and just who IS turret gunner number 3? -- 14 blackwater shootings on september 16, 2007 deemed "unjustified" by the FBI

twice in a week, the
gray lady has nailed it.

this time -- reporting on the
preliminary FBI findings
that at least 14 of the 17
september 16, 2007 black-
water-caused fatalities were
unjustified, and violated the
use of deadly force protocols
applicable to blackwater guards
in iraq. much more to learn, here:

. . .Investigators have concluded that as many as five of the company’s guards opened fire during the shootings, at least some with automatic weapons. Investigators have focused on one guard, identified as “turret gunner No. 3” who fired a large number of rounds and was responsible for several fatalities.

Investigators found no evidence to support assertions by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians. This finding sharply contradicts initial assertions by Blackwater officials, who said that company employees fired in self-defense and that three company vehicles were damaged by gunfire.

Government officials said the shooting occurred when security guards fired in response to gunfire by other members of their unit in the mistaken belief that they were under attack. One official said, “I wouldn’t call it a massacre, but to say it was unwarranted is an understatement”. . .

. . .Under the firearms policy governing all State Department employees and contractors, lethal force may only be used “only in response to an imminent threat of deadly force or serious physical injury against the individual, those under the protection of the individual or other individuals.”

A separate military review of the Sept. 16 shootings concluded that all of the killings were unjustified and potentially criminal. One of the military investigators said that the F.B.I. was being generous to Blackwater in characterizing any of the killings as justifiable. . .