Iraqis Praise Blackwater Indictments

Six Dead From Bombings, Gunfire; Iraqi Police Find 27 Bodies In Mass Graves

(CBS/AP)  Iraqis welcomed the U.S. indictments of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards in the 2007 deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians that strained U.S.-Iraqi relations.

Six guards have been under investigation since a convoy of heavily armed Blackwater contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection on September 16, 2007.

Witnesses say the shooting was unprovoked, but Blackwater, hired by the State Department to guard U.S. diplomats, says its guards were ambushed by insurgents while responding to a car bombing.

Young children were among the victims and the shooting strained relations
between the U.S. and Iraq.

Following the shooting, Blackwater became the subject of congressional hearings in Washington and insurgent propaganda videos in Iraq.

The law is unclear on whether contractors can be charged in the U.S., or anywhere, for crimes committed overseas.

The indictment sends the message that the Justice Department believes contractors do not operate with legal impunity in war zones.

The Justice Department has ordered five of the six guards to surrender to the FBI, but details of where or when were being worked out on Friday, according to those people close to the case. The five men, indentified by their defense attorneys, are Marine and Army veterans.

One of the six guards has been negotiating to reduce the charges against him in return for cooperation.

Iraqis said Saturday they look forward to the trial.

"I think it is a move in the right direction to make the security company employees realize that they are no longer above the law and they should stop behaving like cowboys on the streets of Baghdad," said Mohammed Latif, 52, a retired police officer.

He said he hoped the indictments were not just "an act of propaganda."

Qais Rahim, a 44-year-old engineer, said it was important to hold those responsible "accountable for their vicious crime" to prevent other private security contractors from mistreating innocent civilians.

Rasim Hussein, a 55-year-old retired army officer under Saddam Hussein, said that other private security companies should be held accountable for wrongdoing in Iraq.

"This indictment is not enough because there are still dozens of criminal security company employees on the loose in Iraq," he said.

An Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said Baghdad welcomed any attempt to "hold the criminals accountable for their crime."

The Iraqi government, he said, has retained a law firm to pursue compensation for the families of the victims.


Bombs And Shootings Kill 6 In Iraq

Bombers and gunmen targeted Iraqi police recruits and U.S.-allied Sunni guards in a series of attacks Saturday that killed at least six people and wounded dozens more, officials said.

The deadliest attack was an ambush on a checkpoint manned by members of an armed Sunni group that has joined forces with the United States against al Qaeda in Iraq.

Gunmen opened fire on the checkpoint in the village of Ousoud, northeast of the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba, killing three of the Sunni guards and wounding four others, according to police at the regional security headquarters.

A bomb also exploded inside a cafe frequented by so-called Sons of Iraq, as the Sunni groups are known, in Baqouba, wounding eight of them and 11 civilians, police and hospital officials said.

In Baghdad, a bomb attached to a police truck exploded near a popular vegetable market in a southern neighborhood, killing a Sunni tribal leader who was a Sons of Iraq member and his driver, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.

The Sunni revolt in Iraq has been one of the key factors in a sharp decline in violence over the past year, and members of the group have frequently been targeted as insurgents try to derail the security gains.

A wave of violence also has targeted official Iraqi security forces following the approval of a security pact with the United States that allows American forces to remain in Iraq for three more years.

A suicide bomber targeted police recruits near a checkpoint in the northern oil town of Kirkuk, killing at least one and wounding 14 other people, police Brig. Gen. Burhan Tayeb Taha said.

The explosion occurred during a recruiting drive at the academy, another police official, Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir, said, adding that the aim was to recruit 1,000 people but only 150 were present when the explosion happened.

Mahdi Shakir, 23, said he had just arrived at the academy with his paperwork when the explosion occurred.

"My file and documents fell on the ground among the other files of other recruits and were stained with blood," said Shakir, who was being treated at a nearby hospital.

Ali Mahmoud, 24, another recruit, said the blast was so powerful that it threw him to the ground.

"The explosion caused panic and chaos. Most of the recruits were very young men and they were shivering in fear," he said.


Iraqi Police Find 27 Bodies In Mass Graves

Iraqi officials say 27 bodies have been found in two separate mass graves.

A senior police official says 18 have been unearthed south of Baghdad near the former al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold of Arab Jabour.

The official says the victims include two women and a boy and are believed to have been hanged more than two years ago.

Police and hospital officials say the remains of nine other people have been discovered near the northern city of Tal Afar.

They say a detained Sunni insurgent confessed to helping murder nine Shiite civilians about two years ago and revealed the grave's location.

The officials announced Saturday's grisly discoveries on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

[whatchange-2009]

Was it right? Not a chance. Will they be prosecuted? Probably but only for propriety sake and diplomacy. They''ll not do any time nor be found guilty of any crime. That''s just the way things go in international dealings with combat units. Notice, I didn''t say US Army Units. These were and still are mercenaries.

[evian_ycnan]

Funny, ain`t it?

It all started with 4 dead "contractors" in Falluja and it will end with the sentencing of 5 "contractors" in Washington.

If you really want to know why some US troop casualties occurred, look no further than the "contractors".

[excelsior9]

These young kids were used to an NCO or Officer telling them what to do. Blackwater hired them off the streets, in my opinion untrained for the job. They were inxperienced kids with no leadership or direction. After learning thier background I was appalled Blackwater even hired them for such a job. But then again its all about contract money. Now these kids are going to pay the price for them being so naive and Blackwaters greed to put people on the groung in Iraq for the all mighty dollar. Blackwater is a bunch of military has been''s and Special Ops. wanna be''s who are out of control. Unfortunately 5 kids got caught up in Blackwater''s corporate greed and may pay for the rest of thier lives for a 1yr contract, tax free.

[clovisbuford]

tween brianwb and rev_miesse its good to see taht non troll posts and discussions on the actual articles are not possible ..yaaay trolls .

[harp1963]

When is someone going to indict Bush and Cheney? Has anyone read Paul O''Neil''s book, "The Price of Loyality?" These guys planned the war in Iraq months before 9/11 ever occurred. Paul O''Neil''s reputation for honesty is impeccable.

Bush and Cheney will wish they were homeless in this world when they someday stand before Jesus.

[dennisjr6]

I am also, happy that there are indictments on Blackwater.

[rev_miesse]

Posted by HETUP at 07:49 PM : Dec 06, 2008

Ah, the Christmas dope has made it to your side of town.
Congrats..

[centerfall94]

Americans will win the war on terrorism in any country at any time. They will never win us over. We will never rest in our efforts. Our military will occupy any country we choose and do to them like we do in Irag, at our will and pleasure. There religion will fail and our glorious God will see us in total victory. To the last man we stand free forever.

Posted by HETUP at 07:40 PM

Wow. Worst case of testosterone poisoning I''ve ever seen.

[rev_miesse]

-There religion will fail and our glorious God will see us in total victory. To the last man we stand free forever.

Posted by HETUP at 07:40 PM : Dec 06, 2008

There is no logic in your assertion. Your religion says God made us in His own image. To be sure, you have lowered God to your image when you say He hates the same people you do.

[toolmangler-2009]

666 is the number of the beast idiot. Posted by BagdadsHere7 at 06:50 PM : Dec 06, 2008



What is this number 666? is it a name? is it how many beasts there are?
seis-6-seis is using it as he/she wishes. Before you start ranting, you should realize I just asked you an un-answerable question. I am a "Saved, Born again Christian" that has read the Bible, Is re-reading it and will read it again if I live long enough. I hate what Man has done to GODS word. Now man has said that we are so smart that ''we'' can read GODS mind and fathom his deepest thoughts. Remember the Dodo bird (Raphus cucullatus) is extinct just like Religious extremists will be if they pursue this mindless hunt for the devil. A number is just that, (a number). It will be explained when GOD is ready and not before...

[blitzder]

American companies in war do not need to justify anything. They are there to kill as many of those scumbags as possible. The sooner we get it done the quicker we can get into Afganistan and waste those drug making commies. So come on. I''''m too old to join the military but I can go as an employee. I need protection. --- Posted by HETUP at 06:37 PM : Dec 06, 2008.


What you need protection from children???, is that why Blackwater killed so many children. You are sick. Get a therapist.

[centerfall94]

So OBAMA BIN BIDEN walks freely?

Posted by BagdadsHere7 at 06:55 PM

Yes, he does. He''s never been captured or arrested. If you want to prove to me that he''s actually arrested and in prison you can take a picture of that for me, ok? Until then, you can just shrill your heart out to no avail, all right?

[toolmangler-2009]

Iraqi is now a stable democracy and a key ally in the Middle East. If you dont have anything useful to post just get out.

Posted by BagdadsHere7 at 06:36 PM : Dec 06, 2008




Wrong[ Iraq is a struggling Faux-Democracy, and the only thing keeping it alive is us.... We leave, it fails which is as it should be. ''DEMOCRACY'' has to be wanted by a large majority of the Iraqis. Anything else is a forced Semi-Dictatorship. They don''t want it bad enough.

[perceptions5]

Flaming liberal Democrats and their close liberal fascists pals in our MSM wolfpack press love to "chew" on Blackwater.

.........This "hate group" considers chewing on Blackwater as satisfy as chewing on Bush or Cheney.

.........Sad but true......So let''s stop pretending

[jharrison09]

sadly, the price of life is (or was) cheap in iraq. iraquies killed their own by the thousands in no-warning suicide car (or human) bombs. they subsequently had an "awakening" where they realised this was not such a "good idea". Not much justice follows those actions. Many responsible were ex soldiers and some are now political leaders. but many of the us actions in liberating iraq are retrostectively examined with the most stringent degress of political correctness by us and international media as if they were fightinmg "saints". where can you even begin to argue the justice of this?

[centerfall94]

Quit posting BullShiit. US troops are not occupying forces. They are liberators. Iraqi is now a stable democracy and a key ally in the Middle East. If you dont have anything useful to post just get out.

Posted by BagdadsHere7 at 06:36 PM

LOL! Stable? If it''s so stable why are all our troops still over there? You need a dose of reality, you partisan flake.

Iraq, which had NOTHING to do with 9/11, is now an occupied country which will implode when we get out of it, whether that happens one, two, ten or five hundred years from now. A society that CHOOSES to be ruled by religion cannot become a democracy; it can only be a theocracy with voting cards.

Bin Laden still lives. The mastermind of 9/11 still walks free.

The one, simple word for this is: failure. No amount of deception, indignation or wailing by republicons can change these facts.

Failure of Bush. Failure of Cheney. Failure of the republicans.

[cdfoxtrot6]

I would like to see all Iraquis that have fired a gun against US troops after the fall of Saddam indicted too.

Can we expect that too, or is this a one way street like normal ?

Posted by Speakinup21

There is no justification for the criminal actions of Blackwater mercenaries.

There is no parallel between their actions and those of Iraqis who may have felt compelled to take action against what they saw as an occupying army. Would Americans stand back and allow any foreign power send in an army to occupy American soil? No, right?
Why do people like you always think that Americans can go anywhere they want and do whatever the he_ll they want, without consequences?

[bjcone8559]

I would like to see the top *** at Blackwater indicted... then listen to him sing.

[rudy6543]

Funny how Bush told Blackwater they had nothing to worry about. That they could go over to Iraq and do anything they want and they would be above all laws. Sort of like what he told the telecom companies. This is just one instance of that abuse. There are situations like the one where the Blackwater agent got drunk and then came and shot an Iraqi soldier to death. Blackwater quickly transported this man back to the States. These mercenaries were going to be Bush''s private little army. He made Blackwater a rich company overnight, when previously they were nothing. They paid these guys far better than they ever will pay American soldiers who are still subject to the law.