Ex-Blackwater Workers May Return To Iraq Jobs

New York Times:

Late last month Blackwater Worldwide lost its billion-dollar contract to protect American diplomats here, but by next month many if not most of its private security guards will be back on the job in Iraq.

The same individuals will just be wearing new uniforms, working for Triple Canopy, the firm that won the State Department's contract after Iraqi officials refused to renew Blackwater's operating license, according to American diplomats, private security industry officials and Iraqi officials. Blackwater -- viewed in Iraq as a symbol of American violence and impunity -- lost the contract after being accused of excessive force in several instances, particularly an apparently unprovoked shooting in downtown Baghdad in 2007 in which 17 civilians were killed.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[gorideabike]

A billion dollar contract to protect American diplomats. Once upon a a time a handfull of Marine guards in full dress uniform no less, provided security for our foreign embassy personnel. Does anybody remember that? Then some numbingly incompetent government decided to invade Iraq just because they wanted to. Things went well for Napolean until he decided to march into Russia in winter. And that German guy from the 30's and 40's who stalled out at Stalingrad. Bush is gone, so we pray President Obama will see the folly of empire and the expense and bother of maintaining one.

[stevi]

With great sadness, I have come to the conclusion that if the American People took to the streets like the European People that we have seen on TV all week, Blackwater/Ze would be sent in to take care of the situation. I'll have to wait until this type of thing happens here, but all American's should be afraid, very afraid of this possibility. I'm beginning to think that all governments are basically afraid of the People. It is , after all, the People who have the power, if they would use it all of this nonsense would soon change. At least in my view the government would exercise just a little bit more restraint as they would know we were watching and we are not stupid.

Having said that, I hope I am mistaken. I voted for President Obama and my heart is broken to think that his "watch" would be tarnished by the use of these mercenaries. These guys scar me and my freedom.

[gorideabike]

Better paid. Better armed. Immune from prosecution for murder. Yes indeed, American troops in their capacity as the junior varsity team are well advised to be very afraid of the mercenaries.

[Raleigh Dave]

I guess these Blackwater mercenaries haven't killed enough people

[stevi]

My exact thought, this is incredible.

[sueinmn]

Do you have to be the most deceptive and brutal type to be employed by these groups? These are American grown? It makes you need to take a look at our own country and types we are!

Power and money. Many would kill their own for this.

I really wonder what long term effects OUR guard units will live with when they come back. All the issues guys had after Vietnam and this has to be worse. These people will never be the same as they return home to regular civilian life.

[edwcorey]

Hiring mercenaries is the province of gangsters and aristocrats. You can make your choice as to what the Bush administration considered itself and its minions installed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But even as knowledgable a politician as Macchiavelli considered mercenaries a bad investment. They swagger and alienate people, but when confronted by a real military, they show their commitment is not to the cause, but to the paycheck. And how must the rank and file feel to be held accountable for its actions, while these marginal characters are paid twice as much, have no accountability, and aren't forced to return tour after tour against their will.

[30rdmag]

agreed-our military should be paid twice as much as they are now..

[tomasedison]

why they lost the contract....the Christian deathgrip on the White House is over....finally

[PhilipTaylor]

THIS IS UN-Fnkn BELIEVABLE!

[Carolab]

President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?

March 19, 2009 By Jeremy Scahill
Source: Alternet

For those already outraged at the AIG bonus scandal, here is a fact that should add more fuel to the fire: The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq and, according to The Washington Times, may keep the company on the payroll months past the official expiration of its Iraq contract in May. I reviewed Blackwater's recent transactions with the Obama State Department and discovered a $45 million payment to Blackwater on February 4, 2009 for "protective services-Iraq." It is described as a "funding action only." Here is the interesting part: The estimated "Ultimate Completion Date" is 5/07/2011.

The point here is this: I disagree that the reality is simply that Obama needs time to phase out Blackwater and his hands are tied when it comes to paying them on existing contracts. I believe Obama needs them to sustain his bad Iraq policy, which will continue the occupation, albeit with a softer face. If Obama wanted to, he could outright fire Blackwater. Henry Waxman and others have called for that. He certainly would have the support of the American people, particularly given how much money Blackwater has milked from the U.S. treasury.

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/20911

[PatA]

1. My SIL has served two tours in Iraq. The Blackwater "guards" that his unit came into contact with left a very negative impression. The head of his unit discussed them with the soldiers and made it clear to them to be "very afraid" of Blackwater employees.

2. Blackwater, "Ze", has a training facility in either Arizona or California and their next big venture is to supply guards for prisons.

3. I would not want to be around when the new company takes over in Iraq. Same thing, different clothes.
Nor would I want to be in prison (for lots of reasons) if I was going to be guarded by those goons. Prison systems are s-crewed up enough as it is. Blackwater guard's mantra undoubtedly would be "kill 'em all, they are just inmates"..........

4. Shudder.

[leeman79]

The department of defense should not be for sale, and these jobs should never be contracted out. Only service men/women can and should be providing support to fellow servicemembers. Look at the examples of contracted support:

Soldiers standing in chow lines over 1/4 mile long because KBR contractors won't adjust their feeding schedules because it's an inconvenience.

Soldiers stranded on a roadside in a broken down vehicle waiting 8 to 10 hours for KBR maintenance support to show up.

This is a disgrace and it puts our service members in unnecessary, hazardous situations. Fix this now!

[CosmicSpaceTurtle]

Why is the US hiring mercenaries at all? These private armies shouldn't even be legal in the first place, and we certainly shouldn't be deploying them.

[poco767c]

Whatever the 2nd amendment says about guns, the words "well regulated militia" are in there.
But I agree that the government should not be hiring these guys, they should be for private contracts only and only as far as Iraqi law allows.

[CosmicSpaceTurtle]

There is a difference between a militia and a private corporate army of mercenaries. Mercenaries and militias are not the same thing. A militia, in theory, is a group of armed people loyal to their state or country, although in modern times American militias seem to be confined to extremist conservative hillbillies. Groups like Blackwater are not militias, they are corporate entities that employ mercenaries. These mercenaries do not have specific loyalties to the United States, they have a loyalty to whomever is signing their paychecks. It is a dangerous road to go down to finance and deploy these corporate mercenary armies.

[AsianAfricanAMERICAN]

Why is it when contractors were soldiers they deserved our admiration, but when they become civilians and do the same job they were trained for they're now bad guys.

The average American that works for Blackwater has nothing to do with how the contracts are bid.

[CosmicSpaceTurtle]

They're mercenaries.

[dillydawg]

They ARE mercenaries.

[Bush-Rolled]

The answer: Because as soldiers they are accountable to we the people. As contractors they are mercenaries accountable only to the corporation signing their checks. They are a few short steps from becoming right-wing death squads. They constitute a clear and present danger to the constitution.

[AsianAfricanAMERICAN]

B.S...I'm a contractor and squarely on the left. Many contractors are.

We do what were trained to do in the military.

[gorideabike]

Average americans do not work for Blackwater /Xe. They are largely death squad veterans from south and central america. Money changes everything.

[poco767c]

You cannot defend some of the things blackwater has done, that said you cannot tar all blackwater personnel with the same brush.

These people do a hard job under difficult situations. There needs to be far greater oversight, and the government should not hire mercenaries, but their role as private security personnel is valid in my opinion, as long as they stay within Iraqi law.

[dillydawg]

Again, they are mecrenaries.

[SOLERSO68]

i have no doubt at all, these private mercenary armies will be deployed in America, against Amerian people. they bid on many "domestic security" contrats, already. The corporate/fascist sceme of the "privatization" of prisons, police forces and millitary forces must be ended, or we will reach a point of no return where, waging war on and imprisoning Americans becomes so profitable, we may not be able to return to a civil society. we may already be there. Ironically it may have begun when we did away with the draft, and began bribing people to "serve" in the armed forces.

[Tracy Hale]

And yet, according to the (R)'s, the Dems are the Commies...

Go Fig...*roll eyes

[edwcorey]

Communism is not Fascism. The difference is that in Communism, the government controls business. In Fascism, government and business are united. In capitalism such as ours, business controls government. In ours, the relationship is obvious. How can failures such as the executives of the banks remain in place and still receive millions in compensation? The same way a failure such as George Bust becomes president of the United States. Twice.

[SamKnause]

They already have. They killed 9 people during Katrina and we door to door confiscating weapons from American citizens. They were not sent there by our government but by Blackwater Corporation. I don't have a link for this information but I have read several articles about and signed a petition on line to stop this kind of terrorism in our own country. I am sure if you want to verify it you can Google it.

[TJCole]

These private armies are a direct threat to every American's freedom, as it is they who will be used and already have been used by our Banksters and Corporate overlords to oppress us, here within our borders...!

[Bitsko]

To paraphrase our previous president, we have to send them there to keep them from coming over here!

[wadenelson1]

Yeah, that has worked SO WELL for us.

[eleutheros]

Blackwater should be aggressively dismantled. Similarly, Dark Dick Cheney should be monitored closely using the very methods employed by his administration these past few years. And let's not forgot, GWB provided the mechanism to not only spy on these bastards, President Obama can, without cause, classify anyone as an enemy combatant. No trials, No due process, etc. Nothing! Just pick 'em all up in the middle of the night and relax.