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The 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush saw Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambush a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS.

The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were dragged from their cars, beaten, and set ablaze. Their burned corpses were then dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates.

Photos of the event were released to news agencies worldwide, causing a great deal of indignation and moral outrage in the United States, and prompting the announcement of an upcoming "pacification" of the city.

This led to a U.S. operation to occupy the city in the First Battle of Fallujah that was halted at midpoint for political reasons, and the later successful attempt seven months later in the Second Battle of Fallujah.

The families of the victims filed suit (Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security) against Blackwater USA for wrongful death in January 2005.

Daily Kos Comments

Daily Kos attracted some controversy in April 2004 by publishing comments (written by Markos Moulitsas) about the killings of four private military contractors in Fallujah, Iraq that many considered to be insensitive:

Let the people see what war is like. This isn’t an Xbox game. There are real repercussions to Bush’s folly. That said, I feel nothing over the death of mercenaries. [sic] They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.

The post was widely criticized on a number of blogs. John Kerry's official blog removed a link to his blog in response. In a subsequent article, Moulitsas attributed his remarks to anger that the Blackwater employees in Fallujah were given more attention than the five Marines who were killed on the same day, as well as to childhood memories of warfare in El Salvador.

References

1. frontline: private warriors: contractors: the high-risk contracting business | PBS
2. Atrocity in Fallujah - Robert Fisk: 01 April 2004
3. kos (2004-04-01). "Every death should be on the front page". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2006-10-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. "Murderous rhetoric", The Spectator, April 10, 2004. See also Adam L. Penenberg (2004-07-07). "John Kerry and the Lost Kos". Wired News. Retrieved 2006-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. kos (2004-04-02). "Mercenaries, war, and my childhood". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2006-10-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• 2004 in Iraq
• Blackwater USA