From a war victim to the founder of a security company: U.S. officer gave up his rank to fulfill his childhood dream in Iraq

Shafaq News / As long as someone sets all his focus on a goal, achieving it will inevitably come with hard work. Muhammad Rasul never expected to see a day when his childhood dream is fulfilled - especially as his life was full of ups and downs that put him face to face with death - had it not been for the determination he planted in his mind and heart.

Muhammad Rasool Khalil, a 26-year-old Iraqi citizen born in Al-Fallujah in 1995. He was granted U.S. citizenship and lives in Pennsylvania in the United States.

Muhammad's story begins with him being the victim of the 2003 U.S.-led National Coalition war on Iraq and continues to the extent that he is now the owner of the Blackwater security company.

The beginning

Shafaq News agency learned that Muhammad Rasool was one of the victims of the war waged by U.S. forces on his home city, Al-Fallujah, after the occupation of Iraq in 2003.

On January 15, 2006, Mohammed Rasool suffered a tragic accident that led to the amputation of one of his legs and the shattering of the other, after a car bomb exploded near him; An explosion that did not end his life but turned it upside down, to be a reason for him to remember his childhood dream.

In his interview with Shafaq News agency, Muhammad recalled what he had experienced since the tragic accident that afflicted him, to his arrival in America.

A bloody day

As Muhammad's family was gathered to prepare for a relative’s wedding on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, Muhammad said, "It quickly turned into a bloody day. I was playing football with a group of friends and cousins in front of the house, then a column of American troops headed towards us. They took pictures with us and gave us presents and as soon as they moved to go, a vehicle speeded to where we were and then exploded”.

Muhammad opened his eyes to his mother's weeping. He was shocked to find himself lying on the hospital bed, looking at his amputated leg.

Six months passed with him visiting hospitals in Al-Anbar and Baghdad, hoping to be able to walk again. Yet, he had to return home in a wheelchair.

A sad smile

In the summer of 2007, as Muhammad was going to school in his wheelchair to take the final exams, he came across CNN channel’s reporters while filming a report near his school, “They took a shot of me that was then broadcast in America”.

Global Medical Relief Fund’s director saw that shot and instructed her staff in Iraq to look for that boy with the sad smile.

Months later, Mohammed completed all the required papers and the visa – that he obtained from Kuwait -and traveled to America to receive treatment at the expense of the organization.

The organization also allocated professors to teach him English, mathematics, and other subjects, through which he was able to master English before returning to Iraq.

Another threat

Muhammad said that he worked as a translator with his father, who served as head of THE Al-Fallujah Police Directorate.

He used to translate for contractors who were working with U.S. forces at the time, prompting Al-Qaeda to threaten him, and then try to assassinate him resulting in him being shot in the foot - which had previously been shattered.

After that incident, Muhammad said that he started communicating with humanitarian organizations to seek asylum in the U.S., and after obtaining it in 2009, he returned to America.

Turning point

Muhammad was able to obtain the green card (permanent residency) as soon as he arrived in America. He then completed middle school and secondary school, obtained U.S. citizenship, got accepted in the U.S. Military College (1st LT Valley Forge Military College) for two years, completed the American officers' qualification course, and then transferred to become a civilian security officer.

When asked about why he left his rank as a U.S. army officer, he replied, "I changed my rank from a military to a civilian for two reasons, the first is that I am totally against wars; I shudder in disdain with merely thinking of participating in one. The second reason is to fulfill my dream to be a diplomat - whether in Iraq or American. I aim to be a diplomatic figure fighting for peace. I chose the military college to reach this position”.

Blackwater

"After I became a civilian security man, I started working for security companies in America - armed and licensed by the government - to protect Muslim figures, mosques, or other educational and religious institutions”, said Muhammad.

After many eventful years, Muhammad was able to start a security company named "Blackwater Security Agency" in 2019, similar to the security company that terrorized the residents of his city in 2004 and committed one of the Americans’ worst crimes in Al-Fallujah at the time, after the district’s residents killed four employees of the company, Blackwater, that was abolished in 2011, "The reason behind the name is to remove the deep-rooted horror linked to it from the Iraqis’ memory, and to prove that security companies were established to preserve the security of the citizen, not to kill him”.

Muhammad called on the Iraqi youth – whether healthy or not – to fulfill their dreams and never lose hope.