"Iraq's interior ministry said eight civilians were killed and 13 wounded when Blackwater contractors opened fire on civilians in the predominantly Sunni neighbourhood of Mansour in western Baghdad after mortar rounds landed near their convoy.
General Abdul Kareem Khaleh, an interior ministry spokesman, said Blackwater guards "opened fire randomly at citizens". "
US vows Blackwater killings probe September 18, 2007
.
شاهد عيان:ـ
"ـ"قال المحامي حسن جابر سلمان المياحي، وهو أحد الجرحى الذين يرقدون في مستشفى اليرموك لوكالة فرانس برس "وقع إنفجار بالقرب من ساحة النسور" فيما كان هو متوجها الى وزارة العدل حيث كان لديه موعد هناك. وأضاف "بعد ذلك قامت أربع من سيارات المرتزقة بإغلاق الشارع بصورة كاملة، وقاموا يأمرون الناس بالرجوع الى الخلف باللغة الإنكليزية". وأشار الى أنه كانت أمامه سيارتان فقط من المدنيين "وقمنا فعلاً بالإستدارة والعودة وإبتعدت حوالي 150 متراً منهم". وتابع "وبعدها بلحظات (ونحن بظهورنا لهم) أطلقوا النار علينا بصورة كثيفة ومباشرة، وكانت العجلات التي تقلّهم عالية وأسلحتهم الأوتوماتيكية متوسطة وثقيلة. وقال "أصيبت سيارني بـ 12 طلقة من الخلف ودمـّرتها بالكامل وأصبت أنا بأربع طلقات في ظهري وأخرى في ذراعي". وقال المحامي الى ان "الإنفجار وقع في مكان بعيد جداً عن منطقة الحادث ولم يكن هناك أي مـّبرر لهذه الفعلة من قبل المرتزقة". وقال "لقد قتلوا حتى شرطي المرور الذي كان يقف أمامي في ساحة النسور، ورأيت إمرأة مـُسنة تحاول إخراج ولدها الذي قتل في داخل سيارته وقاموا بقتلها". وأشار الى أنه رأى العشرات من المواطنين يزحفون على الأرض خارج سياراتهم والنيران فوق رؤسهم". وتابع روايته قائلاً "عندما أصبت فقدت الوعي بصورة جزئية وإتجهت سيارتي بسرعة الى إحدى الحواجز وإرتطمت بشاحنة محملة بالغاز، وبعدها جاء جنود عراقيون سمعتهم يرددون "أنه جريح" وأخرجوني من نافذة السيارة بعد أن تأكدوا انني محامي". وإنتقد هذا المحامي، وهو أب لثمانية أطفال، الولايات المتحدة وقال " هل هذه هي الديمقراطية التي وعدت بها أمريكا؟ إنسان أعزل يطلق عليه النار من الخلف بدون سبب".ـ
"ـ"قال المحامي حسن جابر سلمان المياحي، وهو أحد الجرحى الذين يرقدون في مستشفى اليرموك لوكالة فرانس برس "وقع إنفجار بالقرب من ساحة النسور" فيما كان هو متوجها الى وزارة العدل حيث كان لديه موعد هناك. وأضاف "بعد ذلك قامت أربع من سيارات المرتزقة بإغلاق الشارع بصورة كاملة، وقاموا يأمرون الناس بالرجوع الى الخلف باللغة الإنكليزية". وأشار الى أنه كانت أمامه سيارتان فقط من المدنيين "وقمنا فعلاً بالإستدارة والعودة وإبتعدت حوالي 150 متراً منهم". وتابع "وبعدها بلحظات (ونحن بظهورنا لهم) أطلقوا النار علينا بصورة كثيفة ومباشرة، وكانت العجلات التي تقلّهم عالية وأسلحتهم الأوتوماتيكية متوسطة وثقيلة. وقال "أصيبت سيارني بـ 12 طلقة من الخلف ودمـّرتها بالكامل وأصبت أنا بأربع طلقات في ظهري وأخرى في ذراعي". وقال المحامي الى ان "الإنفجار وقع في مكان بعيد جداً عن منطقة الحادث ولم يكن هناك أي مـّبرر لهذه الفعلة من قبل المرتزقة". وقال "لقد قتلوا حتى شرطي المرور الذي كان يقف أمامي في ساحة النسور، ورأيت إمرأة مـُسنة تحاول إخراج ولدها الذي قتل في داخل سيارته وقاموا بقتلها". وأشار الى أنه رأى العشرات من المواطنين يزحفون على الأرض خارج سياراتهم والنيران فوق رؤسهم". وتابع روايته قائلاً "عندما أصبت فقدت الوعي بصورة جزئية وإتجهت سيارتي بسرعة الى إحدى الحواجز وإرتطمت بشاحنة محملة بالغاز، وبعدها جاء جنود عراقيون سمعتهم يرددون "أنه جريح" وأخرجوني من نافذة السيارة بعد أن تأكدوا انني محامي". وإنتقد هذا المحامي، وهو أب لثمانية أطفال، الولايات المتحدة وقال " هل هذه هي الديمقراطية التي وعدت بها أمريكا؟ إنسان أعزل يطلق عليه النار من الخلف بدون سبب".ـ
الحكومة العراقية تلغي ترخيس شركة "بلاك ووتر"ـ
جريدة الراية القطرية
ـ18 أيلول 2007
.جريدة الراية القطرية
ـ18 أيلول 2007
An eye witness account:
"Lawyer Hassan Jaber Salman Al-Mayahi, who is one of the wounded in this incident told Agence France-Press from his Yarmouk hospital bed "an explosion occurred near the Al-Nisoor roundabout" as he was heading to the Ministry of Justice for an appointment. He added " Four of the mercenary cars completely blocked the streets and shouted to everybody in English to back away. There were only two civilian cars in front of me as we turned around and managed to move to about a distance of 150 meters from them. Immediately after that, (and as our backs were to them) they started shooting directly at us from their elevated positions in their SUVs with medium and heavy machine guns. My car was hit from the back by 12 bullets and was completely destroyed. I was hit with four bullets in the back and a bullet in my arm." The lawyer added that "the explosion was very far from the roundabout and there was no reason whatsoever for this atrocity by the mercenaries. They even killed the policeman standing in the roundabout in front of my eyes. I also saw an elderly woman who was trying to get her son who was killed from inside his car when they shot and killed her, too. I saw tens of civilians crawling on their stomachs moving away from their cars with bullets streaming over their heads." He continued "when I was hit, I temporarily lost my consciousness and my car veered to hit a barrier and then slammed into a gas truck. I then heard Iraqi soldiers saying "he is wounded" and pulled me out of the car". The lawyer, a father of eight, bitterly criticized the United States "Is this the democracy that America had promised us? An unarmed civilian is shot in the back for no reason."
Al-Raya Qatari newspaper September 18, 2007
"Section 2: Iraqi Legal Process
1) Unless provided otherwise herein, the MNF, the CPA, Foreign Liaison Missions, their
Personnel, property, funds and assets, and all International Consultants shall be
immune from Iraqi legal process.
Section 4: Contractors
3) Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed
by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract
thereto."
Paul Bremer's COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ORDER NUMBER 17 , June 27, 2004
"Its [Blackwater's] largest obtainable government contract is with the State Department, for providing security to US diplomats and facilities in Iraq. That contract began in 2003 with the company's $21 million no-bid deal to protect Iraq proconsul Paul Bremer. Blackwater has guarded the two subsequent US ambassadors, John Negroponte and Zalmay Khalilzad, as well as other diplomats and occupation offices. Its forces have protected more than ninety Congressional delegations in Iraq, including that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. According to the latest government contract records, since June 2004 Blackwater has been awarded $750 million in State Department contracts alone. It is currently engaged in an intensive lobbying campaign to be sent into Darfur as a privatized peacekeeping force. "
Bush's Shadow Army March 15, 2007
"Emails seen by The Observer reveal that employees of Blackwater Security were recently sent a message stating that 'actually it is "fun" to shoot some people.'
Dated 7 March and bearing the name of Blackwater's president, Gary Jackson, the electronic newsletter adds that terrorists 'need to get creamed, and it's fun, meaning satisfying, to do the shooting of such folk.' "
Fury at 'shoot for fun' memo April 3, 2005
"KH: Why would the U.S. want to support these militias?
RR: It's an easy way to produce immediate statistical successes on the ground, a decrease in attacks on American soldiers. And this is a long-term strategy. Petraeus came in with Negroponte with the so-called "Salvador Option" for Iraq, arming death squads to kill insurgents as the Reagan administration did in the 1980s in El Salvador. In 2004 he incorporated all of the Shia militias into the Iraqi security forces and basically created Shia death squads and secret torture prisons we've all heard stories of. Now they're funding Sunni militias and Sunni death squads".
U.S. Is Paying Off Iraq's Worst War Criminals in Attempt to Ward Off Attacks September 18, 2007
These are some of the previous postings here on these war profiteering criminals:
Privatized Warfare in Iraq May 23, 2007
American insidious foreign policy, coming home March 30, 2007 (see this related item Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans September 10, 2005)
'Democracy' galore in Iraq (Hired Guns) October 31, 2006
Bloodied cash for killer mercenaries February 14, 2006
Comments:
Expulsion of American security firm could 'thwart withdrawal': "As the U.S. diminishes its military footprint . . . it is almost certain to rely more heavily on private-security companies to guard the tens of thousands of nonmilitary U.S. personnel working in Iraq."
Iraq to review all security firms (Time for Bush, bearing plastic turkey, to revisit Iraq to tell these people just what they may and may not do.)
The Israel connection: The majority of American citizens want the troops out of Iraq. What are "our representatives" in Congress doing? They are ignoring us. That's because Israel, the Israeli lobby, AIPAC, and the Jewish-owned and operated media shilling for Israel are all wielding a power over this once-great nation grossly disproportionate to their numbers. The Jewish lobby controls our politicians, and the Jewish media protects the president and spreads Israeli propaganda. Fortune magazine placed AIPAC as the second most powerful lobby in Washington and behind AARP.
Israel receives more U.S. aid than any other nation. Contributions to AIPAC are tax-deductible. Wealthy Jewish professionals contribute millions to both AIPAC and Israel, providing a virtual unlimited cash pool to fund American politicians' campaigns.
Remember how Israel clamored for American involvement to destroy Iraq and remove Saddam, Israel's former greatest threat. Now, AIPAC and Israel are pushing for us to invade and destroy Iran. Do either AIPAC or Israel care that this might ignite WW III?
Remember the AIPAC battle cry: "Israel has a right to exist." Yes, but what about Palestine?
Israel receives more U.S. aid than any other nation. Contributions to AIPAC are tax-deductible. Wealthy Jewish professionals contribute millions to both AIPAC and Israel, providing a virtual unlimited cash pool to fund American politicians' campaigns.
Remember how Israel clamored for American involvement to destroy Iraq and remove Saddam, Israel's former greatest threat. Now, AIPAC and Israel are pushing for us to invade and destroy Iran. Do either AIPAC or Israel care that this might ignite WW III?
Remember the AIPAC battle cry: "Israel has a right to exist." Yes, but what about Palestine?
Beating drums of war, once again: Afew days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief praised Iran's cooperation with the nuclear watchdog comes a startling warning from France that the world should "brace for war" with Iran.
Olmert popularity soars after Syria air strike: Israel has clamped a news blackout on the raid, which Syria announced and US officials have confirmed. Foreign media reports have suggested Israel struck a nuclear facility in Syria built with North Korean technology, or Iranian arms destined for Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
What peace conference? Rice's visit, ahead of the conference, is shaping up to be a publicity stunt to show support for two 'trusted leaders', Olmert and Abbas. Anything she says will be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, words are worthless if they are not backed by actions. Such has been the case for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
8 killed in Baghdad car bombing
Apathy is our greatest enemy: What does it take us to shock us into action these days? An Opinion Business Research (ORB) survey of Iraqi families indicates as many as 1.2 million Iraqi civilians may have died as a result of the war. That's five times more than the death toll wrought by Fat Man and Little Boy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Olmert popularity soars after Syria air strike: Israel has clamped a news blackout on the raid, which Syria announced and US officials have confirmed. Foreign media reports have suggested Israel struck a nuclear facility in Syria built with North Korean technology, or Iranian arms destined for Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
What peace conference? Rice's visit, ahead of the conference, is shaping up to be a publicity stunt to show support for two 'trusted leaders', Olmert and Abbas. Anything she says will be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, words are worthless if they are not backed by actions. Such has been the case for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
8 killed in Baghdad car bombing
Apathy is our greatest enemy: What does it take us to shock us into action these days? An Opinion Business Research (ORB) survey of Iraqi families indicates as many as 1.2 million Iraqi civilians may have died as a result of the war. That's five times more than the death toll wrought by Fat Man and Little Boy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
