Was 2007 Blackwater Massacre Revenge for 9/11?

Court Documents Assert One Guard Routinely Bragged About Disregard for Iraqi Civilians

by Jason Ditz, September 08, 2009

According to court documents from a trial related to the 2007 Baghdad massacre, in which Blackwater contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians, at least one of the contractors involved had bragged about his disregard for Iraqi civilian life and said he wanted revenge for September 11.

The contractors’ defense was that they decided that a slow moving Kia sedan was probably a car bomb, and opened fire on a crowd of civilians in a “pure and simple case of self-defense.” The documents were part of prosectors’ efforts to prove that the contractors had motives for the attack.

The attack was a key part of Iraq’s decision to revoke the license of Blackwater to operate as contractors in the nation, and the company later renamed itself “Xe” in hopes of escaping the infamy it had gained over its Iraq escapades.

Despite the ban, Blackwater has continued to operate in Iraq as contractors for the State Department, much to the chagrin of Iraqi officials. The State Department insists Blackwater’s planned replacement simply isn’t ready to take over for them.

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