Trump's pardons complete the wrongs of 'Blackwater'
When one thinks about the nadir of the Iraq War, many recall Blackwater, the private military company that some consider to be a mercenary organization. In 2007, it committed perhaps the worst war crime of the conflict. At a traffic circle in Baghdad, four armed Blackwater contractors killed 17 civilians, including women and children, and injured another 20, many seriously.
Military experts widely condemned the killings. "A grossly excessive use of force," said one retired army colonel. A later U.S. government memorandum concluded: "None of the victims was an insurgent, or posed any threat to the [Blackwater] Raven 23 convoy."
Killing civilians in wartime is a grave human rights violation and un-American. Did the four Blackwater contractors get arrested immediately? No. Did Blackwater get fired from its $1 billion U.S. government contract? No.
The impunity for an apparent American war crime sparked a firestorm at home and abroad. For Americans, it was a stain on their country's moral character. Anti-American sentiment spread across the Middle East, undermining the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy of "winning hearts and minds" in Iraq. It generated such international ill will that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had to testify before Congress and launch an official investigation.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-s-pardons-complete-the-wrongs-of-blackwater/ar-BB1cgEkw?li=BBnbfcQ
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