So, while we only have a handful of people being held accountable for what were very widespread crimes committed by Blackwater and other private military companies, this is a very important moment for the victims of Nisoor Square. JEREMY SCAHILL: Yeah, I mean, the point here is that these four individuals-and then there was another Blackwater operative who pleaded to lesser charges earlier in the process and then actually testified against his former colleagues at Blackwater-this is an extremely important verdict, because we’re talking about a mercenary industry, a war industry, that has largely operated in a Wild West atmosphere, where there’s absolutely no accountability. His most recent article published by The Intercept is headlined “Blackwater Founder Remains Free and Rich While His Former Employees Go Down on Murder Charges.” Take it from there, Jeremy.
Nisoor Square is the highest-profile deadly incident involving Blackwater or any private war contractor.ĪMY GOODMAN: For more, Jeremy Scahill is still with us, co-founder of, author of the best-selling book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. The operatives were tried for the deaths of 14 of the 17 Iraqi civilians who died when their Blackwater unit opened fire. The jury is still deliberating on additional charges against the operatives, who faced a combined 33 counts. On Wednesday, the jury found one guard, Nicholas Slatten, guilty of first-degree murder, while three other guards were convicted of voluntary manslaughter-Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard. NERMEEN SHAIKH: A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against four Blackwater operatives involved in the 2007 massacre at Baghdad’s Nisoor Square.
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