"Iraqi citizens were going to lunch, stopping at the market, traveling with their families and children," said Joseph Persichini Jr., FBI assistant director-in-charge at the bureau's Washington Field Office, which led the investigation. He said the contractors "displayed a blatant disregard for the core values of the United States Constitution and failed to adhere to the rule of law and the respect for human life."
This is rich. It amazes me that every story regarding this leaves out the fact that a bomb went off prior to any gun fight.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/popup?id=3665443&contentIndex=1&page=6&start=false
OMG, if you've been in Iraq a day, you know that a bomb exploding makes you a sitting duck. And if you look at the link above, it wasn't a small bomb either.
Actually, I think this group of Blackwater guards (Raven 23)were sent out to respond to another Blackwater convoy (Raven 4) who were protecting a State Dept. official, and had had a bomb explode nearby. Raven 23’s job was to lock down the intersection in that square so the other group would have a safe return.
The prosecutors who brought these charges against these five guards tried to make it sound like they went into this square shooting for no apparent reason. One of their vehicles was disabled during the shooting and had to be towed. The logs clearly show the guards were reporting they were under fire in real time.
The charges brought against these men are over the top.