President Trump pardoned four Blackwater private military contractors convicted of killing 14 Iraqi civilians, including two children, in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007. Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard were serving sentences ranging from 12 years to life …
Donald TrumpErik PrinceBetsy DeVosNicholas SlattenPaul Slough+2 morepardonscorruptionwar-crimesblackwaterabuse-of-power+1 more
U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning (later Chelsea Manning) was arrested at Forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq for allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, including evidence of war crimes and civilian casualties. The arrest initiated what would …
Chelsea ManningWikiLeaksU.S. ArmyDepartment of Defensewhistleblower-prosecutionwikileaksiraq-warafghanistan-warwar-crimes
Erik Prince testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for nearly four hours, defending Blackwater’s operations in Iraq despite overwhelming evidence of excessive force and lack of accountability. The hearing came weeks after the September 16, 2007 Nisour Square …
Erik PrinceBlackwaterHouse Oversight CommitteeHenry Waxmanprivate-militaryiraq-waraccountability-crisiscongressional-oversightcorporate-impunity
Blackwater private military contractors’ killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square exposes systematic corporate-state fusion accountability crisis where privatized government military functions operate beyond constitutional and legal constraints. The massacre demonstrates …
Blackwater WorldwideErik PrinceState DepartmentCentral Intelligence AgencyIraqi Government+3 moresystematic-corporate-capturesystematic-constitutional-violationblackwaterconstitutional-constraint-bypassprivatized-government-functions+10 more
Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, is convicted on 4 of 5 federal counts related to the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity: obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, and one count of making false statements to federal …
Lewis 'Scooter' LibbyPatrick FitzgeraldDick CheneyGeorge W. BushValerie Plame+1 moreplame-affairobstruction-of-justiceperjurycheneyiraq-war+2 more
Four Blackwater contractors—Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Mike Teague—were ambushed and killed by Iraqi insurgents while conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS in Fallujah. The contractors’ bodies were beaten, burned, dragged through the city streets, and hung from a …
Erik PrinceBlackwaterScott HelvenstonJerry ZovkoWesley Batalona+2 moreprivate-militaryiraq-warwar-crimescorporate-negligenceaccountability-crisis
L. Paul Bremer III, head of the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) occupation government in Iraq, issues Order 39 on foreign investment as part of his ‘100 Orders’ imposing what economist Joseph Stiglitz calls ‘arguably the most radical market shock therapy tried …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushIyad Allawishock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+2 more
Conservative columnist Robert Novak published his ‘Mission to Niger’ column exposing Valerie Plame as a CIA operative, citing ’two senior administration officials’ later identified as Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and White House advisor Karl Rove. The leak was …
L. Paul Bremer III, appointed head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on May 6, 2003, begins issuing binding orders with the force of law to radically transform Iraq’s economy from centralized planning to free-market capitalism. From May 6, 2003 until June 28, 2004, Bremer issues 100 …
Paul BremerCoalition Provisional AuthorityGeorge W. BushDonald RumsfeldDick Cheneyshock-doctrineiraq-warprivatizationcorporate-powerneoliberalism+3 more
Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered a 76-minute presentation to the UN Security Council presenting fabricated evidence to justify the Iraq War. Powell’s presentation included: mobile weapons labs based on testimony from ‘Curveball,’ a source who later admitted lying; aluminum …
Colin PowellGeorge W. BushDick CheneyCIACurveballiraq-warwmdunited-nationsintelligence-manipulationfalse-evidence
In February 2003, just weeks before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, In-Q-Tel made a strategic investment in Keyhole, Inc., a struggling California startup that had developed EarthViewer, a groundbreaking 3D earth visualization system. The investment, made using funding from the National Imagery and …
In-Q-TelKeyhole Inc.National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyCNNin-q-telciasurveillance-technologyiraq-warsatellite-surveillance+1 more
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG) formalizes a strategic communications apparatus designed to systematically identify, track, and counter administration critics and potential whistleblowers. Through coordinated media messaging and high-profile official communications, WHIG developed comprehensive …
Karl RoveKaren HughesMary MatalinCondoleezza RiceStephen Hadley+2 morewhigsystematic-retaliationopposition-researchcritic-monitoringcharacter-assassination+4 more
Following the successful Iraq authorization vote, WHIG coordinates a systematic campaign to suppress contradictory intelligence that might undermine the war narrative. This involves pressuring intelligence agencies to suppress dissenting analysis and intimidating potential whistleblowers.
White House Iraq GroupDick CheneyKarl RoveCondoleezza RiceKaren Hughes+2 morewhigintelligence-suppressionpost-authorizationwhistleblower-intimidationnarrative-maintenance+3 more
The Office of Special Plans (OSP), led by Douglas Feith, and the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) institutionalized daily coordination meetings to synchronize intelligence production with propaganda messaging. These meetings enabled the systematic manipulation of intelligence to support the Bush …
Douglas FeithPaul WolfowitzAndrew CardDick CheneyKarl Rove+2 moreintelligence-manipulationiraq-warospwhigpropaganda+1 more
The White House Iraq Group implements a systematic campaign to withhold contradictory intelligence assessments from congressional committees, ensuring legislators vote for war based on incomplete and misleading information. WHIG coordinates with intelligence agencies to suppress dissenting analysis, …
White House Iraq GroupStephen HadleyScooter LibbyGeorge TenetDepartment of Energy+5 morewhigintelligence-suppressioncongressional-deceptioninformation-controlconstitutional-violation+3 more
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG) systematically developed individualized disinformation strategies to manipulate congressional skeptics of the Iraq War authorization, using fabricated intelligence reports, coordinated media messaging, and targeted pressure tactics to secure legislative support.
Karl RoveAndrew CardCondoleezza RiceDick CheneyMichael Gerson+1 morewhigcongressional-manipulationtargeted-deceptionlegislative-corruptioniraq-war+1 more
The White House Iraq Group coordinates the delivery of systematically fabricated intelligence briefings to congressional intelligence committees, setting the foundation for legislative manipulation. Working through CIA Director George Tenet and National Security Council staff, WHIG ensures that key …
White House Iraq GroupGeorge TenetStephen HadleyScooter LibbyCongressional Intelligence Committee+2 morewhigcongressional-deceptionintelligence-manipulationseparation-of-powersconstitutional-violation+2 more
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG), established in August 2002, coordinated a comprehensive campaign to present intelligence about Iraq to congressional leaders. A Senate Intelligence Committee investigation found that intelligence claims about Iraq’s weapons capabilities and potential threats …
Karl RoveDick CheneyCondoleezza RiceLewis 'Scooter' LibbyAndrew Card+1 morewhigcongressional-deceptionintelligence-manipulationseparation-of-powersiraq-war+1 more
The White House Iraq Group executes a coordinated propaganda campaign featuring the ‘smoking gun/mushroom cloud’ metaphor crafted by chief speechwriter Michael Gerson. On September 7-8, 2002, President Bush and top advisers appeared on multiple networks delivering identical nuclear fear …
White House Iraq GroupCondoleezza RiceDick CheneyGeorge W. BushMichael Gerson+1 morewhigmushroom-cloudpropagandairaq-warnuclear-fear+2 more
White House Iraq Group systematically coordinates with network news executive producers across CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox News to create direct communication channels for messaging priorities and narrative synchronization, effectively bypassing traditional journalist-source relationships.
White House Iraq GroupDick CheneyKarl RoveCondoleezza RiceKaren Hughes+2 morewhigmedia-manipulationpropagandaexecutive-coordinationnetwork-news+2 more