Blackwater USA ...Very scary

[fencesitter]

Has anyone heard of this mercenary corporation? I just heard an interview with Schahill on NPR about this group. It's podcast if you want to hear.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8992128

Blackwater USA is a secret army based in North Carolina with a sole owner: Erik Prince, a radical right-wing Christian multimillionaire. Jeremy Scahill talks about his book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.

[notadmblnd]

1. I think you will find that Blackwater security is well know by DU'ers

here. Custer Battles is another one. Welcome to DU, The best source of news on the web.

[rfranklin]

2. Watching the new version of Machurian Candidate yesterday...

I was struck by the parallels between the current administration and the Manchurian Corporation in the movie.

[jwirr]

4. I think that was why the movie was redone. It is talking about governments

like ours.

[nashville_brook]

3. thanks for the link -- listening to it now!

Wackenhut is another...

[fencesitter]

10. I thought whack a nut just did "corrections"

prisons

[nashville_brook]

24. Wackenhut was doing "shadow intelligence"

might not be as active as they used to... but, it used to be that privatization worries focused on wackenhut...

[nashville_brook]

5. here's a link to an article and video by Schahill in The Nation

the article is adapted from his book: Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20070402&s=scahill_vid

these guys couldn't get bottled water into New Orleans after the levee broke -- and we've outsourced WAR to them.

[jwirr]

6. What we need to remember is that when our troops leave Irag and

Afghanistan, this group and others like them will still be there: working for Big Oil and Halliburton in their new location. I do not know what the world can do about this mess but I know that our House can see that they are no longer working for us.

[fencesitter]

9. thanks for the new links

I'll check em out

[nashville_brook]

7. Ken Starr is representing Blackwater in Iraq (wrongful) deaths liability case

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=264575



The grisly details of the murder and dismemberment of four U.S. citizen contractors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have found their way onto U.S. soil in a dispute that may reach the Supreme Court. In the case, the estates of the four late contractors filed suit against Blackwater Security, a company with whom the decedents contracted to perform military escort services.

The estates attribute the contractors' deaths to the allegedly negligent and deceitful actions of the contracting companies, asserting claims of common-law fraud and wrongful death under North Carolina law. Blackwater, however, contends that the state law claims are pre-empted by federal law, and that no court, state or federal, has jurisdiction to review the claims. Interestingly, no court has yet ruled on whether Blackwater ought to be held financially responsible for the deaths of the four contractors; instead, in Blackwater Security Consulting v. Nordan (No. 06-857), the company is asking the Supreme Court to step in and determine where the next confrontation, if any, over the responsibility for the decedents' deaths will take place.

[Virginia Dare]

22. If there is a dirty slimy deed to be done...

there is Ken Starr.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Only Dem candidate I've heard talk about cutting off the money to these thugs is Senator Clinton

I suspect that is whats causing much of the hate to be directed at her.

Don

[nashville_brook]

17. Dorgan, Leahy, Kerry, Obama and even Lindsey Graham are on it

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20070402&s=scahill_vid

In mid-February Senators Byron Dorgan, Patrick Leahy and John Kerry introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on no-bid contracts and cronyism, providing for penalties of up to twenty years in prison and fines of up to $1 million for what they called "war profiteering." It is part of what Democrats describe as a multi-pronged approach. "I think there's a critical mass of us now who are working on it," says Congressman Price, who represents Blackwater's home state. In January Price introduced legislation that would expand the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (MEJA) to include all contractors in a war zone, not just those working for or alongside the armed forces. Most of Blackwater's work in Iraq, for instance, is contracted by the State Department. Price indicated that the alleged Christmas Eve shooting could be a test case of sorts under his legislation. "I will be following this and I'll be calling for a full investigation," he said.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Wasn't room in the subject line to put "presidential" candidates but thats what I meant

I haven't heard any other presidential candidates be as clear about this as Clinton. There probably have been others that I have missed. This is an issue I wish they would all get out in front of.

Don

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011700548.html

>>>She said cutting off funds for security forces and private security contractors who guard many Iraqi leaders would show the U.S. government is serious about imposing "real world consequences" to failing to reduce the sectarian conflict killing tens of thousands civilians a year.<<<

[nashville_brook]

25. Obama has sponsored legislation... would be cool if Clinton tried to take...

privatization "off the table" by sponsoring legislation reflecting her approach. seems like a decent enough idea -- regulate the private security companies out of existence.

[enid602]

11. Blackwater

Plainclothed Blackwater mercenaries were in New Olrleans the day after Katrina to protect homes of the wealthy.

[nashville_brook]

14. taxpayers paid $240,000 a DAY to Blackwell for that

Blackwell billed $950 a day per merc.
Mercs were paid $350 a day.

[DemReadingDU]

33. I heard that on NPR too

This is deplorable. Who is is getting that $600!

[Javaman]

12. Sounds like the early days of a modern Praetorian Guard...

Before they got all political and everything and started killing leaders.

[Joanne98]

38. Bingo!

[C_U_L8R]

13. Defunding needs to start with these f*ckers

they are an illegal mercenary army and anyone (or any corporation)
who funds them should be facing charges.

[sakabatou]

15. Many o us have heard about it

Especially during Katrina.

[nashville_brook]

16. Barack Obama mercenary legislation... House Rep. Jan Schakowsky "Sunshine Act"

from the Nation article...

Senator Barack Obama introduced comprehensive new legislation in February. It requires clear rules of engagement for armed contractors, expands MEJA and provides for the DoD to "arrest and detain" contractors suspected of crimes and then turn them over to civilian authorities for prosecution. It also requires the Justice Department to submit a comprehensive report on current investigations of contractor abuses, the number of complaints received about contractors and criminal cases opened. In a statement to The Nation, Obama said contractors are "operating with unclear lines of authority, out-of-control costs and virtually no oversight by Congress. This black hole of accountability increases the danger to our troops and American civilians serving as contractors." He said his legislation would "re-establish control over these companies," while "bringing contractors under the rule of law."

Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky, a member of the House intelligence committee, has been a leading critic of the war contracting system. Her Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act, introduced in February, which bolsters Obama's, boils down to what Schakowsky sees as a long overdue fact-finding mission through the secretive contracting bureaucracy. Among other provisions, it requires the government to determine and make public the number of contractors and subcontractors (at any tier) that are employed in Iraq and Afghanistan; any host country's, international or US laws that have been broken by contractors; disciplinary actions taken against contractors; and the total number of dead and wounded contractors. Schakowsky says she has tried repeatedly over the past several years to get this information and has been stonewalled or ignored. "We're talking about billions and billions of dollars--some have estimated forty cents of every dollar goes to these contractors, and we couldn't get any information on casualties, on deaths," says Schakowsky. "It has been virtually impossible to shine the light on this aspect of the war and so when we discuss the war, its scope, its costs, its risks, they have not been part of this whatsoever. This whole shadow force that's been operating in Iraq, we know almost nothing about. I think it keeps at arm's length from the American people what this war is all about."

[Blue_Tires]

19. they are in my backyard

and I've ranted about them here many times...the local paper, the Virginian-Pilot, had a great series on them last year that you can search if you want...

[paparush]

20. DemocracyNow did a GREAT segment on BlackWater -

They interviewed the author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”

Check it out -
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1559232&mode=thread&tid=25

BW is VERY scary. VERY whacko-christain. VERY well funded with our tax dollars. These guys have their own planes, their own helicopters.

[conscious evolution]

21. In some ways

they are comparable to the Waffen SS.
Both got their start providing security and heavy muscle for the boss's.
Their leadership is comprised of fanatics.
They both operated in occuppied countries.
They both were involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Its only a matter of time until Blackwater is as well armed as the SS.It is also only a matter of time until they are participating in military actions as actual combatants.

[mrgorth]

30. You might mean regular SS

Waffen SS was an elite version of the Wehrmacht, regular army. The regular Schutstaffel were the praetorian guard you speak of.

[Thothmes]

31. Waffen SS

The Waffen SS was not part of the regular German Army. The operated under Army tactical and strategic control, but were manned and equipped by SS Headquarters. When it came to new weapons and equipment the SS units had priority over Wehrmacht units.

[conscious evolution]

36. They were both under the same management.

Much like Blackwater operates.
When they do begin offensive operations I wonder if it will be overseas or here at home.

[TahitiNut]

23. Eric Prince is brother-in-law to Dick DeVos, GOP candidate for Governor of MI in 2006

Dick (the Amway Ayatollah) and Betsy DeVos are extreme GOP right-wingers ... True Believers.

[nashville_brook]

26. here's a 2003 Mother Jones article -- Cheney got the ball rolling under GHWBush

http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles/soldiersfortune.html

Soldiers of Good Fortune

(snip)

THE PUSH TO PRIVATIZE WAR got its start during the administration of the elder President Bush. After the Gulf War ended, the Pentagon, then headed by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, paid a Halliburton subsidiary called Brown & Root Services nearly $9 million to study how private military companies could provide support for American soldiers in combat zones. Cheney went on to serve as CEO of Halliburton—and Brown & Root, now known as Halliburton KBR, has since been awarded at least $2.5 billion to construct and run military bases, some in secret locations, as part of the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program. In March, the Pentagon hired Cheney's former firm to fight fires in Iraq if Saddam Hussein sabotages oil wells during a U.S. attack.

Pentagon officials say they rely on firms like Halliburton because the private sector works faster and cheaper than the military. When U.S. Marines distributed relief supplies in Somalia in 1992, for example, the military contracted with Brown & Root for logistical support. "They had laborers and vehicles at the Port of Mogadishu within 11 hours after we had given them notice," recalls Don Trautner, who runs the Army logistics program.

The use of private military companies, which gained considerable momentum under President Clinton, has escalated under the Bush administration. "There has been a dramatic increase in the military's reliance on contractor personnel to provide a wide range of support services for overseas operations," one Washington law firm advises its defense-company clients in a recent briefing paper. "In addition, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, resulted in a rapid expansion of U.S. military activity in many areas of the globe, and President Bush's ongoing war on terrorism will likely require even greater contractor support for military operations in the future."

Because the Geneva Convention expressly bans the use of mercenaries—individual soldiers of fortune who fight solely for personal gain—private military companies are careful to distance themselves from any associations with such hired guns. To emphasize their experience and professionalism, many firms maintain websites brimming with colorful PR material; the industry even funds an advocacy group, the International Peace Operations Association, which portrays military firms as more capable and accountable than the Pentagon. "These companies want to run a professional operation," says the group's director, Doug Brooks. "Their incentive is to make money. How do you make money? You make sure you don't screw up."

When the companies do screw up, however, their status as private entities often shields them—and the government—from public scrutiny. In 2001, an Alabama-based firm called Aviation Development Corp. that provided reconnaissance for the CIA in South America misidentified an errant plane as possibly belonging to cocaine traffickers. Based on the company's information, the Peruvian air force shot down the aircraft, killing a U.S. missionary and her seven-month-old daughter. Afterward, when members of Congress tried to investigate, the State Department and the CIA refused to provide any information, citing privacy concerns. "We can't talk about it," administration officials told Congress, according to a source familiar with the incident. "It's a private entity. Call the company."

The lack of oversight alarms some members of Congress. "Under a shroud of secrecy, the United States is carrying out military missions with people who don't have the same level of accountability," says Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a leading congressional critic of privatized war. "We have individuals who are not obligated to follow orders or follow the Military Code of Conduct. Their main obligation is to their employer, not to their country."

(snip)

THE CAMPAIGN CASH and personal connections give private military companies an unusual degree of influence, even by Washington standards. In at least one case, a company has successfully shifted U.S. foreign policy to bolster its bottom line. In 1998, the government of Equatorial Guinea asked MPRI to evaluate its defense systems, particularly its need for a coast guard to protect its oil reserves. To do so, MPRI needed a license from the U.S. State Department. But the Clinton administration flatly rejected the company's request, citing the West African nation's egregious record of torturing and murdering political dissidents.

[AwakeAtLast]

27. My Iraq War Veteran husband knows of them very well.

He doesn't have much to say about them that is nice. Or about KBR, either. He kind of lumps them together. Wouldn't be surprised if the BFEE profits from both of them.

[eridani]

29. Geez. Is it the 30 times higher pay?

The total lack of accountability?
Or maybe he's just still being a sorehead about that contaminated food and water. :sarcasm:

[AwakeAtLast]

41. Don't forget the $100 per bag of laundry!

That he could do himself and not lose!

:hi:

[Laurab]

28. I'm reading that book right now .

Actually, they're quite well-known - Waxman held hearings on them maybe a month ago (had 4 widows/mothers testify, as well as a lawyer for Blackwater). The lawyer squirmed a lot.

I wasn't going to buy the book - I always check out the reader reviews before purchasing a book on Amazon, and they weren't very good. Then I clicked on a couple of "see this person's other reviews", and most of the people had none, which told me the reviews might not be on the up and up. I'm not that far into it, but so far, the book seems quite good.

On edit: The Waxman hearings were about a lawsuit brought against Blackwater by relatives of four killed in Iraq, who were ambushed, burned, at least 2 of whom were ripped apart and then hung from a bridge for a day in front of cheering crowds.

[GliderGuider]

32. Blackwater program on CBC radio

You can listen to it here.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2007/200703/20070314.html
Scroll down to Part 3.

Blackwater – Scahill

According to its website, Blackwater USA is "the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world."

In other words, it's an army for hire. And for the U.S. White House, Blackwater is proving to be a linchpin in the administration's Iraq war strategy. A means of outsourcing military personnel and as some argue... a way of reducing official US military casualty numbers.

Ultimately, for some, Blackwater represents a new back door for military expansion. A means of waging war without accountability. Jeremy Scahill is one of those critics -- a journalist who has been following Blackwater for years. Mr. Scahill is the author of a new book called, Blackwater, the Rise of the World's most Powerful Mercenary Army. He joins us from our studio in New York City,

We did request an interview with a representative of Blackwater U.S.A. but the company declined the opportunity to comment.

[DemReadingDU]

34. On Democracy Now! Blackwater

thread by babylonsister...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x453981

added link to Democracynow...
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1337226

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

35. There have been dozens of Blackwater USA threads on DU. If you do a search you can find them.

If you contribute to the site, you can use the search function.

[Joanne98]

37. A private christian army. I'm reading "American Fascists" by Chris Hedges.

Erik Prince needs some attention.

[heatstreak]

39. kick

[JetCityLiberal]

40. Listening to Schahill on DemocraryNow

very scary indeed. Thank you for posting this because it is must hear tv. Gotta get that book.

Couldn't believe that scumbag Ken Starr is Blackwater counsel.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061113/whitewater_to_blackwater

They are cockroaches who never go away....

[ShortnFiery]

42. He will be back on tomorrow if I understood Amy Goodman correctly ...

I hope so for he was very informative. Goodman said that his research cumulated in "a masterpiece." Yes, he's work through all the sources and is a wealth of knowledge. :thumbsup: