The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square 

Thanks for watching everyone. You can watch the full episode with Blackwater here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DUvO0yO7N5I.html and Erik Prince here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nwK_XLFOm_I.html Additionally if you want to support the Shawn Ryan Show you can join the community. www.patreon.com/VigilanceElite

Shawn really is a great interviewer. Not only does he really listen, but he almost immerses you into visualizing the story

I give you much respect Sir! Not only for your service, but for your skill in your interviews! You don't interrupt to hear your own vice. but only to clarify a point, and you let the interviewee tell the story. EXCELLENT

Ryan, you may be the most important interviewer of our time! Thank you for what you’re doing!

It’s utterly disgusting the hate these men get when the people making the accusations won’t even listen to them speak. I pray for you guys that all the video footage comes out one day.

I started working at Blackwater in early 2009. Shortly after a tragic helicopter crash at Moyock, NC. Best bunch of guys I ever worked with. We had a remembrance lake on the property for fallen employees. I remember when these guys were convicted. It was a sad day for the company. Along with Fallushia

This is the best MILITARY CHANNEL on RU-vid by a country mile 👍😁

Thank you for your confidence Shawn Ryan, sir.

Thanks, Shawn, for this fascinating interview. It truly is good to hear the real story - the truth.

Thank you Mr Ryan for these shorter clips. I have watched and loved the full-length ones I have watched. I'm employed now ....I've seen this one I believe, but it's so cool to hear from the folks who were involved and learn more about these things that are hard to truly take in and process. God bless you and all your guests who have sacrificed and served so much. Beyond words and my imagination. Just a regular girl saying thanks here.

Thank you for what you do. All of you.

Following Vietnam friends went to Rhodesia and fought the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya . Nothing ever changes, the Dark Side was sent to Earth and the Battles since then have always been the same story. I Joined the John Birch Society because of what happened there. Ralph Epperson wrote a book called The Unseen Hand which I bought at a Gun Show in 1985 . After contacting him he sold me cases of the book which I would deliver to LAW&P which I was working at. Patriotism in America 🇺🇸 is something that allowed our Independence from Britain with the Minute Men and with George Washington crossing the Delaware- this used to be taught in schools but with the Public Education system truth fell to the ground.

Total respect for what you guys have done and continue to do. True damned few. Politics has no place on the battlefield UK

Thank you for this, Shawn.

Wait this isn’t a red dead redemption video

Outstanding interview 👍👍

I have no idea what went down and am commenting before watching. HOWEVER, the FBI getting pretty self-rightseous after WACO and other Feds at Ruby Ridge. That was in a totally permissive environment. Can you say contaminated crime scene or witness statements from the enemy? The more I worked around Federal Agents, the more my respect went to contempt

What is the point of having all of that liquor out there behind everybody? You drink water and I’ve never seen anyone touch a glass yet. 😂

Politicians and ignorant civilians will never understand that war is an atrocity and that when there is war there will be shooting and collateral damage. I am convinced that Blackwater and it’s personnel did nothing wrong. Their ONLY mistake (saying that knowing full well that there will always be mistakes made in war time operations but they are the norm) was thinking that the government had their back. Blackwater was hired to do things the government didn’t want to have to explain and justify up the chain in order to get done and weigh down with bureaucracy. Blackwater could do what had to be done without the insanity of microscopic pencil pushers and bean counters. But they should have known they’d be thrown under the bus if it was politically advantageous or expedient. We saw it with the Navy A6 v gondola incident and many others… and those were active duty. Anything to save their pathetic desk jobs and power.

I’m scared someone’s going to show up for an interview and not be wearing a flannel. What are the consequences of such violations?

It is odd that Erik Prince can recount all of this information about March 31st 2004, but he never calls Scott Helvenston by his name.

Great episode

They killed enough innocent people over there

I can’t believe that clip of those soldiers hung up like that…heartbreaking

Don’t believe a word this man says

Why are they looking at him like they're waiting for him to say something wrong? Liars

This yahoo in my 20 hour opata class said he was in black water or did black water or what ever and then when it came time for the range portion of the class dude was poor on his handgun skills. I can’t believe anyone who can’t shoot a handgun

Thank you for telling the truth..... Live your show. I was regular Navy sailor. But I look up to you WARRIORS!!!!!!! GOD BLESS

Good stuff. Disgusting when the head shed folks (in this case Condie Rice) tell the folks in the fray and that know what needs to be done, “no”, then those guys that were in the fray doing the best they could at the time, get strung up for being in the fray. Such BS.

Was at a compound with these guys

If may shawn in my appinion i think that you're down write uprite anda good anda true mans man

I have heard lots of real life stories about the black water massacre

So if I’m tracking right here they were ambushed, returned fire, a lot of people died, lots of innocent collateral damage civilians were killed and they were hung out to dry? My only question is if they were ambushed to the degree they’re claiming why weren’t any of them killed yet they were 20+ civilians killed many sitting in their cars including kids. You’d think a few of them would been injured/died in a firefight like they’re describing especially if they were victims of an ambush. I’m not calling them liars, just trying to understand why so many died yet none of them were shot n killed. Regardless of what they did I don’t think they should of spent a day in jail over it. Wars violent, mistakes will be made. These animals over there use our own rules of engagement against us n they don’t have any rules or morals they live by. You can’t ask guys to put their lives on the line and they imprison our own guys when they do their jobs.

I'm just glad to know they got pardoned. Never made sense to me, they were paid to be exactly where they were and doing what the were doing. 14 years all the way to life... governement contracting is a slippery slope I guess

Your awesome bro

In Mosul my sniper team observed Iraqi police place what looked like an IED. We called it in. One of our Strykers came by to check the area with thermals. Said they couldn't find anything. After our guys left ING drove past our hide. Backed up dismounted and came looking for us in the junkyard we were in. We got small. They were within 10f ft of us. It looked like they knew someone called in about our report. We got picked up thinking we were comprised. Next day IED went off right where we said it was. I'd rather be in a fire fight then go through that again.

I'm shocked that some (not all) US folk express surprise that Iraqi personnel A. aren't friendlies. B. That Iraq is a factional society. The naivety expressed is staggering. US morality, social structure... won't work in Muslim countries. As it hasn't worked elsewhere.

Shawn conducts his interviews very well. He doesn’t over-talk his guests when they recount their experiences. He subtly interjects only to clarify for better understanding. He’s compassionate but most importantly professional. Hands down one of the best podcasts out there. Salute to these brave men for sharing their journey.

Yo! Nick was my cell mate for about 6 months. So glad to see him out now. He didn’t think he was EVER going home. Really good dude.

It’s so refreshing to have somewhere to go and hear the truth. No spin, no lies, just facts from Hero’s on the ground. Sir I’d like to thank you for your service and your platform.

My mortar platoon had a gun at the Bayji CMIC (formerly the police station) in 2003. We worked with the IP quite a bit but were certainly aware that some of them were on the other team. It doesn't surprise me too much that that issue continued and grew later on. Iraq was a mess with all the internal factions and politics from the start of OIF. Oh, and some imported foreign fighters just in case it wasn't enough of a clusterfuck.

Thank you for giving these men a platform to voice their story and experiences on. I respect the hell out of each and every one of you.

Thank you gentlemen-for your service, and for giving us the truth.

82ND AIRBORNE Mr Prince exposed that...no matter how good of a team that you have. When the wrong people are in charge ( Rice ) the right tools for the job are shelved...

I was in Baghdad in 06-07, when this happened. I didn’t here much about it then, we were still pretty busy and it was a blip on an intel brief one day. After hearing their stories, I totally believe that the IP’s and even the ING ambushed them. Had some buddies kill two IP’s emplacing an EFP at 2 in the morning at checkpoint 543, the intersection of the Qadisiyyah highway, airport road, and highway 8 running south. Next to that giant Sunni mosque. Our Charlie company had an IED blow up within 75 meters of an IP checkpoint. We rescued a Sunni women from getting gang raped at an IP station. Most of them were in the Mahdi militia. If this would have been American soldiers that fired all the shots instead, they would have never so much as received a counseling statement….

Casually listening: “The Iraqi police are usually directing traffic by shooting their guns in the air…” WAT

Now Imagine with all the trigger happy role players, you are in a expat company providing low profile PSD services to extreme sensistive projects. Dressed up mostly like insurgents in soft skin unarmored vehicles, with standard insurgent weapons, mostly in insurgent controlled areas we travelled safely through insurgent manned checkpoints. It was not uncommon to notice the IP working hand in hand with the insurgents. Our problems were mostly to avoid friendlies namely the coalition forces, other PSD teams, honest IP checkpoints and BLACKWATER (my company was unofficialy tied and involved with the said). The eventual incident was only the final straw in the coffin for what we could only call trigger happy cowboys thinking pushing normal traffic out of the way is a right. Rules of engagement can be ignored. I am sorry for the specific people who had to take the fall eventually for an incident which most likely could justify most of the collateral damage in this case. People with no idea of such a situation can easily sitting in an armchair condem the actions taken. You only need one or two loose cannons for things to get out of control unfortunately. This incident turned our future contracts into utter hell and we faced repercussions in our home country as mercs. Most insurgents turns into a civilian in the blink of an eye. But lets be clear most of the so called civilian casualties would gladly have chopped off any foreigners head. Like which happened to several of us, and which was kept under covers because secrecy was our motto, which suited the agendas of the role players. America is turning into a liberal mess with no idea of how to fight fire with fire.

This has become my favorite podcast to listen to. From specific clips of existing episodes, to new episodes, they are all very interesting to listen and watch.

War criminals

U Can tell these guys are being very careful about what they say. Can't blame them. They were caught up in the shyt

Dude… it is amazing that you were able to put all these perspectives and people together. This one is 🔥

Them boys in Baghdad had a rough time if it. Spent time in Ramadi and Fallujah myself. Nothing like these guys. Nothing sexy, just log supplies and tp.

The US government never wanted solutions. Can’t make any money that way.

God Bless our Troops! God Bless America! Si Vis Pacem - Para Bellum! 🤙 ^v^

YKW , this massacre would've happened if the war never started. Iraq was pointless

It is so sad to see what career policians have done to our country. Do we need politicians in office for 30 plus yrs? How is their not a limit to terms? The corruption is rampant. They waste so much money every yr and then have the nerve to ask for more the next yr.

Thanks for all your videos. I never served but I’ve been a LEO for over 32 years and have such a great respect for our Military and the hero’s that protect our great Nation🇺🇸 Jeff

Love this channel, i got out the Marines on May 31, 2003, if i had any idea it was gonna be as bad as it became i would've definitely stayed n reenlisted, in 2005 i did try and wasn't excepted due to back injury (3 ruptured disc). I was severely pissed, even tried army and navy with no luck!!! God bless all my Marine and other military brothers and sisters, love u all!!!

It’s interesting to me that people who might not be familiar with the lingo might not understand the severity of the situation.

It’s the first I’ve ever heard your account and to be honest, for the past 16 years I just assumed your Team fucked up that day. I’ve only recently left Iraq after all these years for good, and harking back to that time back in 06/07 when I too was running PSD and convoys, I can relate to your account of the events and can recall numerous incidents where we were also attacked by IA and IP. Iraq was absolute mayhem back then. Sorry for all those who suffered on all fronts and I hope you guys find some peace.

We had 4 of our PSD guys taken hostage by a large group of Shia militants dressed as INP at the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad, a year or so before this incident. They where driven into Sadr City and unfortunately never made it out. R.I.P the Garda World 4. 💔

Fascinating information Shawn great job and great informative show you and your content are solid badass 💪🔥🐐GOAT 🐐🔥💪

I wish I could see the drone footage. Also there's a fart at 19:06

*_2004 FALLUJAH AMBUSH_* The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. Their bodies were beaten and burned, with their charred corpses then dragged through the city streets before being hanged over a bridge crossing the Euphrates River.

Ah yes. Rehab the image of mercenaries who chose to be in a conflict zone and killed civilians in the wake of an invasion based on a lie. Were they doing what was best for the people they were there for? Sure. They, along with the entire coalition forces that proceeded them should never have been there. And I have less respect for mercenaries than rank and file soldiers.

Murderers

I read about this in Times (I believe) and the story they said was the lil bird went minigun on the white car and sprayed the entire crowd. Crazy how different the media portrayed this incident. Stay strong brothers 🇺🇸✊

Is it just me or do these guys sound a lot like country folks. That tells me there are no snowflakes in the military.

I was part of the Response force with 4ID when this happened. I had always wondered for years what really happened. I heard about what happened on TV, but come on, we all know there’s another side to that story. I’m really glad to hear this. This brings closure to a lot more people than you’d think.

Just recently found this video & started researching. So there is State's evidence & Blackwater evidence. 1) Presuming innocence before guilt (a fundamental principle in th U.S.) 2)Both sides provide info ("he said she said"). 3)Missing drone footage... I suspect they got screwed!

is this the video that came out where blackwater was just killing random people in the street while laughing about it? i know a few came out showing blackwater

It's good to finally hear the other side of this story because the media has done its best to completely butcher the reputation of these guys and for years I believed it so I offer my apologies for thinking bad of these guys. Heard a few stories of the Iraqi Police so not surprised at all that they kicked it off.

Blackwater was such a great brand until the deep swamp decided it wasn't.

I noticed something watching this particular interview that i dont see often. When someone is talking everyone looks at the guy talking. Paying complete attention. Eyes dont wander, just focused.

Rest in peace all the countless victims of the Iraq invasion

Do you know what the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution says?

Very impactful and compelling.thank you.

“Where being engaged” “Well shoot back” “I can’t see where it’s coming from” …… continues to open fire with fully automatic turret on civilians

I have never been in the military, however I have had family that was and several dear friends that have been and still are. Sitting here listening to this from first hand is amazing what went on and goes on in a war zone.

The ROEs and SOPs that caused this were literally mandated by DOS. Even though we suggested otherwise.

@Shawn Ryan, I am a continuous watcher of your shows. You’re doing our American service men an honor by giving voice to them. Only issue I personally have is that I don’t understand the abbreviations of the engagement terminology. Maybe I don’t have a need to know but it sure would help!😉

How can you declare that they were wrongly accused? The evidence from everyone else who isn't them including other soldiers on the ground, the FBI, and the Iraqi government say that these guys smoked innocent people for no reason. It's good to present two sides of an argument but you can't just declare that they were wrongly accused

Lots of folks from Ft Campbell were trained by Mike Teague

"we asked these mercs if they committed a war crime and they said no, case closed"

War is hell. If you can read this…You’re welcome.

The Shawn Ryan Show is undoubtedly the best talk show format on social media. He doesn’t make it about him…. He allows his guests the time they need to talk through their story. Bravo Mr Ryan 👏👏 thank u for all the work that goes into these videos. (And Katie.. thank u)

as far as Shawn Ryan's insert infomercial for Vigilant Patreon. on HOME DEFENSE, SELF DEFENSE, PREPPING FOR DISASTER LOOTER ETC.. thats a ON GOING FOREVER TOPIC that should always be taking seriously. I AM A U.S. MARINE (ret) I served 21 years in Uniform now i still train and maintain a defense mindset it's very very important. BEING VIGILANT is extremely important. and prepared PRAYED UP IS THE BEST! Jesus is Lord... hang tough everybody. GREAT CHANNEL MR. RYAN... Semper Fidelis SSgt. Calhoun U.S.M.C. OUT!.....

I love that they made a medal depicting St Michael the Archangel! “St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil…..”. St Michael, ora pro nobis!

sad how each of them has a 1000 yard stare, but not the good one. more like the sitting in front of a turned off tv and staring into nothing one

Just gets more intense and with these amazing stories of survival against all odds and the courage these hero’s display in the face of death. Thank you Shawn for bringing these gentlemen on to tell the truth in these sorry times of FAKE NEWS on the major CBS NBC and the likes and thank you for your service sir.

I read Eric's book , enjoyed it and learned so much. I used to like others say , they were paid how much!! ? There's a big side of that story that you don't hear about. I encourage anyone interested, read " Blackwater" and hear the other side and like myself maybe you'll join me in thanking Erik for his service both with the military and the service to our military they preformed as Blackwater. Thank you , enjoyed your book.

US war criminal empire rolls on

Would you ever consider interviewing the guy that testified against his fellow soldiers?

Shawn, I've had a heart attack recently and I am here to tell you to go get that checked immediately. Stay healthy brother we need you

They forgot to mention the role the Dutch Van der Linde gang had on the Blackwater massacre

I've watched both original episodes and I'm glad I did. Important information about what actually happened, on how Blackwater got blamed for things they wasn't involved in, and how wrong the story about these guys was put out by the the Obama Admin, Pentagon and the media. Cudos to you Shawn, for giving them all the chance to tell their story. 🙏

My Friend Don was Part of that Black Water Convoy. In the U.S., we ( his family and myself) recieved a call around 1.a.m. telling us that they've been restricted to base. That he's o.k. and alive, but there's been a serious incident that he could not tell us about, but that we'd find out on the News in the following days. He eventually told me of the story. He fought for his life both that day for nearly a decade in court after the fact. At the time of this engagement there was a sort of grey area regarding contractors and rules of engagement In following years successful prosecutions against the 1st contractors for violating rules of engagement occurred. The 1st one being a British contractor and was charged with murder. Because of the length of time since the incident, the D.O.J. kept trying to prosecute Don - which would have been a life sentence. He ultimately was free from all charges. Thank God all of you guys made it home.

“We didn’t do anything wrong …because if we did we would’ve done it this way…..” is never a good way to prove innocence

I had the opportunity to transport Slatten to court a few times, he genuinely felt betrayed by the US.

Not one mention of lighting up civilians. Couldn’t pressure them one bit on that???? Wtf man that was the whole controversy