation forces in destabilising Iraq through the use of agents provocateurs masquerading as ‘insurgents’.

---

posted September 20, 2007 01:15 PM              

...

I cant believe the news today
Oh, I cant close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

Broken bottles under childrens feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I wont heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday bloody sunday...)
(allright lets go!)

And the battles just begun
Theres many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday

How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...
Tonight...

Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
Tonight
Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
(come get some!)

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Wipe your tears away
I wipe your tears away
(sunday, bloody sunday)
I wipe your blood shot eyes
(sunday, bloody sunday)

Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
(here I come!)

And its true we are immune
When fact is fiction and tv reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The real battle yet begun (sunday, bloody sunday)
To claim the victory jesus won (sunday, bloody sunday)
On...

Sunday bloody sunday
Sunday bloody sunday...

posted September 20, 2007 01:44 PM            

Blackwater did NOT make a habit of killing Iraqi civilians nor was that the POLICY of Blackwater executives. Blackwater personnel have and had the right to protect those whom they were assigned to protect....AND also to protect themselves from terrorist attacks from those who attempted to kill them. With cowardly terrorists who hide among the civilian population, dress like civilians and launch attacks from among civilians, it's damned hard to tell whom is whom.

Strange how leftists always attempt to make the rare exception to a rule...the general rule itself.

posted October 01, 2007 10:15 PM              

* Story Highlights
* Report: "Vast majority of Blackwater weapons discharges are pre-emptive"
* Report is based on Blackwater and State Department internal documents
* Sources: Contractor wrote U.S. "spot report" on September shooting
* State Department: Report is "first-blush account" with "no standing"
* Next Article in World »

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Blackwater USA guards have used deadly force weekly in Iraq and have inflicted "significant casualties and property damage," according to a congressional staff report released Monday that cites internal company and State Department documents.
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An Iraqi police officer inspects a car destroyed in the Blackwater incident.

Blackwater's contractors fired their weapons 195 times - or an average of 1.4 times a week - from the beginning of 2005 through the second week of September, the Democratic staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found.

In over 80 percent of the cases, Blackwater reports that its forces fired first, according to the staff report.

The committee will hear from Blackwater's CEO Erik Prince on Tuesday.

Records of the company and State Department show Blackwater's use of force in Iraq has been "frequent and extensive," the report says.

Though Blackwater is authorized to use force only defensively, "the vast majority of Blackwater weapons discharges are pre-emptive, with Blackwater forces firing first at a vehicle or suspicious individual prior to receiving any fire," the report states.

A Blackwater contractor wrote an initial U.S. government report describing contractors' involvement in a September 16 incident in which Iraqi civilians were shot, government and industry sources told CNN.

The Iraqi government claims Blackwater contractors, who were guarding a U.S. diplomatic convoy, killed as many as 20 civilians in western Baghdad's Nasoor Square.
Don't Miss

* Read the report based on Blackwater and State Department documents (pdf)
* Initial 'spot report' (pdf)
* Iraqis: Attack was unprovoked
* Blackwater: Employees acted lawfully

The incident elicited outrage in Iraq and raised questions about the accountability of foreign security personnel in the country who, under an order by the U.S.-led occupation government, are not subject to Iraqi law.

Blackwater said its employees responded properly to an insurgent attack on a convoy, and the State Department "spot report" written by the Blackwater contractor underscores that and doesn't mention civilian casualties.

However, the contractor's account is at odds with Iraqis' version of the incident. A senior Iraqi National Police official participating in the Iraqi governmental probe of the shooting said the Blackwater gunfire was unprovoked and random, killing and wounding several civilians.

Blackwater contractor Darren Hanner drafted the two-page spot report on the letterhead of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the embassy's Tactical Operations Center, said a source involved in diplomatic security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Hanner, listed on the report as the center's watch officer, was working for Blackwater at the time the report was written -- just after the shooting occurred, said a highly placed industry source. He was to rotate out of Iraq last week, the source said.

The center tracks and monitors all incidents and movements involving diplomatic security missions and has outsourced positions to Blackwater and another private firm, the embassy source said. Video Watch aftermath video of the shooting obtained by Newsweek »

The State Department is conducting an investigation, and deputy spokesman Tom Casey called the spot report "a first-blush account of those on the scene." He said the "report has no standing whatsoever."

"It was not intended to be used as an analysis, investigation, review or any detailed assessment of the situation. To assert that is untrue," Casey said.

A State Department agent took sworn statements from the participants in the shooting after receiving the spot report, the embassy source said.

A joint U.S.-Iraqi commission is expected to examine security and safety issues and will receive results of the State Department investigation and a separate Iraqi investigation, the U.S. military said.

The senior Iraqi police officer said Blackwater team members were questioned by Iraqi police immediately after the incident. The contractors first said they opened fire in response to a mortar attack, the officer said. However, the contractors then changed their story at least twice during the 90 minutes they were held, the officer said.

Iraqi police released a video of the aftermath of the shooting which shows a car that had damage consistent with a rocket-propelled grenade.

The video shows what appears to be the spent casing of a rifle-fired grenade, and the embassy source said the Blackwater guards were armed with a rifle-fired M-203 grenade.

The embassy source said a New York Times story reporting investigators were told that at least one guard drew a weapon on a fellow guard who did not stop shooting after colleagues called for a cease-fire was "pretty much true."

Blackwater previously denied reports that one Blackwater employee drew a gun on another.

The embassy source, meanwhile, said Blackwater is suffering a staffing shortage as it tries to meet its mission of guarding U.S. diplomats moving around Baghdad and other sections of Iraq.

"To my knowledge that's inaccurate," Tyrrell said. "I would urge caution in trusting the source."

As State Department investigators arrived in Baghdad from Washington to investigate the shooting, many of the guards involved had ended their contracts with Blackwater and were leaving Iraq, the embassy source said, speaking anonymously because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The State Department official said as of Friday all guards that were involved in the incident were still in Iraq, except for one who had to be evacuated for medical reasons.

"It would be hard to do an investigation without the principal players there," the official said, referring to the State Department inquiries into the issue.

"We cannot take anybody out of the country during an investigation without U.S. government approval," Tyrrell said. "It is inaccurate that the 19 men being investigated have left Iraq."

Several of the guards involved in the shooting have requested disability severance and others have not renewed their expiring contracts, the State Department source said. None of those involved are being sent on security missions, he said.
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The Iraqi government said it will file criminal charges against the Blackwater employees, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry.

It's not clear how Iraqi courts would attempt to bring the contractors to trial. Learn more about private contractors working in Iraq » E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in Baghdad, Zain Verjee in Washington and Suzanne Simons in Atlanta contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/01/blackwater.report/index.html

posted October 02, 2007 09:22 AM              

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An Iraqi police officer who was directing traffic at Baghdad's Nusoor Square on September 16 said Blackwater guards "became the terrorists" that Sunday afternoon when they opened fire on civilians, an incident the Iraqi government said was unprovoked.
art.iraq.car.afp.gi.jpg

An Iraqi man rides through Baghdad's Nusoor Square a few days after the Blackwater incident there.

A 37-year-old Baghdad businessman and a father of four, whose youngest son was killed by a Blackwater bullet, said he wanted no monetary compensation but only for the guards to "admit to the truth."

The police officer and businessman on Monday gave CNN vivid descriptions of the incident in which a senior Iraqi investigator said 17 people were killed and 24 wounded.

Blackwater USA, the private security contractor hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Baghdad, has said its employees responded properly to an insurgent attack, but the State Department has opened an investigation.

The convoy of four Blackwater vehicles drove into the square about half an hour after a bombing prompted another Blackwater team that was guarding a U.S. diplomat to rush from the area and back to the Green Zone, the enclave in Baghdad where U.S. and Iraqi government agencies have headquarters. Video Watch scenes of the square right after the incident »

The police officer, whom CNN is identifying only as Sarhan, said the Blackwater guards "seemed nervous" as they entered the square, throwing water bottles at the Iraqi police posted there and driving in the wrong direction. He said traffic police halted civilian traffic to clear the way for the Blackwater team.
Don't Miss

* Blackwater chief disputes 'baseless allegations'
* Official: Blackwater involved in second shooting
* Blackwater often shoots first, congressional report says
* U.S. general: Contractors use 'over-the-top' tactics

Then, he said, the guards fired five or six shots in an apparent attempt to scare people away, but one of the rounds struck a car and killed a young man who was sitting next to his mother, a doctor.

Sarhan said he and an undercover Iraqi police officer ran to the car but they were unable to stop it from rolling forward toward the Blackwater convoy.

"I wanted to get his mother out, but could not because she was holding her son tight and did not want to let him go," Sarhan said. "They immediately opened heavy fire at us."

"Each of their four vehicles opened heavy fire in all directions, they shot and killed everyone in cars facing them and people standing on the street," Sarhan said.

The shooting lasted about 20 minutes, he said.

"When it was over we were looking around and about 15 cars had been destroyed, the bodies of the killed were strewn on the pavements and road."

Sarhan said no one ever fired at the Blackwater team.

"They became the terrorists, not attacked by the terrorists," he said.

"I saw parts of the woman's head flying in front of me, blow up and then her entire body was charred," he said. "What do you expect my reaction to be? Are they protecting the country? No. If I had a weapon I would have shot at them."

Mohammed Abdul Razzaq was driving into Nusoor Square with his sister, her three children and his 9-year-old son Ali at the same time the Blackwater team arrived.

"They gestured stop, so we all stopped," Razzaq said. "It's a secure area so we thought it will be the usual, we would stop for a bit as convoys pass. Shortly after that they opened heavy fire randomly at the cars with no exception."

"My son was sitting behind me," he said. "He was shot in the head and his brains were all over the back of the car."

The others ducked and were spared, he said.

He later counted 36 bullet holes in his car, six in his sister's headrest.

"Anyone who got out of his car would be killed," he said. "Anyone who would move was killed. Anyone sitting in a car was killed."

"I saw a guy in a small car who got out to flee, they shot him and he hit the ground," Razzaq said. "They fired at him again and again with his blood flowing in the street, but they continued to shoot him."

"It was hell, like a scene from a movie," he said.

More than two weeks later, Razzaq said he is left with questions and nightmares about his son's death.

"He was in school, but last year had to leave school because we were displaced. Now the Americans have killed him -- why? What did he do? What did I do? After what I witnessed, I now jump out of bed at night, I have nightmares, it's experiencing death, bullets are flying from here and there and here explosions, cars hit. Why? Why did they do this?"

Razzaq said he would rather have answers than money from Blackwater and the U.S. government.

"Why should I ask for compensation? What would it do? Bring back my son? It will not."

"I only ask why? Just want them to admit to the truth. Maybe if they admit, then many of victims will drop their compensation claims," he said.

One State Department investigation is focused on the events of September 16, and another will take a broader look at the department's relationship with private security firms.
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"Obviously, we want to see these firms be effective in what they do but also play by the rules," Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, told CNN on Tuesday.

"We have lots of people in Baghdad, it's our largest embassy in the world, and they have to be well protected," Burns said. Read more about private security contractors in Iraq » E-mail to a friend

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/02/blackwater.witness/index.html

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Weather Forecast International Edition
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Dad: Blackwater blew up son's and wife's 'skulls'

* Story Highlights
* Husband mourns wife, son a month after they were killed in Baghdad
* Man's wife was a doctor; his son hoped to be a surgeon
* Witnesses say the mother held her boy after he was shot, screaming, "My son!"
* The husband says, "All we want is ... justice"
* Next Article in World »

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From Jomana Karadsheh
CNN
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Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full name of family members in this report at their request, due to concerns for their own safety.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Haythem could only recognize his oldest boy from his tall and slim physique as well as what was left of his shoes. His son's head had been blown away, his body charred beyond recognition. His wife of more than 20 years was torn apart.
art.family.jpg

Ahmed and his mother, Mahassen, were killed in the September 16 shootings in Baghdad.
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1 of 3
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"Only part of her neck and jaw remained," Haythem told CNN. The rest of her was covered by a body bag.

Choking back tears, he said, "Killing them was not enough, blowing up their skulls, they burned them and disfigured them."

Haythem's wife, Mahassen, and his 20-year-old son, Ahmed, were among the 17 Iraqi civilians killed and 27 others wounded in a hail of gunfire September 16 in Baghdad. Video Watch Haythem's video of the charred wreckage »

Guards working for private security firm Blackwater USA are accused of opening fire on the Iraqis.

The Iraqi government has said the Blackwater guards shot without provocation -- something the U.S.-based contractor has denied, saying the guards were in a firefight with gunmen.

An Iraqi government report has accused Blackwater of "premeditated murder," saying the company's guards randomly fired at civilians. An Iraqi panel investigating the shootings has asked Blackwater to pay the families of each of the victims $8 million in compensation.

"Money will not compensate us for what we have lost, even if it were piles of it," Haythem said. "No one can put a price on the lives of those killed."

Haythem, 46, a doctor who specializes in blood diseases, spoke from his temporary home in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood where he is living with his mother and two remaining children -- daughter Maryam, 18, and son Haidar, 17.

While he spoke, his mother sat in a corner of the room, moaning and sobbing, rocking back and forth on a couch. She wore all black.

All Haythem and the family know about the final moments of their loved ones is what two Iraqi police officers who witnessed the shootings have told them -- that Ahmed was shot as he was driving his car in Nusoor Square and his mother clutched him tight as he was bleeding.
Don't Miss

* Blackwater chief: Guards were fired on
* Blackwater incident witness: 'It was hell'
* FBI takes lead in probe
* Survivors of Blackwater shooting tell FBI their stories

"Those who witnessed the incident say that my son's head was scattered and my wife held him and hugged him," Haythem said. "She was screaming, 'My son, my son! Help me! Help me!' "

The car slowly rolled forward until Blackwater guards unleashed more shots that turned the vehicle into a fireball, according to the witnesses.

"They understood the call for help. They sprayed her with bullets," he said.

Blackwater has not discussed specifics about the case, saying the FBI is investigating the matter. Blackwater CEO Erik Prince told CNN Sunday one of the Blackwater vehicles was damaged by small arms fire and that his guards committed no "deliberate violence."

Haythem's wife also was a doctor and his son was attending medical school with hopes of becoming a surgeon.

"They destroyed my family and they killed my beloved wife, my better half," Haythem said calmly. "They deprived me of my eldest son who I have raised into a strong, young man. They deprived him of fulfilling his dream to be a doctor and a surgeon. They planted pain and misery in the hearts of my two younger kids."

His daughter and son live in fear that he too will be slain on the streets of Baghdad, leaving them as orphans.

Maryam sat with her father throughout the interview, not wanting to leave his side. She said she and her mother were close friends -- able to chat like sisters and share stories beyond most mother-daughter relationships.

"My friends would always tell me how much they noticed my mom's love for me. She used to always talk to me about my future and her dreams for me," she said. "I hope I live up to her expectations."

Maryam's last conversation with her mom was the morning of September 16. Maryam had a biology exam that day. Her mom woke her up and reviewed the material with her to make sure she was properly prepared for the test.

"She stayed for another few minutes, joking and laughing," Maryam said, tears running down her cheeks.

Haythem was dropped off at work that day by his wife and son. They then picked up a college application for Maryam, who is hoping to enter dental school. At some point afterward they were killed.

Haythem first began worrying when his wife was late picking him up from work. Then calls to her cell phone went unanswered. In the chaotic world of Baghdad -- where violence and kidnappings are common -- anytime a loved one doesn't show up on time fears of the worst begin.

He eventually made it home and began making more phone calls. The worrying intensified as news reports swirled of a deadly shooting in Nusoor Square. He called his brother, a doctor at a nearby hospital, to check the emergency room and the morgue. The brother found no signs of them.

Haythem's brother then went to the scene and found a burned-out car. He called Haythem and asked for the license plate number.

"My brother collapsed and said, 'The family car is burned and may God bless their souls,' " Haythem said.

Despite his sorrow and anguish, Haythem maintains a calm and peaceful attitude, saying he only seeks justice through the courts and that he trusts the U.S. and international judicial systems.

"All we want is the fair judiciary do us justice. We ask the judge who takes this case to think before he rules, to be satisfied with his ruling as if he were, God forbid, personally involved," he said.

Haythem's and Maryam's faces light up when they speak of their loved ones. Ahmed, they said, was an achiever, an ambitious young man who not only was always at the top of his class but who also enjoyed sports and singing and had an interest in languages. He was fluent in English and was learning French and Italian.
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"He was quiet and very popular and a leader. This was all wasted in a moment," his father said. "He was guilty of no crime. What compensation is there for that? There can't be any."

Maryam just wishes she could turn the clock back. "I only wish I could relive last month, my family around," she said. "But they are gone. What can we do? If we die, we will do so in Iraq and hopefully we will all meet in heaven." E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

All About Nusoor Square • Iraq War • Blackwater USA

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Sound Off: Your opinions and comments
Steve
updated 15 minutes ago

This is a very sad story. These private security firms have no business in Iraq. They are a bunch of has been soilders who want constant action to satisfy their urge to make a ton of money while doing what they love t ...more

This is a very sad story. These private security firms have no business in Iraq. They are a bunch of has been soilders who want constant action to satisfy their urge to make a ton of money while doing what they love to do- Kill !!! . Our US soilders have many more dangers to face and make 5 times less than "Blackwater" Personel. It is time to get these overpaid thugs out of Iraq !!! It makes me sick to read articles like this. It's too bad the Iraqi Civilians don't have the same weaponary as Blackwater! If the innocent Iraqi people can't get them out by peaceful negotiations maybe a trip back to the US in a coffin might help!!! less
Dave
updated 15 minutes ago

What a terrible and delicate situation. You have Blackwater USA insisting that they were fired on and then you have the victims stating that they did not do anything.

What a terrible and delicate situation. You have Blackwater USA insisting that they were fired on and then you have the victims stating that they did not do anything. less
sim
updated 15 minutes ago

The very idea that we employ mercenaries is repugnant to most Americans--that they operate outside the chain of command, that they commit these kinds of atrocities with impunity and continue to do so--this is the modu ...more

The very idea that we employ mercenaries is repugnant to most Americans--that they operate outside the chain of command, that they commit these kinds of atrocities with impunity and continue to do so--this is the modus operandi of a fascist state. Blackwater is no better than the Waffen SS. A day of reckoning will come. less
Rose
updated 15 minutes ago

I am saddend by any death brought about by this war but I think the press needs to look a little deeper as to why these people were killed. A few years ago the press reported on the death of a young boy who was kille ...more

I am saddend by any death brought about by this war but I think the press needs to look a little deeper as to why these people were killed. A few years ago the press reported on the death of a young boy who was killed by American Forces in Afghanistan. This was shocking to the world. What they didn't know was that not one of the villagers knew this boy and no one would take the time to bury him. Our troops did! It was assumed that the boy was traveling with the Taliban. Has no one ever seen the movie "Rules of Engagement"? less
Brian
updated 15 minutes ago

CNN makes me laugh. Instead of reporting the clear improvements in Iraq and the forward progress brought bu the surge they day after day continue trying to manufacture a scandal with Blackwater. CNN is nothing more th ...more

CNN makes me laugh. Instead of reporting the clear improvements in Iraq and the forward progress brought bu the surge they day after day continue trying to manufacture a scandal with Blackwater. CNN is nothing more than a sham news organization which acts as a mouth piece of the left wing. They are Fox News for liberals! less
Ken
updated 15 minutes ago

What an awful ,awful situation. May this family have some peace.

What an awful ,awful situation. May this family have some peace. less
Kris Hamacek
updated 15 minutes ago

It it a terrible tragedy, horrible things happen in war. Discipline our own but do not compensate the iraqi civilians caught in the middle of a war. Until you are ready to give 8 million to the families of our soldi ...more

It it a terrible tragedy, horrible things happen in war. Discipline our own but do not compensate the iraqi civilians caught in the middle of a war. Until you are ready to give 8 million to the families of our soldiers who have lost their sons, daughters, bothers sisters and parents I see no reason to pay these people. less
Sarah
updated 15 minutes ago

Thank you to CNN for posting this story, and thanks much more for making it the top story.

I wish every American citizen would read this story. I think it would help end the senseless killings... we all have blood on our hands until we rise up to put a stop to this.

Thank you to CNN for posting this story, and thanks much more for making it the top story.

I wish every American citizen would read this story. I think it would help end the senseless killings... we all have blood on our hands until we rise up to put a stop to this. less
Log
updated 15 minutes ago

Wow, CNN, whatever happened to unbiased journalism? Your stand firmly against Blackwater is apparent in your coverage of these related stories. I've yet to see an article about how the Iraqis need to step up and han ...more

Wow, CNN, whatever happened to unbiased journalism? Your stand firmly against Blackwater is apparent in your coverage of these related stories. I've yet to see an article about how the Iraqis need to step up and handle their own security. There wouldn't be a need for private contractors or the US military if the common citizens actually banded together and refused to accept the terrorists, religious factions, and corruption inherent in the mess that is their poltical/governmental system right now. less
ABY
updated 15 minutes ago

The use of private security companies is foolish lets cut to the chase here they are mercenaries. These are former military men who rather then return to the service of thier nation have chosen to hire themselves out ...more

The use of private security companies is foolish lets cut to the chase here they are mercenaries. These are former military men who rather then return to the service of thier nation have chosen to hire themselves out to the highest bidder. If the FBI finds crimminal wrong doing by these men then their contract should be cancelled and they should be pulled out of Iraq. Some other firm whose has shown greater restraint will be more then able to fill the void. less
Tom
updated 15 minutes ago

You all must toast each other when you get stories of Americans doing wrong in the world because it would make the front page everytime over any other story and God forbid a positive story over there ever making the front of CNN.com

You all must toast each other when you get stories of Americans doing wrong in the world because it would make the front page everytime over any other story and God forbid a positive story over there ever making the front of CNN.com less
Phillipe
updated 15 minutes ago

Oh, yes they did nothing wrong nothing at all, they are totally innocent. I love these one sided stories.

Oh, yes they did nothing wrong nothing at all, they are totally innocent. I love these one sided stories. less
Paul
updated 15 minutes ago

This sounds like a tragic event, and one for which we still do not have all of the answers. What is curious to me is that I don't recall CNN writing these kinds of pieces on all of the innocent people blown up by the ...more

This sounds like a tragic event, and one for which we still do not have all of the answers. What is curious to me is that I don't recall CNN writing these kinds of pieces on all of the innocent people blown up by the Taliban, but terrorists... nor do I recall articles of this nature about the families left behind by the 9-11 slaughter.

My prayers are with the Iraqi people, as their plight is much more difficult than can be expressed in a news article. My prayers are also with our brave men and women who are trying to help in a nearly impossible-to-solve situation. less
Meddy
updated 15 minutes ago

And the right wing fanatics will call this propaganda...... We are playing limbo with morality.

And the right wing fanatics will call this propaganda...... We are playing limbo with morality. less
Clif
updated 15 minutes ago

Why is acceptable for our government to hire free-lance mercenaries to fight our war? Where is the chain of command for them? Who do they answer to? I would wager no one; that's probably why this happened.

Why is acceptable for our government to hire free-lance mercenaries to fight our war? Where is the chain of command for them? Who do they answer to? I would wager no one; that's probably why this happened. less
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"Only part of her neck and jaw remained," Haythem told CNN. The rest of her was covered by a body bag.

Choking back tears, he said, "Killing them was not enough, blowing up their skulls, they burned them and disfigured them."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/16/dad.blackwater/index.html

P.S - Jwhop, your obsession with the Democrats is frightening. Up to the point where you don't have any remorse for innocent victims.

I think I speak for everyone here when I say who gives a **** about the Dems. This issue has nothing to do with them.

posted October 03, 2007 11:27 AM            

I actually got to listen to some of the whining, shrieking and sniviling from treasonous dem-o-scat congressional members who were holding congressional hearings on Blackwater.

Seems some of those sniviling morons were actually protected by Blackwater personnel when they were in Iraq...riding around in SUV's on their so called..."fact finding tours". But they weren't attacking Blackwater for protecting them from getting their sorry as$es shot off by terrorists then.