Iraqis Angered as Blackwater Charges Are Dropped

"Iraqis on Friday reacted with disbelief, anger and bitter resignation to news that criminal charges in the United States had been dismissed against Blackwater Worldwide security guards who opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007.

Though the shooting, which took place on Sept. 16, 2007, in a crowded central Baghdad traffic circle at Nisour Square, is regarded here as a signal event of the war, many victims had not been aware of the decision of a Federal District Court judge in Washington because the ruling was made public in Baghdad a few hours after the start of the new year.

The attack left 17 Iraqis dead and 27 wounded. Many of the victims were riding inside cars or buses at a busy traffic circle when a Blackwater convoy escorting American diplomats rolled through and began firing machine guns, grenade launchers and a sniper rifle.

The Blackwater guards said they believed they had come under small-arms fire from insurgents. But investigators concluded that the guards had indiscriminately fired on unarmed civilians in an unprovoked and unjustified assault.

The incident calcified anti-American sentiment in Iraq and elsewhere, raised Iraqi concerns about the extent of its sovereignty because Blackwater guards had immunity from local prosecutors and reopened a debate about American dependence on private security contractors in the Iraq war.

Many Iraqis also viewed the prosecution of the guards as a test case of American democratic principles, which have not been wholeheartedly embraced, and in particular of the fairness of the American judicial system."

This is ultimately an update from the previous post. Nothing too special, I just thought it would help contribute to the subject already at hand. I'm not going to post too much, since most of the article is easily comprehensive and has already been discussed. However I will point this out, I wholeheartedly find it hard to believe that Blackwater "had come under small-arms fire from insurgents" if they evidently killed 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians riding cars or buses in traffic. That sounds fishy to me. I think Blackwater just screwed up and is attempting to justify the mess, but that's just me. I don't see how Iraqi outrage is really a surprise but again, just an update. Although, I must agree with the Iraqis with regards to the last paragraph. That should have been obvious enough with OJ, but you know, "liberty and justice for all."

Happy New Year!

-Andrew Oxendine 3°