In April 2012, Harper’s Magazine published “The Warrior Class,” a feature by journalist Charles Glass examining the rapid expansion of private military contractors in the years following the September 11 attacks. The centerpiece of the article was a series of previously unseen videos recorded by personnel working for Blackwater, the private security company that became synonymous with contractor controversies in Iraq.
The Rise of Private Military Contractors
The post-9/11 era saw an unprecedented expansion of private military and security companies operating in war zones alongside, and sometimes in place of, regular military forces. Blackwater, founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, grew from a training facility in North Carolina into one of the largest private security operations in Iraq, securing lucrative contracts from the US State Department to protect diplomatic personnel.
The company underwent multiple name changes over the years, becoming Xe Services and later Academi, as it sought to distance itself from mounting controversies. But the conduct documented in the leaked videos suggested that the problems ran deeper than public relations.
What the Videos Showed
Glass described footage provided by a former Blackwater employee that documented a pattern of aggressive and reckless behavior during convoy operations in Baghdad between 2005 and 2006.
One sequence showed a Blackwater SUV’s door opening while the convoy was in motion, with a rifle firing at passing civilian traffic. The source noted that opening the vehicle door during a convoy, described as “breaking the seal,” was a violation of standard operating procedures.
Turret-mounted camera footage captured a contractor firing an M4A1 rifle from an armored vehicle at cars that had pulled over to let the convoy pass. The shooting appeared indiscriminate, with rounds striking parked vehicles and infrastructure. Additional footage showed armored vehicles deliberately rear-ending civilian cars and ramming them off the road.
The Most Disturbing Sequence
The most troubling footage was dated April 1, 2006. Shot from the front seat of the fourth vehicle in a convoy driving along a Baghdad boulevard, it showed the lead vehicle swerving close to a traffic island where a woman in a full-length burka was crossing the street. The vehicle struck her, leaving her unconscious body in the gutter.
The convoy slowed momentarily but did not stop. No one radioed for medical assistance. A voice in the vehicle recording the footage was heard saying “Oh, my God,” but no action was taken. The footage had been edited to include an AC/DC soundtrack, with the chorus of “Thunderstruck” playing over the scene of the woman being hit.
The video concluded with the text: “IN SUPPORT OF SECURITY, PEACE, FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE.”
Accountability and the Contractor Problem
The Blackwater videos illustrated a fundamental challenge created by the large-scale use of private military contractors in combat zones. Operating in a legal gray area between military law and civilian jurisdiction, contractor personnel often functioned with limited oversight and unclear chains of accountability.
The most well-known incident involving Blackwater occurred in September 2007 at Nisour Square in Baghdad, where contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians. That massacre eventually led to criminal prosecutions, but critics argued it represented only the most visible example of a widespread pattern of conduct that the leaked videos appeared to confirm.
The privatization of military functions raised lasting questions about democratic accountability in warfare. When security operations are outsourced to corporations, the normal mechanisms of military discipline, congressional oversight, and rules of engagement become difficult to enforce, creating conditions where the kind of behavior documented in the Blackwater videos can persist largely unchecked.
