A pivotal moment in the Iraq war happened on Sept. 16.

Blackwater USA, a private security contractor hired by the federal government to guard United States diplomats in Baghdad, was a little careless that day.

Four Blackwater vehicles drove through Baghdad’s Nusoor Square after a bombing caused a Blackwater team guarding a U.S. diplomat to leave the square.

The guard team returned to an enclave where the United States and Iraqi agencies have headquarters.

As reported by CNN.com, an Iraqi police officer who was directing traffic at the square said the Blackwater guards in the vehicles fired five or six shots to scare citizens in the square away. One of those shots struck a child who was sitting in a car next to his mother.

The police officer said he and an undercover police officer rushed to the car to check on the child, but could not stop the car from rolling forward into the path of the Blackwater convoy.

The convoy then opened fire and shot at people in cars and people in the streets.

The officer added the shooting was unprovoked and lasted for about 20 minutes.

CNN.com reported 17 Iraqi civilians were killed and 24 were wounded.

This is a pivotal moment in the Iraq war for two reasons.

It shows the affect this war is having on the people who are fighting it.

Imagining what the Blackwater guards have seen and experienced since the war started is impossible. What this incident shows the worsening paranoia of the Blackwater guards.

The only logical reason why the Blackwater convoy would open fire on innocent civilians is the convoy took the car – which was rolling into their path – as a suicide bomb.

This is a crucial moment in Iraq because people fighting this war are so affected by it that they are beginning to make irrational decisions.

The Blackwater incident is a telltale sign of why the United States needs to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

At the time the United States invaded Iraq, the Bush Administration claimed they wanted to establish a democratic society and help the people of Iraq. How is this incident helping the Iraqi people?

That question is hard to answer.

There comes a point when the people trying to solve a very difficult problem become a part of the problem instead of the solution.

The Blackwater incident is a definite example of the United States becoming a part of the problem and not the solution. Americans are massacring the same civilians the Bush Administration wanted to protect at the beginning of this debacle.

The Blackwater incident shows the strain this war has on the people fighting it, and shows that the United States’s priorities for fighting this war have been lost.

Which leads to another question: Why is the United States still in Iraq?

That question is even harder to answer.