Accused Guards Blur Line between Blackwater and Military

[babylonsister]

Accused Guards Blur Line between Blackwater and Military
by: Brandon Friedman
Thu Dec 11, 2008 at 04:15:16 AM EST


By now, you've probably heard about the former Blackwater guards indicted for allegedly massacring 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. Regardless of who's at fault, it was a terribly unfortunate incident when it happened. So with these five accused former military guys, I'll hold off on judging the situation. If they're innocent, I hope they're exonerated. If they're found guilty, I hope they spend a long time in jail. I wasn't there and I haven't talked to anyone who was, so I'm just not going to comment on it.

That said, I've just come from a website which, according to the blog Blackfive, has been constructed by the men's "defense team." It's called Raven23.com, and it's designed to provide positive publicity for the accused former guards. It's also one of the most disingenuous, inappropriate things I've seen in a good while.

Take a look at the homepage:



See all the references Blackwater Worldwide? Me neither. All I see are the five seals of America's Armed Forces and an image of the Marine Corps War Memorial.

Instead of this:


We see this:


snip//

Now, I have a problem here. And last night, I talked to half a dozen other Army and Marine Corps Iraq veterans who feel the same way as I do. Here's the problem: No one from the Army or Marine Corps has been accused of massacring 14 Iraqi civilians in this case. That would be employees or former employees of Blackwater Worldwide--but not the military. And there needs to be a distinction made.

What we have here is a move to elicit sympathy for the accused guards by painting them as patriotic soldiers and marines who were only doing their duties in Iraq. We see their initial entry photos, deliberately intended to make them seem younger than they are, even though they're now much older. Even the father of one of the accused said he "can't believe prosecutors are going after such decorated military veterans." In fact, every aspect of the portrayal makes it look as though soldiers and marines are going on trial here. But they're not. Rather, these indictments were handed down to five highly-paid contractors who were working for Blackwater Worldwide on behalf of the U.S. State Department. But they were in no way associated with the U.S. military.

And that's the part that really bugs me. Because here's the deal as I see it: You don't get to go over to Iraq for Blackwater, kill 14 civilians--justifiably or not--and then come back and play it off as if you were just doing your duty as a soldier or marine. Because you weren't. You were there for the money.

more...

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2287

[amdezurik]

1. I would bet money

(real money like Euro's not faux dollars like dumbaya has left us) that whomever put up that site has skin in the game in this trial...

[EFerrari]

2. Well, the site can't scream "white supremacist "Christian" predators for hire", can it?

K&R

[babylonsister]

3. I guess not; too bad truth isn't mandatory. nt

[tuckessee]

4. The only real difference is that the Blackwater guys are smarter.

The work for the same masters doing the same job but for better pay, benies and hours.

They are nothing more than a semi-elite extension of the US military.

I wouldn't be surprised if Blackwater was a wholly CIA/DIA/etc run front group.

Many of the regular troops are also "in it for the money". How often do we hear "economic draft"? How often does the Pentagon give out signing & resigning bonuses?

Just because the Blackwater guys are on a higher pay scale due to their skill & experience than the average knuckle dragging jarhead is no reason for the troop jock sniffers to be bitter (jealous).

[babylonsister]

5. So do you think Blackwater should be above the law? And if you'd

google a bit, you'd find out all about the private enterprise that runs Blackwater.

[tuckessee]

7. Where did I say that I thought they should receive immunity?

I think all war criminals should punished, unlike most DU'ers who think only Bush & Cheney should be held accountable while we should give a free pass to the actual rapists and trigger pullers.

I am well familiar with Blackwater. Not only have I read Schahill's work but I personally know many who work in PMC's and most of the regular military I know dream of getting out and working for such companies.

[babylonsister]

8. If you've read Scahill's articles, what makes you think the CIA

has anything to do with Blackwater? Not what I've been lead to believe.

[EFerrari]

9. Ex-CIA guys cycle into and out of all of these companies. Like this felon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cofer_Black

[babylonsister]

11. I know that, but the poster insinuated that the CIA was running the company. nt

[EFerrari]

12. CIA does put up storefronts and does do business with horrible creeps

like Prince. I guess our kids will find out in fifty years what the truth of it all is.

I've read a lot on BW and to tell you the truth, I can't form an opinion on this because there's too much I don't know yet. It seems more likely to me that Prince contracts with CIA.

[tuckessee]

10. I won't specifically link them to the "Central Intelligence Agency"....

but my personal experience says that these guys are connected deeply somehow to the black or intelligence branches of the US government.

In no way are all of Blackwater's actions being reported. It will take decades and reams of FOIA requests to even begin scratching the surface of what they and other like orgs have been doing the last 7 years.

In the murky world of spooks things are often intentionally so obfuscated that it is impossible to sort who actually pulls the strings.

[EFerrari]

6. Four of these guys were just grunts, not special anything. n/t