Mercenary outfit Blackwater has been accused of some pretty terrible things during its time operating as a "security contractor" in Iraq. Something captured in these shocking videos.

Part of a great feature over on Harper's (registration required), they show what happens when angry men are overpaid and set loose on a country that, while everyone else was there at least trying to help, was to them just an opportunity to operate outside the law.

Motherboard's Derek Mead likens the spectacle to a game of Grand Theft Auto, something that's hard to argue with. The shooting, the smashing of other cars and, in one disgusting sequence, the hit-and-run of an innocent civilian, it's all stuff that litters the experience of an open-world game, and which sickeningly appears just as enjoyable to these meatheads as it does to your average gamer.


If you were wondering just why a video game based on the exploits of Blackwater was such a controversial subject, well, now you know why.


Warning: some of the content is quite graphic.

The warrior class: A golden age for the freelance soldier [Harper's, via Motherboard]

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