A US federal jury has convicted four former Blackwater mercenaries guilty of murdering 17 Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007, a rather despicable low point in the American occupation of a country that didn’t attack it first.

Nicholas Slatten, the sniper who fired the first shots, was found guilty of murder.  Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of at least three charges of voluntary manslaughter and also face sentencing on gun charges.  The mercenaries opened fire into a crowded intersection far from any battlefield in the disastrous war, apparently because they held deep resentment for Iraqis. 

The US government urged Iraq to put its faith in the American courts to try the killers, and at least in this case, the US delivered.

“This verdict is a resounding affirmation of the commitment of the American people to the rule of law, even in times of war,” said US Federal prosecutor Ronald C. Machen Jr.  “Seven years ago, these Blackwater contractors unleashed powerful sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers on innocent men, women and children.  Today, they were held accountable for that outrageous attack and its devastating consequences for so many Iraqi families.”

No sentencing date was immediately set.  But Slatten faces a possible life sentence, and the others could each get up to 30 years in prison. 

The atrocity contributed to the demise of the Blackwater name.  The company lost many of its lucrative government contracts, was renamed, sold, and renamed again.  But it’s still there, as are other corporate military contractors; still sending mercenaries around the world on new, often top-secret government contracts.