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Mothers Want Answers -- Congress Investigates the Fallujah Tragedy
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ShareFebruary 07, 2007 12:04 PM
The families of four U.S. contractors gruesomely killed during a convoy through Fallujah in 2004 will testify before Congress today about the company their loved ones worked for, Blackwater USA, a security company that has made millions but that the families say sent their men on a botched mission destined to end in death.
"It turned out everything they told me was not even remotely true, not even close," Katie Helvenston, the mother of a former Navy SEAL and father of two killed in the attack, told ABC News about Blackwater's response to the tragedy in a Primetime special report in April 2005.
Watch the Primetime Special Report, "Mothers Want Answers."
Today, Helvenston and relatives of the four men killed may finally get some answers to their questions when Blackwater officials testify before Congressman Henry Waxman's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
After being stonewalled by the company, the families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackwater, alleging the men were sent on a mission without proper maps, armored vehicles or sufficient manpower, and without proper time to prepare for the mission.
In his last phone call home recorded on his mother's answering machine, Helvenston complained about a lack of professionalism by Blackwater managers in Iraq.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
At the time of the incident, the company expressed regret over the deaths but said the men knew what they were getting into in Iraq.
Blackwater has since refused to answer the families' questions about what really happened that day, saying it "could undermine...the United States government's ongoing efforts to combat international terrorism overseas."
Blackwater even countersued the families' attorney for $10 million in an effort to stop the lawsuit from going forward. Blackwater has argued in court filings that the lawsuit should not go forward "in order to safeguard both Blackwater's own confidential information as well as sensitive information implicating the interest of the United States at war."
"Thus far in our legal quest, Blackwater has hired five different law firms to fight us, including such politically connected lawyers as Fred Fielding [now White House Counsel] and Kenneth Starr. It appears Blackwater will go to any lengths to prevent us from finding out why our men were killed and avoid any accountability for its actions," Katie Helvenston said.
But today, Blackwater executives, as well as Army contracting officials, will finally be called to publicly answer questions about the ill-fated mission.
"Although everyone remembers those images of the bodies being burnt, beaten, dragged through the streets and ultimately hung up from a bridge, we continue to relive that horror day after day, as those men were our fathers, sons and husbands," Helvenston plans to tell the committee.
"Blackwater concealed the information from us that we needed so desperately to understand why our loved ones were dead," she said.
February 7, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (12)
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How do you stonewall a family who wants answers about the deaths of their family? I am so tired of hearing from the gov't, and now Blackwater, about how if they give any answers about failed missions it will undermine ongoing efforts. This is the biggest bunch of bull I have ever heard!! They just dont want to be held accountable. I'm no liberal, but I sure am glad the Democrats control Congress now, that way their will be REAL oversight instead of a Republican Congress who just went with Bush's flow. Just because the Iraq War mistakes were in the past and likely wont help us in the future, they need to be aired out completely.
Posted by: Bobby | Feb 7, 2007 1:04:01 PM
It's all about tha benjamins...
Posted by: Jazz | Feb 7, 2007 1:18:20 PM
Blackwater should be fired.
Posted by: ruben | Feb 7, 2007 3:18:45 PM
They can stonewall cuz they didn't want to get sued. Too late now, but they are trying to pull out the big guns. Whatever happened to integrity? No where in sight at Blackwell or the Bush Adm.
Posted by: Antonia | Feb 7, 2007 5:27:14 PM
I believe that Black Water is aprofessional company. We do all know our risk, keep the war away from our homeland. I dont live to fight for money but for freedom. I to include my brothers,wife, and son are soldiers willing to die for our country when called to serve. Support Black Water and our President. This is your country too, most people dont complain until it effects them. It takes courage to sign up for a contractor and leave your families. I regret any lost of lives but I know they would be proud to serve again.
Posted by: js | Feb 7, 2007 8:26:01 PM
Uh, hello?
These guys made a deliberate choice to work in a war zone and risk everything they and their loved ones had to lose in a crap shoot for extreme monetary gain.
Unfortunately, they lost big time. And it's no small tradgedy that they were killed.
But please let's not elevate them to the level of patriotic heros and martyrs to a cause that was flawed in the first place.
There's no nobility when the prime motivation is simply the pursuit of monetary gain in the form of hazardous duty pay at many times over what people working just as hard stateside bring home.
Posted by: Zach | Feb 8, 2007 12:19:36 PM
Zach and JS:
I believe the dispute here is the fact that the families were lied to about the mission that killed these people and the fact that months before this happened these people were complaining about the lack of armor and weapons, all to be ignored by Blackwater management. Yes, these people knew exactly what they were getting into by working for Blackwater in Iraq, but what people and their families DO NOT SIGN UP FOR IS THE LACK OF EQUIPMENT THEY WILL NEED TO PERFORM THEIR JOBS AND IF SOMETHING DOES GO HORRIBLY WRONG, THEY WILL NOT BE LIED TO ABOUT IT. I wanna puke every time I see someone defend a person/or company who tries to shed their responsibility/accountability.
Posted by: Bobby | Feb 8, 2007 2:06:18 PM
The people of America were lied to about "the mission".
With the war itself having been born on a foundation of lies how could it possibly be any different for any one else involved any peripheral way??
That doesn't excuse it, of course. But I'm hearing more indignant buzz over these guys being lied to about their "mission" than we've heard about the known lies of our own leadership.
If Blackwater is guilty of misleading people, distorting or lying about the truth and deception, then our leadership is guilty twice that, given Blackwater would never have had a contract in Iraq if not for the lies that led to our invasion and occupation.
And since when did contractors have "missions" as opposed to contracts or assignments? I've always been under the impression that the military carried out "missions" not civilian contractors.
Is this just more "newspeak" in the vein of a surge not being a troop expansion, or what?
Posted by: Zach | Feb 8, 2007 6:55:37 PM
Wow - how amazing that everyone just believes what the liberal media feeds them instead of trying to find out the real truth. Is there ever only one side to a story? Why does the media parade these grieving families in front of the camera? For ratings! Why is this being argued in a hearing instead of the courtroom? Political grandstanding! Although the deaths of the Blackwater employees were unfortunate, these were extremely well trained men who voluntarily went to a war zone. Why do we feel ENTITLED to know everything that goes on? Some information, for the safety of remaining operatives, must remain confidential. Maintaining confidentiality for the safety of your people does not constitute lying.
Posted by: meg | Feb 8, 2007 7:42:46 PM
Meg:
You must watch a lot of Bill O'Reilly, the Republican suck up.
Posted by: Raymond | Feb 9, 2007 11:20:19 AM
"how amazing that everyone just believes what the liberal media feeds them instead of trying to find out the real truth." - Not "everyone" does...some people DO seek the truth; others do not... too bad.
"Why does the media parade these grieving families in front of the camera?" - It's freedom of press and information...if you don't want to hear or read about something, then simply don't.
"Why is this being argued in a hearing instead of the courtroom?" - the families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackwater; a case WILL be heard in court.
"Why do we feel ENTITLED to know everything that goes on?" - You are not entitled to "know everything", and you do not "know everything"...
Posted by: Jazz | Feb 9, 2007 12:17:23 PM
wow to say so what they were fighting for our country. Look up blackwater and their history.
Posted by: melissa | Nov 10, 2008 2:27:52 AM
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