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Mercenaries

Up To 56,000 More Contractors Could Be Sent To Afghanistan

TPM | Justin Elliott | Posted 12.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: Karzai, Afghanistan Contractors, Mercenaries, Afghanistan, Blackwater, Troop Surge, Escalation, Troop Levels, Afghan War, Crs, How Many Contractors in Afghanistan, Congressional Research Service, Xe, Politics News

Private contractors will make up at least half of the total military workforce in Afghanistan going forward, according to Defense Department officials...

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To the Dems Who Voted to 'Defund ACORN': Where is the Defund Blackwater Act?

Jeremy Scahill | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Kbr, AT&T, Erik Prince, Mercenaries, Lockheed Martin, Project on Oversight and Government Reform, Dell, Blackwater, Acorn, Boeing, Fedex, Hurricane Katrina, Republicans, Pogo, Democrats, Politics News
Jeremy Scahill

Democrats have joined Republicans in voting to "Defund ACORN," yet they have done nothing to stop Blackwater's ongoing taxpayer-funded crusade in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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The Obama Administration is Actually Increasing the US Presence in Iraq

Michael Schwartz | Posted 11.12.2009 | World

Read More: Iraq War, Mercenaries, Colonization, Obama Iraq Withdrawal, Iraq, Obama Iraq, World News
Michael Schwartz

When U.S. troops are "withdrawn" from Iraq, their jobs are taken over by mercenaries -- the notorious "contractors," who are hired for fabulous sums of money to sustain the huge U.S. presence there.

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Obama Swiftboats Van Jones

Linda Milazzo | Posted 10.22.2009 | Politics

Read More: Contractors, Fox News, Humanitarian, Green Jobs, Darfur, War, Drug Companies, Progressives, Private Insurers, Swiftboat, Drones, Van Jones, Barack Obama, Obama Administration, Civilians, Howard Dean, Samantha Power, Mercenaries, Chris Wallace, Vietnam, Tim Geithner, Woodstock, Genocide, Afghanistan, Ryan Grim, Glenn Beck, Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary, Healthcare, Taking Woodstock, Countdown, Keith Olbermann, Msnbc, Politics News
Linda Milazzo

Van Jones' resignation isn't a testament to the frenetic dry-drunk tirades of a delusional Fox employee. It is due to the Obama administration's failure to rightfully and necessarily defend a valuable member of its team.

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Marcus Baram

Report: Contractors Outnumber Troops In Afghanistan By Highest Ratio In U.S. History

HuffingtonPost.com | Marcus Baram | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Contractors, Contractors Troops, Private Security, Mercenaries, Contractors in Afghanistan, Afghanistan Contractors, Contractors Afghanistan, Private Contractors Outnumber Soldiers in Afghanistan, Privatization of War Profits Afghanistan Contractors, Us Contractors in Afghanistan, We Dont Need Our Soldiers in Afghanistan, Contractors More Than Soldiers, Afghanistan Nude Contractors Pictures, Politics News

In the clearest sign that the Pentagon has become dependent on privatization, a new report reveals that today there are more defense contractors than ...

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Mercenaries and Murder in Iraq

Eric Stoner | Posted 09.14.2009 | World

Read More: Iraq Contractors, Mercenaries, Iraq, Blackwater, Green Zone, Department of Defense, Blackwater Iraq, Iraq Pullout, Iraq Withdrawal, Daniel Fitzsimons, British Contractor, World News
Eric Stoner

With no countries officially left in the so-called "coalition of the willing", contractors are now playing a more important role than ever, as Obama begins to slowly scale back the war in Iraq.

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Dog the Pirate Hunter???

Warren Holstein | Posted 05.17.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Politics, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Maersk Alabama, Mercenaries, Somalia Government, Somali Pirates Ransom, Africa, Capt. Richard Phillips, Somali Pirates, Ron Paul, Pirates, Libertarian, Blackwater Investigation, South Africa, Somalia, Comedy News
Warren Holstein

Avast, ye picaroons! If landlubber Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has his way, good ole American privateers will be set loose on ye wily pillaging Somalian buccaneers and get all War of 1812 on yer booties.

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Obama's Iraq: All Troops Out By 2011? Not So Fast

Jeremy Scahill | Posted 03.31.2009 | World

Read More: Chuck Schumer, Obama Afghanistan, Mitch McConnell, Private Contractors, Afghanistan, George W. Bush, President Obama, Iraq Contractors, Iraq, Camp Lejeune, Barack Obama, Iraq War, Thomas Ricks, Mercenaries, Jim Miklaszeswki, Blackwater, Nancy Pelosi, Iraq Troop Withdrawal, Harry Reid, Status of Forces Agreement, Residual Force, Surge in Afghanistan, John Mchugh, World News
Jeremy Scahill

The contradiction between President Obama's speech at Camp Lejeune and his rhetoric before he was elected should serve as a warning to those who take his words at face value.

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There is No "Z" in Blackwater

Michael B. Laskoff | Posted 03.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Geneva Conventions, Mercenaries, Bush, Blackwater, Xe, Bechtel, Philip Morris, Altria Group, Politics News
Michael B. Laskoff

Mercenaries are a fact of life, as is marketing. Changing your name does not change what you have done, but changing the Commander In Chief can lead to new restrictions.

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Mercenary Firm Offers To 'Detain Troublemakers' On Election Day

Danger Room | Posted 12.04.2008 | Politics

Read More: Election Day, Mercenaries, Presidential Election 2008, Evergreen Defense and Security, Troublemakers, Voting Problems, Election, Politics News

CIA-linked private military contractor Evergreen Defense & Security Services offered to post sentries at Oregon election offices on Tuesday, "detainin...

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Iraq's Private Security Has Cost Over $6 Billion, US Auditors Say

AP | PAULINE JELINEK | Posted 11.30.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iraq, War Wire, Foreign Affairs, Mercenaries, Private Contractors, Iraq Contractors, Politics News

WASHINGTON — No one knows for sure, but auditors think the U.S. has paid well over $6 billion to private security companies who've been guarding...

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Blackwater and the Constitution

Patt Morrison | Posted 07.16.2008 | Politics

Read More: Mercenaries, Constitution, Blackwater, Politics News
Patt Morrison

Blackwater is trying to set up a counterterrorism training facility along the Mexican border -- San Diego has appealed to a federal court to stop it.

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UN: Security Contractors Are Mercenaries

Talking Points Memo | Spencer Ackerman | Posted 03.28.2008 | Politics

Read More: Mercenaries, Un, Blackwater, Politics News

Well, Erik Prince won't like this. A few weeks ago, the Blackwater CEO explained that he didn't like for his employees to be called "mercenaries," wh...

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Blackwater Founder: We Are Not Mercenaries

Newsweek | Mark Hosenball | Posted 03.28.2008 | Politics

Read More: Mercenaries, Blackwater, Politics News

Oct. 12, 2007 - Erik Prince made it clear he doesn't like talking to the press. But the Blackwater founder also tells NEWSWEEK's Mark Hosenball he doe...

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Iraq: Video Proves Blackwater Fired Without Provocation

ABC News | Terry McCarthy | Posted 03.28.2008 | Home

Read More: Private Contractors, Iraq War, Iraq, Mercenaries, Armed Guards, Blackwater, Home News

The shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis and wounding of 12 more, allegedly by private security contractors working for Blackwater USA, has become a case of "...

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Feds Probing Iraq Arms Smuggling By Blackwater Guards

AP | MATTHEW LEE | Posted 03.28.2008 | Home

Read More: Iraq War, Federal Prosecutors. Violence, Iraq, Mercenaries, Private Security, Blackwater, Weapons Smuggling, Home News

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have...

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