Contractors’ murders blamed on Blackwater manager

The gruesome 2004 massacre of four Blackwater USA security guards is being blamed on their Baghdad site manager, Tom Powell, accoring to documents obtained by The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer. Joseph Neff reports that memos reveal the Bravo 2 and November 1 squads were commanded by Powell to go on a mission despite being undermanned and underprepared.
Bravo 2 disregarded directions to drive through Fallujah, instead skirting the city, and returned safely to Baghdad. November 1 drove through Fallujah as directed and was ambushed. All four guards were killed in the attack. The News & Observer‘s extensive coverage of the Blackwater killings can be found here.