Blackwater…peacekeeping mercenaries

reply to post by alienstar


Or things like laws or the UCMJ!

reply to post by slackerwire


Just because you insist he is a leftist clown does not make his arguments any less credible. Remember, this wasn't someone reporting from a distance. He was in New Orleans and saw this all first-hand. You may not agree with his comments because in your eyes he is liberal scum, but that doesn't somehow make his arguments any less valid or credible. The anti-Blackwater argument has nothing to do with being liberal or anti-capitalist. It's happening right now in our country whether you like it or not, and regardless of who thinks what about it.

-ChriS

[edit on 15-6-2008 by BlasteR]

hmmm...now i'm really wondering (as opposed to yesterday when i was just wondering) if this really might be who the pope hires to do the vatican's anti-terrorism work. blackwater's all about dominionism and who out dominionisms better than the catholic church. and now that blair's converted to roman catholicism and bush might be about to, well hell...they have an in.

Originally posted by BlasteR
Or things like laws or the UCMJ!

the branches of our military better grow a backbone and uphold their oaths before their heads gets totally cut off. then again, too many of them can't wait to get out and join blackwater or one of their counterparts.

reply to post by BlasteR


Actually his agenda does matter. Scahill and his little book are full of factually incorrect lies and propaganda.

Blackwater - the same company who not only have attacked american troops and `disarmed them` - but also killed US troops `accidently` as well....

Originally posted by slackerwire
reply to post by BlasteR

 

Actually his agenda does matter. Scahill and his little book are full of factually incorrect lies and propaganda.

1) His agenda is to do just what? Why would he willingly choose to take on such a massive government-backed organisation? To make money for a book? Please.. This guy didn't testify in front of the Senate in a landmark hearing on security contractors if he didn't know what he was talking about.

2) Blackwater security contractors are directly responsible for killing innocent civilians yet no blackwater contractor has ever been held accountable for ANYTHING. Blackwater governs its own personnel and doesn't have to answer to the UCMJ or any other form of international law when such things occur, yet our military has to? Justify that considering there are more contractors in Iraq than there are soldiers and tell me it makes sense.

en.wikipedia.org...

One hundred twenty two of its armed personnel in Iraq have been dismissed from their positions by Blackwater since its contract to protect U.S. diplomats began nearly three years ago. These firings were most frequently for incidents related to weapons use.[45] On October 3rd, 2007, the New York Times reported that the government was charged $1,222 for each day of work by a Blackwater security guard in Iraq.[46]

Quite the slap on the wrist. Hitting someone in the pocketbook for killing an innocent civilian, whereas our military members are held accountable, dishonorably discharged, and will have a tough time ever finding good work AGAIN unless they have some previous education they can use to their advantage (which enlisted personnel usually do not have).

3) $1222 for each day of the war per person, and Blackwater (according to the 2006 contract for diplomatic security) can have up to 1,020 staff in Iraq. $1222*1020=$1,246,440 per day. For just over a thousand men.

www.cato.org...

An active-duty sergeant (or E-6 in military terminology) has an annual base pay of $33,976 plus allowances for housing and subsistence, for a total of $44,863. Adding special duty pay, a re-enlistment bonus aggregated over four years, and other allowances, minus federal taxes, the total net cash compensation comes to $63,340 a year.

That may not seem like much when compared with a similarly qualified military contractor, whose average base pay is $165,000. But the PMC receives no other benefits.

Because he is rotated in and out of Iraq every 90 days, he cannot claim the income tax exemptions that he could if he was stationed abroad for a full tax year. In his high tax bracket, he must pay $69,300 in federal taxes -- more than 50 times what the sergeant must pay.

But that still leaves the contractor with a net cash compensation of $95,700, or about 38 percent more than the sergeant.

Alot of these are probably ex-special forces and have very specialized military experience. That may seem like a justification for the extra pay, but they are not risking their lives any more than an active duty private on the streets of Fallujah.

It's no wonder our active duty soldiers are pissed off.

-ChriS

[edit on 15-6-2008 by BlasteR]