Former Blackwater Guards Charged With Murder

[danarhea]

WASHINGTON — Two former Blackwater security guards were arrested Thursday on murder charges stemming from a shooting in Afghanistan last May that left two Afghans dead and a third wounded, the Justice Department said.

Incidents like this are why I have always been against using contractors as part of our armed forces. While these vermin were not part of the military chain of command, and therefore not subject to court martial, at least justice will nevertheless be carried out.

To Xe's (formerly known as Blackwater) credit, these punks were terminated from employment.

Article is here.

 

[RightinNYC]

Here are some more details about the incident at issue in this case:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/07/us/AP-US-Afghan-Contractor-Shooting.html?_r=1

Both men have told The Associated Press that they were justified in opening fire on a car that caused an accident in front of their vehicle, then turned and sped toward them. The indictment says the shooting at a Kabul intersection killed two people. At least one other person was injured.

''I feel comfortable firing my weapon any time I feel my life is in danger,'' Drotleff said in a recent interview. ''That night, my life was 100 percent in danger.''

...

Cannon, Drotleff and McClain said in separate interviews with the AP over the past month that they were driving along a Kabul road on the night of May 5 when a speeding car slammed into the first vehicle of their convoy, causing it to flip.

Cannon and Drotleff were traveling in another vehicle and got out to help. They both said the car that caused the accident turned and started speeding toward them. Fearing for their lives, both opened fire, with Drotleff emptying a 16-round clip. Cannon was unsure how many shots were fired.

I'm sure there are a lot more details, but based on this admittedly skewed retelling, I'm wondering why charges were brought.

 

[Captain America]

Here are some more details about the incident at issue in this case:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/07/us/AP-US-Afghan-Contractor-Shooting.html?_r=1



I'm sure there are a lot more details, but based on this admittedly skewed retelling, I'm wondering why charges were brought.

So we can acquit those guys and piss off the Muslim's again. :mrgreen:

 

[j-mac]

Yeah there is a pesky little thing in this country called Vehicular Manslaughter is a real crime, and guess what.....The police here will open fire on you should you aim your car at them and start speeding toward them as well....

I see this going nowhere.


j-mac

 

[Captain America]

Yeah there is a pesky little thing in this country called Vehicular Manslaughter is a real crime, and guess what.....The police here will open fire on you should you aim your car at them and start speeding toward them as well....

I see this going nowhere.


j-mac

Oh yeah? Well, well, well, the police HERE will open fire on you if you fart in an elevator. :rofl

 

[danarhea]

Oh yeah? Well, well, well, the police HERE will open fire on you if you fart in an elevator. :rofl

Thank you. NOW I know why I am riddled with holes. :mrgreen:

 

[Manc Skipper]

It'll be from the AK47's Jmac's police carry...

 

[idk]

Yeah there is a pesky little thing in this country called Vehicular Manslaughter is a real crime, and guess what.....The police here will open fire on you should you aim your car at them and start speeding toward them as well....

I see this going nowhere.


j-mac

If their retelling of the incident is true, then it was in defense. However, you can't expect them to have told any other story regardless of what actually happened. The lies will have to be separated from the truth in court.

 

[bicycleman]

These guys should be given medals instead of arrested for murder. It looks like a clear case of self-defense.

 

[washunut]

These guys should be given medals instead of arrested for murder. It looks like a clear case of self-defense.

Why are they being tried in the US instead of where they are accused of commiting this crime?

 

[ADK_Forever]

These guys opened fire on a car simply because it was speeding towards them after an accident?
They were on a street, right? With other traffic, probably going in both directions, right?

What made these a-holes think the car was driving "at them"?
Just exactly what was the threat?
They "thought" the car might have bombs? Or guns aimed at them? Huh?!?!?!
Based on what? Simply because they were in Iraq and "everybody is a suicide bomber"?

Mo-rons like them(like our previous president, his gang and their policies) give Americans a bad name.

Throw the book at them.

 

[American]

These guys opened fire on a car simply because it was speeding towards them after an accident?
They were on a street, right? With other traffic, probably going in both directions, right?

What made these a-holes think the car was driving "at them"?
Just exactly what was the threat?
They "thought" the car might have bombs? Or guns aimed at them? Huh?!?!?!
Based on what? Simply because they were in Iraq and "everybody is a suicide bomber"?

Mo-rons like them(like our previous president, his gang and their policies) give Americans a bad name.

Throw the book at them.

:roll::roll::roll::roll: :roll:

 

[aps]

These guys opened fire on a car simply because it was speeding towards them after an accident?
They were on a street, right? With other traffic, probably going in both directions, right?

What made these a-holes think the car was driving "at them"?
Just exactly what was the threat?
They "thought" the car might have bombs? Or guns aimed at them? Huh?!?!?!
Based on what? Simply because they were in Iraq and "everybody is a suicide bomber"?

Mo-rons like them(like our previous president, his gang and their policies) give Americans a bad name.

Throw the book at them.

I dunno. The facts seem understandable for the Blackwater dudes. I need to read up on the evidence to see what the prosecutor is seeing. Can you imagine the stress they're under in a situation like this? I think Blackwater has shown a lack of morality, but this situation seems different.

 

[aps]

Hmmmm. The company fired them. That doesn't help their case. More research.....

Every article I find says the same superficial stuff. I'll have to wait and see.

 

[RightinNYC]

These guys opened fire on a car simply because it was speeding towards them after an accident?
They were on a street, right? With other traffic, probably going in both directions, right?

What made these a-holes think the car was driving "at them"?
Just exactly what was the threat?
They "thought" the car might have bombs? Or guns aimed at them? Huh?!?!?!
Based on what? Simply because they were in Iraq and "everybody is a suicide bomber"?

Mo-rons like them(like our previous president, his gang and their policies) give Americans a bad name.

Throw the book at them.

Thank god liberals like you are here to stand up for due process.

 

[First Thought]

These guys should be given medals instead of arrested for murder. It looks like a clear case of self-defense.

A biased retelling of a story looks like a clear case of self-defense to you? :doh

 

[Ethereal]

Why are they being tried in the US instead of where they are accused of commiting this crime?

Because Afghanistan is a backwards-ass country with a stone-aged justice system that couldn't discern between their asses and a hole in the ground.

 

[ADK_Forever]

Thank god liberals like you are here to stand up for due process.

Absolutely. I am all for "due process". But, not the kind you seem to support. These guys have had a license to kill over there under a cloak of immunity for a very long time, thanks to Cheney and his Republican pals who gave them their immunity. They CANNOT just shoot up civilians "just in case they might have a weapon"! They have been shooting civilians as if they were a stampeding herd of water buffalo about to run them over... while there was no real threat at all.

From all these same stories I've read about these cowboys, they shoot first and don't even stop to ask questions later. They've clearly gotten away with murder before this incident. Looks like the cowards running Blackwater or XE of GunsForHire have turned on their employees and let them swim on their own.

You can blindly defend these guys, simply because they carry guns, but I and most Americans will not. If there is enough evidence to try them, then try them. If they are convicted - throw the book at them! And do the same for every similar action from here forward.

The innocent civilians of Iraq, Afganistan, or any country these so-called "security forces" are in, deserve better than to be used as target practice by a bunch of testosterone pumped up muscle headed mercenaries.

After all, isn't the claimed reason we're still in Iraq & Afganistan all about the way its citizens are treated?

 

[ADK_Forever]

If their retelling of the incident is true, then it was in defense. However, you can't expect them to have told any other story regardless of what actually happened. The lies will have to be separated from the truth in court.

What did you read in that story that made you think there was a threat justifying self defense?

 

[Cold Highway]

Yeah there is a pesky little thing in this country called Vehicular Manslaughter is a real crime, and guess what.....The police here will open fire on you should you aim your car at them and start speeding toward them as well....

I see this going nowhere.


j-mac

Government street gangs need no provocation as long as the camera isnt rolling.

 

[Black Dog]

Absolutely. I am all for "due process". But, not the kind you seem to support. These guys have had a license to kill over there under a cloak of immunity for a very long time, thanks to Cheney and his Republican pals who gave them their immunity. They CANNOT just shoot up civilians "just in case they might have a weapon"! They have been shooting civilians as if they were a stampeding herd of water buffalo about to run them over... while there was no real threat at all.

From all these same stories I've read about these cowboys, they shoot first and don't even stop to ask questions later. They've clearly gotten away with murder before this incident. Looks like the cowards running Blackwater or XE of GunsForHire have turned on their employees and let them swim on their own.

You can blindly defend these guys, simply because they carry guns, but I and most Americans will not. If there is enough evidence to try them, then try them. If they are convicted - throw the book at them! And do the same for every similar action from here forward.

The innocent civilians of Iraq, Afganistan, or any country these so-called "security forces" are in, deserve better than to be used as target practice by a bunch of testosterone pumped up muscle headed mercenaries.

After all, isn't the claimed reason we're still in Iraq & Afganistan all about the way its citizens are treated?

The God partisan accepts your offering!

:allhail

 

[RightinNYC]

Absolutely. I am all for "due process". But, not the kind you seem to support. These guys have had a license to kill over there under a cloak of immunity for a very long time, thanks to Cheney and his Republican pals who gave them their immunity. They CANNOT just shoot up civilians "just in case they might have a weapon"! They have been shooting civilians as if they were a stampeding herd of water buffalo about to run them over... while there was no real threat at all.

From all these same stories I've read about these cowboys, they shoot first and don't even stop to ask questions later. They've clearly gotten away with murder before this incident. Looks like the cowards running Blackwater or XE of GunsForHire have turned on their employees and let them swim on their own.

You can blindly defend these guys, simply because they carry guns, but I and most Americans will not. If there is enough evidence to try them, then try them. If they are convicted - throw the book at them! And do the same for every similar action from here forward.

Nobody is blindly defending them - we're just waiting for more information. You, on the other hand, are convinced that they're all guilty because of your hate for everything even tangentially related to Republicans.

The innocent civilians of Iraq, Afganistan, or any country these so-called "security forces" are in, deserve better than to be used as target practice by a bunch of testosterone pumped up muscle headed mercenaries.

Yes, both countries must be paralyzed by fear from the dozens of people that Blackwater has killed.

What did you read in that story that made you think there was a threat justifying self defense?

Do words mean the same thing to you as they do to the rest of us?

Cannon, Drotleff and McClain said in separate interviews with the AP over the past month that they were driving along a Kabul road on the night of May 5 when a speeding car slammed into the first vehicle of their convoy, causing it to flip.

Cannon and Drotleff were traveling in another vehicle and got out to help. They both said the car that caused the accident turned and started speeding toward them.

If it happened the way they say it did, I'd say they're absolutely justified.

 

[mtm1963]

this will be dismissed by the court just like the iraqi incident was.

mtm1963

 

[TacticalEvilDan]

The sentiment that we should nail these guys to the wall simply because they're Blackwater and Blackwater sucks is just as bad as the sentiment that we should be ashamed of ourselves for charging these guys with murder after all their hard work and sacrifice and the right thing to do would be to let them go.

They've been making premium dollar over there. No doubt they can afford quality legal counsel, which is the best guarantee you can get in these great United States for a fair shake.

Either they're thugs, in which case we affirm we're better than them by honoring due process, or they're one of our many unsung heroes, in which case they deserve the right to clear their good name in court.

 

[Partisan]

They should have a license to kill....
The Afghanis deserve whatever they get.....