The second war in Iraq is going to have a large section in the history books dedicated to private contractors like Blackwater, who get paid gobs more than the average soldier to provide security services in hostile cities. One of those contractors, Blackwater — wait, now its called Academi — has embodied the egregious paychecks and rampant lawlessness of the macho, high-paid killers that make up the ranks of security contractors. Just a single look at the headlines is enough to make it clear why Blackwater would do anything to get out from under its own name.
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The Blackwater story is pieced together in a brilliant longform piece by Charles Glass for Harper’s (paywall) that highlights how private contractors not only tend to be above the law, but also just don’t seem to be too concerned by it.
That disregard is showcased in this series of videos from Blackwater that are basically a highlight reel of guns-blazing driving throughout the streets of Iraq.
With cheery music and cornball editing (Pixelated dissolve wipes? Really?), the videos show Blackwater guys ripping through cities in SUVs, smashing people out of the way to get through traffic and shooting at seemingly-random cars.
At one point the lead car in a convoy runs over a person, who’s kicked brutally to the curb and lies still. All of the following cars just drive on with no regard whatsoever for the pedestrian. It’s so senseless and offensive that it makes me feel awkward about having done all of the same things as a kid playing Grand Theft Auto. Only, in this case, the carnage is perpetrated by real people in real life, who were under contract with our government. This is what we’re paying for.A version of this piece originally ran on Motherboard.