Blackwater mercenaries found guilty in 2007 shooting that left 14 dead 17 wounded.

[blankslate]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article3223176.html

from the associated press

WASHINGTON
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts for all four former Blackwater security guards charged in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad.

The jury in Washington found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder, and the three other three guards — Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard — guilty of at least three counts of voluntary manslaughter.

The four men were charged with a combined 33 counts in the shootings, but the jury had reached verdicts on only part of the charges after weeks of deliberations. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth allowed the jury to announce the verdicts agreed upon, with the expectation jurors would continue deliberating on the other counts.

The shootings on Sept. 16, 2007, caused an international uproar over the role of defense contractors in urban warfare.

I remember hearing news about this shooting. There was a sizable iirc uproar over it at the time. Never knew it was going to trial.

Apparently according to some sources they did get fired upon. My hypothesis about what happened is that when fired upon they fired back and killed the one or two or small group of gunmen then they kept on firing. If they were ambushed by as many gunmen with AK-47s as the number of people killed in that incident they'd probably be dead.

Of course the massacre of Black water guards who were subsequently dragged through the street might have been fresh in their minds.

But that doesn't justify a mass shooting in city streets. It illustrates the perils of using mercenaries in war zones.


....

 

[ivwshane]

If you have to use mercenaries then you probably aren't doing the right thing.

The contracting out of what were once US military duties is a serious issue in my opinion.

 

[MrPickins]

If you have to use mercenaries then you probably aren't doing the right thing.

The contracting out of what were once US military duties is a serious issue in my opinion.

QFT

 

[Genx87]

If you have to use mercenaries then you probably aren't doing the right thing.

The contracting out of what were once US military duties is a serious issue in my opinion.

The contracting was a real eye opener about 10 years ago. Our military doesnt even bring their own supplies. They pay contractors to bring it into the theater.

 

[ivwshane]

The contracting was a real eye opener about 10 years ago. Our military doesnt even bring their own supplies. They pay contractors to bring it into the theater.

Yep and it's not only caused issues but I doubt it saves us money either.

 

[master_shake_]

private contracting is the ruling class in america these days.

be it prisons, hospitals, banks, mercenaries, red light camera companies...

soon it will be "the american army, brought to you by (insert conglomerate here)"

 

[soundforbjt]

Yep and it's not only caused issues but I doubt it saves us money either.

Saves us money? Lined the pockets of Haliburton and many other Corps as well. I think we were paying $25/case for Coca Cola for the troops.

 

[ivwshane]

Saves us money? Lined the pockets of Haliburton and many other Corps as well. I think we were paying $25/case for Coca Cola for the troops.

Well it's one of the reasons frequently used for pushing for contractors.

 

[Knowing]

We still use mercs, they just changed the name of the company. First to XE then to Academi. The "not a military base" in Iraq was staffed by a significant number of them.

Originally the intention with contractors (not mercs) was to replace maintenance jobs that were originally done by service members so that they could draw down the military. However, as the number of contractors increased it became harder to get rid of redundant or unneeded labor and now there's a whole feeder industry. Incidentally, not all contractors are just contractors. On bases where special privileges are required for entry the companies often subcontract back to (generally) low ranking military members who moonlight for extra dosh.

 

[Thebobo]

If you have to use mercenaries then you probably aren't doing the right thing.

The contracting out of what were once US military duties is a serious issue in my opinion.

I agree this his pisses me off to no end.

Also no contracting
For jails
Juvenile detention centers
Embassy protection
Civil service (ambassador protection)

As a federal employee I know contracting rarely saves money and usually costs many times more, But hey its less "government" employees.

 

[Thebobo]

private contracting is the ruling class in america these days.

be it prisons, hospitals, banks, mercenaries, red light camera companies...

soon it will be "the american army, brought to you by (insert conglomerate here)"

Ever see the movie space truckers (stupid but funny comedy) even the president was contracted out lol.

 

[StarTech15]

If you have to use mercenaries then you probably aren't doing the right thing.

The contracting out of what were once US military duties is a serious issue in my opinion.

I think the real problem is lack of regulation of these contractors by the US military. I've seen vids of BW committing war crimes in 2003. They didn't seem to be answering to anybody but themselves. The government seemed to be using them to do the dirty work they didn't want to go to court over, so they behaved as if they could do anything. And by anything I mean outright murder. I think the option to use contract soldiers should be available for spec ops but without such a free license to kill.

 

[trenchfoot]

Free enterprise and small gov't at work here. But who am I to complain. I work for a company which heavily relies on gov't contracting.

We keep the Navy's warships afloat, the Navy keeps our company afloat.

What's funny as all git out is I had a brother working at Pearl Harbor Shipyard accusing me of taking their jobs away while I was working for BAE, the major contractor at Pearl.

I in turn accused them of doing such shabby work that took too long to complete which resulted in us being contracted out for those jobs to make sure those jobs got done right and on time. lol

 

[waggy]

I agree this his pisses me off to no end.

Also no contracting
For jails
Juvenile detention centers
Embassy protection
Civil service (ambassador protection)

As a federal employee I know contracting rarely saves money and usually costs many times more, But hey its less "government" employees.

sounds good to me.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Wheres the justice for the affected families?

In what way does imprisoning the guilty compensate the victims families?

 

[brycejones]

Wheres the justice for the affected families?

In what way does imprisoning the guilty compensate the victims families?

So what are you arguing for here?

 

[Victorian Gray]

The contracting was a real eye opener about 10 years ago. Our military doesnt even bring their own supplies. They pay contractors to bring it into the theater.

War is good business and the American govt. and private industry figured out ways to make it pay even more.