|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
August 4th,
2009 - Ex-Guards’ Statements Implicate Blackwater Founder in Iraq Crimes |
|
Ex-Guards’ Statements Implicate
Blackwater Founder in Iraq Crimes From Cable Network News August 4, 2009 Two former Blackwater
employees have made statements against Blackwater Worldwide and its founder
Erik Prince, accusing the security company and its former CEO of murder and
other serious crimes in Iraq, according to court documents filed this week. The sworn affidavits by an
ex-Marine who joined Blackwater and another employee - listed in the
documents as "John Doe No. 1" and "John Doe No. 2" - are
part of a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Virginia against Prince on
behalf of Iraqi families who say they lost loved ones at the hands of his
company. Blackwater, recently renamed
Xe, issued a statement Tuesday, saying it would respond "to the
anonymous unsubstantiated and offensive assertions put forward by the
plaintiffs," in a brief to be filed August 17. The company had a security
contract for operations in Iraq under the U.S. State Department until May,
when the federal government declined to renew the contract. The decision did
not affect other contracts Blackwater has with the State Department, a senior
State department official told CNN earlier this year. Several of the plaintiffs
are connected to a September 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad in which the
Iraqi government says security guards, then employed by Blackwater, fired
upon and killed 17 Iraqi civilians. The affidavits by the two
witnesses, who did not want to be identified in the court documents filed
Monday for fear of retaliatory "violence," paint a menacing
portrait of Prince, who recently resigned from his company. "First, he views
himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the
Islamic faith from the globe. ... Second, Mr. Prince is motivated by
greed," says John Doe No. 2. "He sought every opportunity to deploy
men to Iraq in order to earn more money from the United States government." He refers to another
incident when he "first arrived in Baghdad" in which he saw fellow
employees pulling weapons out of a shipment of dog food - the allegation
being smuggling. John Doe No. 1 describes
witnessing one incident in Baquba, where a Blackwater employee allegedly
fired into a passing single-passenger vehicle without provocation. He says
he's heard of similar instances of excessive or deadly force from other
Blackwater employees. However, neither gives clear
details about the incidents they describe, such as specific dates or
locations. The court documents filed
Tuesday are in response to a defense motion to dismiss the suit. The suit
says the affidavits were also submitted to the Justice Department, which is
engaged in an ongoing investigation into the Blackwater case. No criminal
charges have been filed against Prince. "It is obvious that
Plaintiffs have chosen to slander Mr. Prince rather than raise legal
arguments or actual facts that will be considered by a court of law. We are
happy to engage them there," the company statement said. "We
question the judgment of anyone who relies upon and [reiterates] anonymous
declarations." Earlier this year, five
former Blackwater security guards pleaded not guilty to federal charges of
manslaughter and other serious crimes stemming from a September 16, 2007,
shooting. Their trial is set for February 2010. External link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/04/iraq.blackwater.lawsuit/ Blackwater Founder
Implicated in Murder By Jeremy Scahill The Nation August 4, 2009 A former Blackwater employee
and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company
have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on
August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner,
Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who
were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The
former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian
crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the
globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the
destruction of Iraqi life." In their testimony, both men
also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men
alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or
"unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes.
They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed
incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally
deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities
of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety. These allegations, and a
series of other charges, are contained in sworn affidavits, given under
penalty of perjury, filed late at night on August 3 in the Eastern District
of Virginia as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians
suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. Susan Burke, a
private attorney working in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional
Rights, is suing Blackwater in five separate civil cases filed in the
Washington, DC, area. They were recently consolidated before Judge T.S. Ellis
III of the Eastern District of Virginia for pretrial motions. Burke filed the
August 3 motion in response to Blackwater's motion to dismiss the case.
Blackwater asserts that Prince and the company are innocent of any wrongdoing
and that they were professionally performing their duties on behalf of their
employer, the US State Department. The former employee,
identified in the court documents as "John Doe #2," is a former
member of Blackwater's management team, according to a source close to the
case. Doe #2 alleges in a sworn declaration that, based on information
provided to him by former colleagues, "it appears that Mr. Prince and
his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have
provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the
federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." John Doe #2
says he worked at Blackwater for four years; his identity is concealed in the
sworn declaration because he "fear[s] violence against me in retaliation
for submitting this Declaration." He also alleges, "On several
occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince's employ, Mr. Prince's
management has personally threatened me with death and violence." In a separate sworn
statement, the former US marine who worked for Blackwater in Iraq alleges
that he has "learned from my Blackwater colleagues and former colleagues
that one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning
to provide information about Erik Prince and Blackwater have been killed in
suspicious circumstances." Identified as "John Doe #1," he
says he "joined Blackwater and deployed to Iraq to guard State
Department and other American government personnel." It is not clear if
Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is "scheduled
to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq." Like Doe #2, he states that
he fears "violence" against him for "submitting this
Declaration." No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provided. "Mr. Prince feared, and
continues to fear, that the federal authorities will detect and prosecute his
various criminal deeds," states Doe #2. "On more than one occasion,
Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other
documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been
shredded and destroyed." The Nation cannot
independently verify the identities of the two individuals, their roles at
Blackwater or what motivated them to provide sworn testimony in these civil
cases. Both individuals state that they have previously cooperated with
federal prosecutors conducting a criminal inquiry into Blackwater. "It's a pending
investigation, so we cannot comment on any matters in front of a Grand Jury
or if a Grand Jury even exists on these matters," John Roth, the
spokesperson for the US Attorney's office in the District of Columbia, told
The Nation. "It would be a crime if we did that." Asked
specifically about whether there is a criminal investigation into Prince
regarding the murder allegations and other charges, Roth said: "We would
not be able to comment on what we are or are not doing in regards to any
possible investigation involving an uncharged individual." The Nation repeatedly
attempted to contact spokespeople for Prince or his companies at numerous
email addresses and telephone numbers. When a company representative was
reached by phone and asked to comment, she said, "Unfortunately no one
can help you in that area." The representative then said that she would
pass along The Nation's request. As this article goes to press, no company
representative has responded further to The Nation. Doe #2 states in the
declaration that he has also provided the information contained in his
statement "in grand jury proceedings convened by the United States
Department of Justice." Federal prosecutors convened a grand jury in the
aftermath of the September 16, 2007, Nisour Square shootings in Baghdad,
which left seventeen Iraqis dead. Five Blackwater employees are awaiting
trial on several manslaughter charges and a sixth, Jeremy Ridgeway, has
already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempting to commit manslaughter
and is cooperating with prosecutors. It is not clear whether Doe #2 testified
in front of the Nisour Square grand jury or in front of a separate grand
jury. The two declarations are
each five pages long and contain a series of devastating allegations
concerning Erik Prince and his network of companies, which now operate under
the banner of Xe Services LLC. Among those leveled by Doe #2 is that Prince
"views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims
and the Islamic faith from the globe": “To that end, Mr. Prince
intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian
supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity
to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of
the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades. “Mr. Prince operated his
companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi
life. For example, Mr. Prince's executives would openly speak about going
over to Iraq to ‘lay Hajiis out on cardboard.’ Going to Iraq to shoot and
kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince's employees openly and
consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs,
such as ‘ragheads’ or ‘hajiis.’” Among the additional
allegations made by Doe #1 is that "Blackwater was smuggling weapons
into Iraq." He states that he personally witnessed weapons being
"pulled out" from dog food bags. Doe #2 alleges that "Prince
and his employees arranged for the weapons to be polywrapped and smuggled
into Iraq on Mr. Prince's private planes, which operated under the name
Presidential Airlines," adding that Prince "generated substantial
revenues from participating in the illegal arms trade." Doe #2 states: "Using
his various companies, [Prince] procured and distributed various weapons,
including unlawful weapons such as sawed off semi-automatic machine guns with
silencers, through unlawful channels of distribution." Blackwater "was
not abiding by the terms of the contract with the State Department and was
deceiving the State Department," according to Doe #1. This is not the first time
an allegation has surfaced that Blackwater used dog food bags to smuggle
weapons into Iraq. ABC News's Brian Ross reported in November 2008 that a
"federal grand jury in North Carolina is investigating allegations the
controversial private security firm Blackwater illegally shipped assault
weapons and silencers to Iraq, hidden in large sacks of dog food."
Another former Blackwater employee has also confirmed this information to The
Nation. Both individuals allege that
Prince and Blackwater deployed individuals to Iraq who, in the words of Doe
#1, "were not properly vetted and cleared by the State Department."
Doe #2 adds that "Prince ignored the advice and pleas from certain
employees, who sought to stop the unnecessary killing of innocent
Iraqis." Doe #2 further states that some Blackwater officials overseas
refused to deploy "unfit men" and sent them back to the US. Among
the reasons cited by Doe #2 were "the men making statements about
wanting to deploy to Iraq to 'kill ragheads' or achieve 'kills' or 'body
counts,'" as well as "excessive drinking" and "steroid
use." However, when the men returned to the US, according to Doe #2,
"Prince and his executives would send them back to be deployed in Iraq
with an express instruction to the concerned employees located overseas that
they needed to 'stop costing the company money.'" Doe #2 also says Prince
"repeatedly ignored the assessments done by mental health professionals,
and instead terminated those mental health professionals who were not willing
to endorse deployments of unfit men." He says Prince and then-company
president Gary Jackson "hid from Department of State the fact that they
were deploying men to Iraq over the objections of mental health professionals
and security professionals in the field," saying they "knew the men
being deployed were not suitable candidates for carrying lethal weaponry, but
did not care because deployments meant more money." Doe #1 states that
"Blackwater knew that certain of its personnel intentionally used
excessive and unjustified deadly force, and in some instances used
unauthorized weapons, to kill or seriously injure innocent Iraqi
civilians." He concludes, "Blackwater did nothing to stop this
misconduct." Doe #1 states that he "personally observed multiple
incidents of Blackwater personnel intentionally using unnecessary, excessive
and unjustified deadly force." He then cites several specific examples
of Blackwater personnel firing at civilians, killing or "seriously"
wounding them, and then failing to report the incidents to the State
Department. Doe #1 also alleges that
"all of these incidents of excessive force were initially videotaped and
voice recorded," but that "Immediately after the day concluded, we
would watch the video in a session called a 'hot wash.' Immediately after the
hotwashing, the video was erased to prevent anyone other than Blackwater
personnel seeing what had actually occurred." Blackwater, he says,
"did not provide the video to the State Department." Doe #2 expands on the issue
of unconventional weapons, alleging Prince "made available to his
employees in Iraq various weapons not authorized by the United States
contracting authorities, such as hand grenades and hand grenade launchers.
Mr. Prince's employees repeatedly used this illegal weaponry in Iraq,
unnecessarily killing scores of innocent Iraqis." Specifically, he
alleges that Prince "obtained illegal ammunition from an American
company called LeMas. This company sold ammunition designed to explode after
penetrating within the human body. Mr. Prince's employees repeatedly used
this illegal ammunition in Iraq to inflict maximum damage on Iraqis." Blackwater has gone through
an intricate rebranding process in the twelve years it has been in business,
changing its name and logo several times. Prince also has created more than a
dozen affiliate companies, some of which are registered offshore and whose operations
are shrouded in secrecy. According to Doe #2, "Prince created and
operated this web of companies in order to obscure wrongdoing, fraud and
other crimes." "For example, Mr.
Prince transferred funds from one company (Blackwater) to another (Greystone)
whenever necessary to avoid detection of his money laundering and tax evasion
schemes." He added: "Mr. Prince contributed his personal wealth to
fund the operations of the Prince companies whenever he deemed such funding
necessary. Likewise, Mr. Prince took funds out of the Prince companies and
placed the funds in his personal accounts at will." Briefed on the substance of
these allegations by The Nation, Congressman Dennis Kucinich replied,
"If these allegations are true, Blackwater has been a criminal enterprise
defrauding taxpayers and murdering innocent civilians." Kucinich is on
the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has been
investigating Prince and Blackwater since 2004. "Blackwater is a law
unto itself, both internationally and domestically. The question is why they
operated with impunity. In addition to Blackwater, we should be questioning
their patrons in the previous administration who funded and employed this
organization. Blackwater wouldn't exist without federal patronage; these
allegations should be thoroughly investigated," Kucinich said. A hearing before Judge Ellis
in the civil cases against Blackwater is scheduled for August 7. External link: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill |