US Government Mercenaries

Blackwater guards think shootings were ‘unjustified.’

Blackwater USA CEO Erik Prince has repeatedly insisted that his company’s guards were “defending” themselves in the Sept. 16 shooting that killed 17 Iraqi civilians. But many Blackwater guards serving in Iraq disagree:

They described a grating sense among many of Blackwater guards, especially those with years of experience, that the killings on Sept. 16 were unjustified.

“Some guys are thinking that it was not a good shoot, that it was not warranted,” said one Blackwater contractor, using military jargon for an episode that results in a wrongful death. “I don’t think there was criminal intent involved. I just think it was the application of the use of deadly force gone horribly wrong.”

He added, “To mitigate one threat, 17 people had to die?”