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Kabul Shooting
Coke, Booze, Assault: Blackwater Contractors' Past Revealed In Murder Case
SUV involved in May 2009 traffic incident
The two former Blackwater contractors who were charged this month with murder for the shooting death of two Afghan men left the military with other-than-honorable discharges for behavior ranging from assault to going AWOL and testing positive for cocaine, according to service records that surfaced in bond hearings, the AP reports.
A judge in federal court in Virginia has ordered Christopher Drotleff and Justin Cannon held in custody; arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. The judge called Drotleff "a danger to the community based on the nature of the charged offense, his history of alcohol abuse and criminal and military history which include crimes of violence."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (18) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Blackwater, Christopher Drotleff, DUI, Drugs, Justin Cannon, Kabul Shooting, Paravant, War In Afghanistan, Xe
Kabul Shooting
Contractors' Attorney: Blackwater Is Scapegoating My Clients In Kabul Murder Case
SUV involved in May 2009 traffic incident
A lawyer for the Blackwater contractors charged last week with killing two men in Kabul says his clients were thrown under the bus by a company desperate to preserve its standing with the Afghan government, after another shooting case in Iraq led to a crackdown on its operations in that country.
Directly after the Kabul shooting last May, Blackwater went into crisis mode, Attorney Daniel Callahan tells TPMmuckraker. That same month, the company fired the two contractors who were charged last week, as well as two others who were involved in the incident, for violating the company's drinking policy.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (7) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Afghanistan, Blackwater, Christopher Drotleff, Daniel Callahan, Justin Cannon, Kabul Shooting, Paravant, War In Afghanistan, Xe
War In Afghanistan
The Blackwater Kabul Shooting Case: What Do We Know?
Blackwater training compound in Moyock, NC.
Amid a busy news week, the indictment Wednesday of a pair of former Blackwater contractors for the alleged murder of two Afghan civilians hasn't gotten much attention. But the case has the potential to become a big problem for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, and for Blackwater's future business prospects in that country.
The particulars of what happened last May 5 -- including whether the contractors had been drinking and whether they were acting in self-defense -- are in dispute, but everyone agrees the shooting occurred after a traffic accident in Kabul.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (17) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (6)Topics: Blackwater, Christopher Drotleff, Justin Cannon, Paravant, Steve McClain, War In Afghanistan, Xe
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