Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Boston Globe
December 17, 2008
Pg. 1
By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
ROCHESTER, N.H. -[FONT=Times New Roman, Times]-[/FONT] Evan Liberty, a 26-year-old former Marine, is routinely described by friends and family here with the kind of all-American accolades reserved for hometown heroes.
Patriotic, respectful, courageous, self- sacrificing, kind, and caring. That's Evan Liberty, they say.
The US Justice Department, however, has other, damning words. In an indictment unsealed last week, Liberty and four other private security guards face manslaughter charges in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, in a hail of allegedly indiscriminate gunfire last year in Baghdad.
The charges have stunned this struggling former mill city, where Liberty has returned to live at his parents' home.
No one interviewed for this report said they had heard Liberty's version of events, including his father. But his defenders are reflexively adamant that the scrappy athlete and consummate outdoorsman could not possibly have gunned down innocent people while working for Blackwater Worldwide, the largest private security contractor in Iraq.
"I don't know what the military does to you these days, but it doesn't sound like Evan," said Dan Cronin, a former basketball teammate of Liberty's at Spaulding High School.
"We love our son," said Brian Liberty, the defendant's father. "He grew up like any other kid. He wanted to serve his country. And, to me, he did so very well.
However, based on testimony from a Blackwater guard who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, the five defendants have been implicated in a chaotic shooting in busy Nisour Square. There, while escorting a State Department convoy, the guards allegedly turned their automatic rifles and grenade launchers against automobiles, residences, and a girls' school.
Despite Blackwater's contention that the convoy had been attacked, investigations by the US military, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Iraqi government concluded that the guards had not been fired upon. The killings sparked outrage among Iraqis and prompted increased scrutiny of the role and legal standing of private security contractors in Iraq.
"We all know Evan's involved in some serious stuff," said Brian Liberty, 54. "We don't have any of the answers."
Until the Sept. 16, 2007, shootings, the answers all seemed obvious and expected for Evan Liberty. The grandson of a legendary fly tyer and state fish and game commissioner, Liberty had been exposed to the outdoor splendors of Northern New England since his earliest memories.
He hiked up fabled Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington at age 3 with his father and older brother, Aaron. He once caught 50 trout with a single "black ghost" fly. He can build a campfire with a single match. He has shown an affinity for drawing wildlife art. And he made himself a plucky sixth man on the high school basketball team with countless hours of off-season practice.
"He always gave his best effort and would do anything I ever asked of him," said Tim Cronin, the Spaulding basketball coach. "He would always listen when I talked to him, he would always soak it all in, and I could see it on the basketball court."
Liberty became well known in the community, through his summer job as a lifeguard at the Rochester Country Club, his grueling workout regimen at a local fitness center, and as basketball coach for a team of third-graders.
"He's not the boisterous type at all, not rowdy or anything," said Shelly Gingras, a high school guidance counselor and friend of the Liberty family. "He took karate from my son, where they worked a lot on self-control and discipline and being self-assured. It suited him."
Liberty also seemed suited for a military career, which he jump-started by working during high school at the local Marine Corps recruiting office. After graduation, Liberty left home to join the Marines and subsequently served as a US Embassy guard in Cairo and Guatemala City.
"He always had it in his mind," Brian Liberty said of his son's decision to join the Marines Corps, in which an uncle had served. "He always wanted to be part of the best."
Now, Liberty said, he is shocked that prosecutors have sought an indictment against his son, whose judgment he trusts implicitly.
"These guys are some of the most highly trained people in the world," said Liberty, who added that Evan did not join Blackwater for its high pay. "It wasn't for the money. He saw this as a way to serve his country."
In his fly tying room, which Ellis Hatch Jr. described as his shrine to Liberty and other grandchildren, proudly displayed photos show Liberty with President George W. Bush and former secretary of state Colin L. Powell during official visits to Egypt.
A sticker on the wall proclaims, "My grandson is a United States Marine."
"The kid will do anything for anybody," said Hatch, 77, who was a fishing companion of baseball legend Ted Williams. "There's nothing about Evan Liberty you would not like."
Hatch said his grandson left the Marines because another embassy posting was unavailable. As an alternative, he joined Blackwater, which had won a lucrative contract from the State Department to protect US diplomats in volatile, violent Baghdad. All the indicted guards are military veterans.
Liberty did not talk about his work for Blackwater, Hatch said, except to assure his grandfather that "it's not as bad as you think."
Like his son-in-law, Hatch said he has no reason to press Evan for answers.
"I don't question the boy about any of it," Hatch said. "There's no need to."
As he awaits trial in Salt Lake City, where the guards surrendered last week to federal authorities, Liberty is studying at Hesser College in Portsmouth. His father declined to say what degree his son is pursuing.
Meanwhile, Hatch said, the family is striving to maintain as normal a routine as possible.
"The whole family is a good American family," Hatch said. "Nobody knows what's around the trail. You keep going ahead, and turn the bend, and maybe you'll find out."
December 17, 2008
Pg. 1
By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
ROCHESTER, N.H. -[FONT=Times New Roman, Times]-[/FONT] Evan Liberty, a 26-year-old former Marine, is routinely described by friends and family here with the kind of all-American accolades reserved for hometown heroes.
Patriotic, respectful, courageous, self- sacrificing, kind, and caring. That's Evan Liberty, they say.
The US Justice Department, however, has other, damning words. In an indictment unsealed last week, Liberty and four other private security guards face manslaughter charges in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, in a hail of allegedly indiscriminate gunfire last year in Baghdad.
The charges have stunned this struggling former mill city, where Liberty has returned to live at his parents' home.
No one interviewed for this report said they had heard Liberty's version of events, including his father. But his defenders are reflexively adamant that the scrappy athlete and consummate outdoorsman could not possibly have gunned down innocent people while working for Blackwater Worldwide, the largest private security contractor in Iraq.
"I don't know what the military does to you these days, but it doesn't sound like Evan," said Dan Cronin, a former basketball teammate of Liberty's at Spaulding High School.
"We love our son," said Brian Liberty, the defendant's father. "He grew up like any other kid. He wanted to serve his country. And, to me, he did so very well.
However, based on testimony from a Blackwater guard who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, the five defendants have been implicated in a chaotic shooting in busy Nisour Square. There, while escorting a State Department convoy, the guards allegedly turned their automatic rifles and grenade launchers against automobiles, residences, and a girls' school.
Despite Blackwater's contention that the convoy had been attacked, investigations by the US military, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Iraqi government concluded that the guards had not been fired upon. The killings sparked outrage among Iraqis and prompted increased scrutiny of the role and legal standing of private security contractors in Iraq.
"We all know Evan's involved in some serious stuff," said Brian Liberty, 54. "We don't have any of the answers."
Until the Sept. 16, 2007, shootings, the answers all seemed obvious and expected for Evan Liberty. The grandson of a legendary fly tyer and state fish and game commissioner, Liberty had been exposed to the outdoor splendors of Northern New England since his earliest memories.
He hiked up fabled Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington at age 3 with his father and older brother, Aaron. He once caught 50 trout with a single "black ghost" fly. He can build a campfire with a single match. He has shown an affinity for drawing wildlife art. And he made himself a plucky sixth man on the high school basketball team with countless hours of off-season practice.
"He always gave his best effort and would do anything I ever asked of him," said Tim Cronin, the Spaulding basketball coach. "He would always listen when I talked to him, he would always soak it all in, and I could see it on the basketball court."
Liberty became well known in the community, through his summer job as a lifeguard at the Rochester Country Club, his grueling workout regimen at a local fitness center, and as basketball coach for a team of third-graders.
"He's not the boisterous type at all, not rowdy or anything," said Shelly Gingras, a high school guidance counselor and friend of the Liberty family. "He took karate from my son, where they worked a lot on self-control and discipline and being self-assured. It suited him."
Liberty also seemed suited for a military career, which he jump-started by working during high school at the local Marine Corps recruiting office. After graduation, Liberty left home to join the Marines and subsequently served as a US Embassy guard in Cairo and Guatemala City.
"He always had it in his mind," Brian Liberty said of his son's decision to join the Marines Corps, in which an uncle had served. "He always wanted to be part of the best."
Now, Liberty said, he is shocked that prosecutors have sought an indictment against his son, whose judgment he trusts implicitly.
"These guys are some of the most highly trained people in the world," said Liberty, who added that Evan did not join Blackwater for its high pay. "It wasn't for the money. He saw this as a way to serve his country."
In his fly tying room, which Ellis Hatch Jr. described as his shrine to Liberty and other grandchildren, proudly displayed photos show Liberty with President George W. Bush and former secretary of state Colin L. Powell during official visits to Egypt.
A sticker on the wall proclaims, "My grandson is a United States Marine."
"The kid will do anything for anybody," said Hatch, 77, who was a fishing companion of baseball legend Ted Williams. "There's nothing about Evan Liberty you would not like."
Hatch said his grandson left the Marines because another embassy posting was unavailable. As an alternative, he joined Blackwater, which had won a lucrative contract from the State Department to protect US diplomats in volatile, violent Baghdad. All the indicted guards are military veterans.
Liberty did not talk about his work for Blackwater, Hatch said, except to assure his grandfather that "it's not as bad as you think."
Like his son-in-law, Hatch said he has no reason to press Evan for answers.
"I don't question the boy about any of it," Hatch said. "There's no need to."
As he awaits trial in Salt Lake City, where the guards surrendered last week to federal authorities, Liberty is studying at Hesser College in Portsmouth. His father declined to say what degree his son is pursuing.
Meanwhile, Hatch said, the family is striving to maintain as normal a routine as possible.
"The whole family is a good American family," Hatch said. "Nobody knows what's around the trail. You keep going ahead, and turn the bend, and maybe you'll find out."