Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt

Trailer

How did four highly decorated American soldiers become prisoners of war in their own country? This series re-examines the US Department of Justice’s controversial prosecution following a controversial battle in Baghdad. Why did the DOJ hold multiple trials for over a decade? Was the DOJ seeking justice? Or playing politics?Support the show

Saving the Pentagon from Itself

On September 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presents his vision for a new type of military that relies heavily on privatization.  Rumsfeld claims that he is not trying to destroy the Pentagon, but “save it from itself.”  At the exact time that he is giving his speech, four radical Jihadists are checking in to the Marriot Hotel in Herndon, VA. Less than 24 hours after giving his speech, Donald Rumsfeld would no longer be talking about war in the figurative sense.  He would be involved in it literally, as he bravely rushed into the embers of the West Wall of the Pentagon to save lives. Support the show

Universal Deceit

Mike and Gina introduce the men of Blackwater’s Raven 23: Dustin Heard, a former US Marine from Maryville, Tennessee; former US Marine Evan Liberty from Rochester, New Hampshire; US Army veteran Paul Slough of Sanger, Texas; and Nicholas Slatten, a veteran of the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, of Sparta, Tennessee.Their families and military comrades discuss the characters and reputations of these small town enlistees, and what motivated them to join the fight after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on New York and Washington DC.The episode also introduces Blackwater Worldwide founder, Erik Prince.FOR MORE:GALLUP POLL: 62% feel U.S. made a mistake sending troops to Iraq (2007)https://news.gallup.com/poll/28099/latest-poll-shows-high-point-opposition-iraq-war.aspxNYT:From Texas to Iraq, and Center Of The Blackwater case (2008)https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/us/19slough.htmlSUPPORT THE MEN OF RAVEN 23:http://www.supportraven23.com/Support the show

Unintended Consequences

Gina and Mike explain how US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld put in motion the growing influence and use of military contractors the day before the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on New York and Washington DC.This episode introduces Judge Royce Lamberth, chief of the US District Court for the Washington DC circuit and head of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) that allowed law enforcement to spy on US citizens. Meanwhile, Dustin, Evan, Paul and Nick deployed to find the conflict, US preparedness and the people they encountered markedly different from what they expected.And Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince describes how his military contracting company morphed from a battlefield supply service to a finely honed, superbly equipped diplomatic protection squad and quick reaction force to meet growing violence across war-torn Iraq.FOR MORE:RUMSFELD INTERVIEWDonald Rumsfeld's 9/11 storyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haCq-WS-VXULAMBERTH INTERVIEWJudge Reflects after 9/11, 'Bloodcurdling' Briefingshttps://www.npr.org/2013/07/11/198329788/fisa-court-judge-reflects-after-sept-11-bloodcurdling-meetings-and-briefingsSKATING ON STILTSBook by Stewart Bakerhttps://www.skatingonstilts.com/Support the show

Civil War

In this episode, Iraq slips closer toward civil war as the US occupation enters the fourth year of a mission that President George W Bush declared “accomplished” three years earlier. The U.S. is having trouble recruiting soldiers to staff the occupation, so the government hires nearly 200,000 military contractors to fill the recruitment gap. With their tours ending, Dustin, Evan, Paul and Nick consider their options in the private sector, and each decide to rejoin the fight as contractors for Erik Prince’s Blackwater Worldwide. Robert Ford, the second-in-command at the US Embassy in Iraq during this time, recalls that tensions grew to a fever pitch between Iraqi civilians.And Mike and Gina look to define the word "mercenary". FOR MORE:LOS ANGELES TIMESContractors outnumber troops in Iraq (2007)https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jul-04-na-private4-story.htmlINTERNATIONAL RED CROSS:Geneva Conventions protocol relating to Mercenarieshttps://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750057Support the show