It’s about time someone in that sadistic swamp may face accountability.
Two former Blackwater operatives were arrested by US federal agents on murder charges, stemming from their alleged involvement in the shooting deaths of two Afghan civilians in Kabul in May. They have been identified as Justin Cannon, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Christopher Drotleff, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va. They have been charged with “crimes including second-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses while working as contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense in Afghanistan,” according to the Justice Department. The 13-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on Jan. 6 and unsealed today.
It alleges that on May 5, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Cannon and Drotleff shot and killed two Afghanistan nationals and wounded a third. In a press release, the Justice Department said:
The indictment alleges that at the time of the shootings, Cannon and Drotleff were Department of Defense contractors employed by Paravant LLC, which is a subsidiary of Xe (formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide). According to the indictment, as contractors, Cannon and Drotleff provided training to the Afghan National Army for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the use and maintenance of weapons and weapons systems.
In May, reports emerged that four Blackwater/Xe operatives working for Paravant LLC were alleged to have fired on a civilian car they say they saw as a threat, killing at least one Afghan civilian. According to The Wall Street Journal’s August Cole, “At least some of the men, who were former military personnel, had been allegedly drinking alcohol that evening, according to a person familiar with the incident. Off-duty contractors aren’t supposed to carry weapons or drink alcohol.”
The US military said the incident took place in Kabul on May 5. “While stopped for the vehicle accident, the contractors were approached by a vehicle in a manner the contractors felt threatening,” according to the military.
Now, there are many layers to this story, not the least of which is yet another allegation of Blackwater-affiliated personnel drinking and killing in a foreign war zone. (A drunken Blackwater operative was alleged to have killed a bodyguard to an Iraqi vice president on Christmas Eve 2006 inside Baghdad’s Green Zone).
What’s more, this represented the first public mention of the Blackwater/Xe subsidiary Paravant, but also the fact that its work was apparently buried in a subcontract with Raytheon, which in turn has a large US Army training contract in Afghanistan… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Common Dreams>
As much as I complain about Obama’s policies, the memory that Bush and the GOP intended to use these thugs against the American people in the event of civil disturbance. Kent State would have seemed a picnic by comparison. Obama must put this company out of business, by refusing them contract for anything from school crossing guard up.
4 Responses to “Blackwater Thugs Charged with Murder”
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why not extradite them to the Afghanistan judicial system for their charges and trials?
I am thinking that in very many ways the president although different, is still carrying comfortably on with quite a few of bush/cheney foreign policy when it comes to the secret army.
Besides with three brigades of Airborne troops permanently stationed in GA for deployment to in country US trouble spots we really don't need Xe or anyone else to quell any American uprising.
Love your idea, Mark. I think Bush planned the use of Blackwater, because, Kent State aside, they would be quicker on the trigger than US troops.
Xe, like I said yesterday, is like no rules football. To think that these people are carrying out 'missions' in the American people's name, is a crime in itself.
I can't add to that,l Lisa. It surely is.