Crocker: Blackwater Shooting `horrific'

Tsunami

Tsunami

Active member
Oct 25, 3:37 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST



BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. ambassador said Thursday he still held Blackwater USA bodyguards in "high regard," even as he labeled the killing of 17 Iraqis by the company's security contractors a "horrific" incident that prompted him to call for an FBI investigation.
The Iraq government has demanded Blackwater's expulsion within six months and $8 million compensation for each of the victims from the Sept. 16 shootings.
Ambassador Ryan Crocker lauded the Blackwater guards, mostly hardened veterans who protect him and other American envoys and officials in Baghdad's dangerous streets. "Those guys guard my back. And I have to say they do it extremely well. I continue to have high regard for the individuals who work for Blackwater as I do for other security contractors. That said, the incident in September was a horrific one," he said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071025/D8SGF1VO0.html
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:cens:
I guess we should ask the people directly affected by a Blackwater eviction...
 
pixiedustboo said:
17 Iraqis by the company's security contractors a "horrific" incident


They only got 17 huh? Damn.
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One death is horrific, if they happen to be your friends or your countrymen.

I'm sure you would not be so flipant if one or more was a member of your family. These were innocent civilians going about there lawful business not combatants.
 
senojekips said:
One death is horrific, if they happen to be your friends or your countrymen.

I'm sure you would not be so flipant if one or more was a member of your family. These were innocent civilians going about there lawful business not combatants.
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but you're forgetting, they're brown and have a different faith....that same faith as those who destroyed the twin towers.....so they deserve to die


/sarcasm
 
Infern0 said:
but you're forgetting, they're brown and have a different faith....that same faith as those who destroyed the twin towers.....so they deserve to die
/sarcasm
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Yeah,... I guess I'm just careless that way.

Next time I see Ross or Allan Rasheed down the street, I'll wait 'til he extends his hand, and punch him in the guts, that'll show that well tanned Muslim b@stard a thing or two.
 
Infern0 said:
but you're forgetting, they're brown and have a different faith....that same faith as those who destroyed the twin towers.....so they deserve to die


/sarcasm
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You self-righteous lil :cen:. I'm shocked mate, truly I am. Try not insulting people doing a job you're not. Spend time in the friggin sandbox with lil kids tossing grenades, women blowing themselves up and an enemy that dresses just like everyone else. To imply my brothers in arms are racist, mate if you were saying that in the flesh I'd belt ya one.
 
bulldogg said:
You self-righteous lil :cen:. I'm shocked mate, truly I am. Try not insulting people doing a job you're not. Spend time in the friggin sandbox with lil kids tossing grenades, women blowing themselves up and an enemy that dresses just like everyone else. To imply my brothers in arms are racist, mate if you were saying that in the flesh I'd belt ya one.
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Ummm didnt you just make this post a few minutes ago?

bulldogg said:
Speak your mind and :cen: anybody who is offended. That is how I was taught to live my life. As a Officer Candidate I always received 10s for candor from the TACs and 1s for tact. My grandpa put it this way, if someone is offended by something you say that is all in their head and its their problem to deal with it. Pulling punches never helped anyone and it creates ulcers.

I teach that way too. My kids come out of my class mentally tough and with no illusions. Other teachers who have my former students tell me it takes them less than five minutes to spot my kids in any classroom. They are honest to a fault and will brook no :cen: from anyone. I couldn't be prouder of anything.
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Yes I did.

Some things are common sense. If my mother is a slut and you call her such, so be it. But if she isn't I'll break yer feckin nose. Understand?
 
Appears contradictory to me, seems you are not listening to your Grandpa nor are you practicing what you teach.
 
If you dont understand the allegory then you're hopeless and I bid you godspeed, the world is a dangerous place for the


Mod Edit: Lets watch it shall we.
 
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bulldogg said:
You self-righteous lil :cen:. I'm shocked mate, truly I am. Try not insulting people doing a job you're not. Spend time in the friggin sandbox with lil kids tossing grenades, women blowing themselves up and an enemy that dresses just like everyone else. To imply my brothers in arms are racist, mate if you were saying that in the flesh I'd belt ya one.
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im not talking about your brothers in arms, im talking about the usual crowd of yahoo's that seem to cheer on any event that equals more iraqi's or muslims dead.

if that needs more clarification, let me know and i'll gladly spend more time fleshing it out
 
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, WTF is going on here.

PDB made a rather reckless comment which I shall excuse as being that of a person with no experience in death.

Now, I too feel that it implied that Iraqis are somewhat lesser persons than we are, and I feel that this is the point that Infern0 was making, at least that is the way I read it.
 
senojekips said:
One death is horrific, if they happen to be your friends or your countrymen.

I'm sure you would not be so flipant if one or more was a member of your family. These were innocent civilians going about there lawful business not combatants.
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QUOTE (from article)
[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif] On Sept. 16, four Blackwater gun trucks responding to a distress call from another convoy under the company's protection blocked west Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Blackwater has said its convoy came under fire before the guards opened fire in the square, killing 17 Iraqis.
But the Iraqi government investigation of the shooting said Blackwater's men were unprovoked. No witnesses have been found to contradict that finding. Blackwater, however, has sequestered the men involved and their accounts of what happened remain publicly untold.QUOTE
[/FONT]


They were responding to a distress call. Just when do they wait for the "provoking" to start? So they shot first before being blown up this time. No one knows if they were innocent or not, it says it remains "publicly untold." If they were innocent, that is sad, for their families sake.

P.S. Why do they need $8 million for each family in compensation?




EDITED to add: I'm sorry, I probably should have explained and not left my first post as I did. Read up and it explains why I said that. In no way do I think Muslim's are "lesser" than anyone else, I'm just saying it they haven't been proved to be innocent (and Blackwater was answering a distress call), and enough of our guys have been killed over there by their cheap shots that...why is this being made such a huge deal of.
 
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Pixie, why Blackwater were there is immaterial, as far as I have read no Blackwater personnel in the gun truck were shot or could prove that they were shot at, they may have thought that they were being fired at, but that is not a valid reason to "open up" on a square full of unarmed civilians.

I'm not interested in the compensation case, as it first has to be proved that the persons were shot recklessly. If they do that, no amount of money will bring them back. So I'm guessing that the Iraqis are asking for this amount as a punitive measure against Blackwater to make them a little more careful in future. That is merely my opinion.
 
Inferno and Spike, good copy, understand much better now. My apologies for getting up in arms... I tend to do that over friends. ;)

03, tracking.
 
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I wouldn't have butted in, only I thought we had our wires crossed and didn't see why we should start pummelling the hell out of one another over a misconception.

Phew!! After all, we are all on the same side.
 
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