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Blackwater in the Crosshairs: The Families of Four Private
Security Contractors Killed in Fallujah File a Ground-Breaking
Lawsuit
Blackwater in the Crosshairs: The Families of Four
Private Security Contractors Killed in Fallujah File a Ground-Breaking
Lawsuit
The families of four private security contractors killed
in Fallujah in March 2004 have filed a ground-breaking lawsuit
charging Blackwater USA with fraud and wrongful death. Blackwater
has fought to have the case dismissed by claiming that all
liability lies not with the company but the U.S. government.
In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent
journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle
of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to
hold those responsible for their deaths accountable.
We speak with Jeremy Scahill as well as Katy Helvenston,
the mother of Scott Helvenston who was killed in Fallujah,
and the attorney in the case, Marc Miles. [includes rush
transcript]
This month marks the two-year anniversary of the first US
siege of Fallujah, in which at least 600 Iraqis were killed.
The U.S. attack was sparked by the gruesome killing of four
private contractors inside Fallujah.
The men were working for Blackwater USA, one of the biggest
security firms operating in Iraq.
Altogether an estimated 20,000 non-Iraqi civilian contractors
are now working for the United States inside Iraq. About 6,000
of these are security contractors.
According to Department of Labor statistics, at least 425
U.S. civilians have died in Iraq including at least 22 Blackwater
contractors.
These men and women are never included in the death tolls
provided by the Pentagon or reported on in the media.
While the Iraq war has helped the company Blackwater USA
see its profits soar, the company is facing a major battle
here at home - this time in court.
The families of the four men killed at Fallujah have filed
a lawsuit charging the company with wrongful death. Blackwater
has fought to have the case dismissed by claiming that all
liability lies not with the company but the U.S. government.
In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent
journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle
of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to
hold those responsible for their deaths accountable. The article
is called "Blood
Is Thicker Than Blackwater"
One of the people profiled in the story is Katy Helvenston,
the mother of 38-year-old Scott Helvenston, who was killed
on that day in Fallujah. In a moment she will join us along
with her attorney Marc Miles who is representing the families,
Marc Miles.
But first we begin by going back to March 31 2004 -- the
day Scott Helvenston and three other Blackwater contractors
drove into Fallujah. This is an excerpt from Frontline's program
"Private Warriors," a documentary on the role of
private military contractors working in Iraq.
For more on this ground-breaking lawsuit, we are joined by
the three guests:
- Jeremy Scahill, independent journalist and former Democracy
Now producer. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at
The Nation Institute. His latest article "Blood
Is Thicker Than Blackwater" appears in the new
issue of The Nation.
- Katy Helvenston, mother of Scott Helvenston.
- Marc Miles, attorney for the families of the four Blackwater
contractors killed in Fallujah.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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