Is Blackwater Finally Going to Be Held Accountable for Civilian Deaths?

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/blackwater-finally-going-be-held-accountable-civilian-deaths



One of the darkest days of the US occupation of Iraq was relived in a Washington courtroom on Wednesday as the prosecution of four Blackwater security contractors accused of killing 14 civilians in a mistaken attack in Baghdad reached an emotional and legal climax.

Seven years after the bloody shooting in Baghdad’s Nisour Square that left a total of 17 Iraqis dead and more than 20 seriously wounded, jurors were told of the “shocking amount of death, injury and destruction” that saw “innocent men, women and children mowed down” by private guards working for the US State Department.

In closing arguments, assistant US attorney Anthony Asuncion claimed three of the four defendants were guilty of manslaughter and a fourth of murder for showing extreme disregard for human life in retaliating against what they mistakenly believed was a car bomb attack on their convoy.

But the defence summed up its case with a blistering attack on the government for ignoring evidence of alleged incoming machine gun fire at the convoy, which it also accused Iraqi police of helping to cover up.

[Live and Learn]

1. We will see but at least they are finally being forced to defend themselves. nt

[raven mad]

2. Are you kidding? Some low-levels might get tossed to the wolves.

But the money's already made and the 1% laughs.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. Plus a million!

That's all!

[JustAnotherGen]

4. Nope

And neither will Xe nor Academi.

Four men "might" - but Erik Prince and Cofer Black will never be held responsible for what happened that day.

[cascadiance]

8. Yep, might be hard for them to extradite Prince from Abu Dhabi...

... which is probably why that UNAMERICAN bastard moved there a few years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/18blackwater.html?_r=0

But you know one of Cheney's hit squads wouldn't have let that get in the way of "getting him", if he were one of us and was "wanted" here.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. Not really

He still owns his home in VA - and he's working with Frontier Resources Group in Hong Kong. When he divorced his second wife he purchased a second home for her and kept the one Code Pink's Benjamin invaded.

He was also saying in January that he still votes as a VA resident. He's full of hot air. And if you look at the timeline - when he says he didn't make a lot of money . . . He was going through his divorce.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. HAHAHA - No way. Time to "look forward."

[malaise]

6. Look the entire invasion and occupation of Iraq is a war crime

When will the War criminals pay for the deaths of a million Iraqis (remember they weren't counting deaths), the four million who scattered and all those who lost their homes, universities and infrastructure.

And the jackasses want to know why people in that part of the world are responding with kind.

[Alkene]

7. Sure, they killed some folks; they crossed the line.

But it’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job those folks had.