Blackwater: Hired Guns, Above the Law

Blackwater: Hired Guns, Above the Law

My name is Jeremy Scahill. I am an investigative reporter for The Nation magazine and the author of the book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. I have spent the better part of the past several years researching the phenomenon of privatized warfare and the increasing involvement of the private sector in the support and waging of US wars. During the course of my investigations, I have interviewed scores of sources, filed many Freedom of Information Act requests, obtained government contracts and private company documents of firms operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. When asked, I have attempted to share the results of my investigations, including documents obtained through FOIA and other processes, with members of Congress and other journalists.

I would like to thank this committee for the opportunity to be here today and for taking on this very serious issue. Over the past six days, we have all been following very closely the developments out of Baghdad in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of as many as twenty Iraqis by operatives working for the private military company Blackwater USA. The Iraqi government is alleging that among the dead are a small child and her parents and the prime minister has labeled Blackwater's conduct as "criminal" and spoke of "the killing of our citizens in cold blood." While details remain murky and subject to conflicting versions of what exactly happened, this situation cuts much deeper than this horrifying incident. The stakes are very high for the Bush administration because the company involved, Blackwater USA, is not just any company. It is the premiere firm protecting senior State Department officials in Iraq, including Ambassador Ryan Crocker. This company has been active in Iraq since the early days of the occupation when it was awarded an initial $27 million no-bid contract to guard Ambassador Paul Bremer. During its time in Iraq, Blackwater has regularly engaged in firefights and other deadly incidents. About 30 of its operatives have been killed in Iraq and these deaths are not included in the official American death toll.

While the company's operatives are indeed soldiers of fortune, their salaries are paid through hundreds of millions of dollars in US taxpayer funds allocated to Blackwater. What they do in Iraq is done in the name of the American people and yet there has been no effective oversight of Blackwater's activities and actions. And there has been absolutely no prosecution of its forces for any crimes committed against Iraqis. If indeed Iraqi civilians were killed by Blackwater USA last Sunday, as appears to be the case, culpability for these actions does not only lie with the individuals who committed the killings or with Blackwater as a company, but also with the entity that hired them and allowed them to operate heavily-armed inside Iraq--in this case, the US State Department.

(More at Website)
www.thenation.com...

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This was, and is, George Bush's private army, hired killers all, and paid millions by taxpayers, most of whom have never heard of Blackwater. Bush is said to have trusted Eric Prince, head honcho, more that members of his own Congress.

Remember that both the Washington Post and NY Times carried stories within the last few days that the Bush CIA program that Panetta cancelled and briefed congress on a little while ago was the setting up of hit teams for political assassination of Al Qaeda leaders and others. The hit squads were contracted out to Blackwater.

S&F

Privatizing the military is a BAD thing. IMO. And Blackwater is the worst.

Originally posted by metamagic
Remember that both the Washington Post and NY Times carried stories within the last few days that the Bush CIA program that Panetta cancelled and briefed congress on a little while ago was the setting up of hit teams for political assassination of Al Qaeda leaders and others. The hit squads were contracted out to Blackwater.

George Tenet supposedly cancelled it, Porter Goss restarted it, then leon Panetta cancelled it again and briefed congress about it. Apparently it never really got off the ground, operationally-wise.

Contractors for the CIA is nothing new. That's what the Special Activities Division does. Contractors are known as "Green Badge'rs". Actual CIA employee's are "Blue Badge'rs". Though this is the first time i believe they've actually gone to a private company. In the past it's been done individually.

It was a pretty stupid move on the CIA's part.

This blown up story about Blackwater is merely a distraction. If they are allegedly coming clean about Blackwater, you can bet that they have other individuals under contract to "clean up the mess" left behind.

They are just trying to pander to the masses. Every move is calculated with a direct purpose.

Privatisation of the military is indeed a very bad move, it has been planned for a very long time. Shortly before the collapse of the USSR I was on a sailing course at the British Military Yacht Club based in Kiel in Germany. It was strictly a "no rank" establishment and I would drink in the bar with any rank up to Major General. Lots of information would flow once the lubricant took effect. The fall was known in advance and discussions regarding virtually every event that has happened since the late eighties could be overheard. Privatisation of every branch of the British military was one of the most popular topics with all of the higher ranks in support (private management pays more than military management). War is a racket, what better way of controlling how much gets paid to the private sector than having all the military privatised?
As for Blackwater they are mercenaries and as such are illegal under the Geneva Conventions, it is my understanding that one of the major reasons the GG's were abandoned for the War on Terrorism is so Blackwater and other contractors could be brought in so as to desensitize the public toward the idea of privatised military.

On April 1, 2009, the U.S. State Department announced that Triple Canopy, Inc. would replace Xe/Blackwater as the department's security contractor in Iraq.[181] The contract, for $977 million, was awarded on March 31, 2009, and took effect on May 7, 2009. The Iraqi government has speculated that Blackwater/Xe may still be able to profit from the deal because Triple Canopy may subcontract a portion of its Iraq contract to the Falcon Group, an Iraqi company rumored to have financial ties to Blackwater. A Blackwater spokeswoman, Anne Tyrell, denied that Blackwater had a relationship with Falcon Group.[182] In spite of the ban on Blackwater in Iraq, the State Department issued a task order for Blackwater to provide security for diplomats in Hillah, Najaf, and Karbalah until August 4, 2009.

It really is a house of mirrors , the mercenary army is ALREADY a reality!

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