Blackwater is frightening

[live love laugh]

I listened to the Young Turks this morning and they interviewed an author whose name escapes me but what I learned about Blackwater was astonishing.

Erik Prince, 37, is a billionaire by inheritance (his father invented the lighted sun visor for autos). Erik is a former Navy Seal who worked in the first Bush White House. He left because he felt Bush1 was not conservative enough. :wtf:

Erik Prince is deeply involved in Republican Party politics. His family has funneled millions to GOP committees and candidates, including President Bush. In 2004, Blackwater retained the Alexander Strategy Group, the PR and lobbying firm that closed down earlier due to its embarrassing ties to Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay.

At the age of 29 in 1996, this fundamentalist neoconservative founded Blackwater USA, a private military company which now fights islamic entities in the middle east. Blackwater employs mercenaries from countries all over the world unleashing indiscriminate violence against unarmed Iraqis. The number of Blackwater employees in Iraq is the highest ever in history--almost 1 for 1 as opposed to 60 U.S. troops to 1 mercenary in the past.

Most disturbing is their legal status. Blackwater was classified in 2006 by Rumsfeld as military exempting them from prosecution in the same way as the U S military. Despite the exemption from prosecution, state courts are allowing suits to proceed in wrongful death cases on behalf of former Blackwater employees slain in Falluja. In turn, Blackwater is suing the families of the dead for $10 million each for breach of contract--that is, they signed contracts not to sue Blackwater if they were harmed. Ken Starr is defending Blackwater and is just one of many high level government officials from the Republic party that has left government to work for Blackwater.

Erik Prince has access to the CIA. He is lobbying to keep Blackwater from being liable for their actions at all--not only was the company exempted by being classified as military, they are also lobbying to be exempted from the military legal system as well.

Blackwater operations are currently expanding from state to state across the country. The biggest threat is their business model. They only profit if there is war, therefore they will pour billions into lobbies to prolong and extend the war or create new ones. They made $240,000 a day off of Katrina alone. It seems, however, that Blackwater is now branching out into TIA (Total Information Awareness) profiteering by spying for private corporations. (Anybody remember all those accidental lost customer databases with social security information and credit card information a year or two ago? I think there is a connection here :tinfoilhat:.)

Blackwater's presence is unprecedented in America and yet, no news media even talks about them. When Bush pardons them, should they actually be prosecuted, people will have no clue who they are or what they have done. Here are some YouTube videos to shorten the read...


Video on Erik Prince owner of Blackwater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfgt3kmv-Hg

How Blackwater was founded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP27VWM1dTQ&mode=related&search=

Blackwater says it can't be sued: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylUeX1C2doE&mode=related&search=

[ThomWV]

1. Is The Company Publically Traded?

[live love laugh]

2. I have not checked to see if they are publicly traded but I doubt it. nt

[godai]

13. no...LLC (100,000+ mercenaries in Iraq)

I get this from 'Imperial Life in the Emerald City.'

[Laurab]

32. You're correct - not publicly traded

I'm not sure of the number of mercenaries - I'm reading the book "Blackwater" right now, and they are indeed, scary.

[MadMaddie]

3. War and disaster profiteering and Treasonous.

[babylonsister]

4. His name is Jeremy Scahill, and Blackwater is really, truly frightening.

Democracy Now! turned me on to what has been happening:

http://www.democracynow.org/search.pl?query=Blackwater

[Monkeyman]

6. Yep

[Dr.Phool]

19. He has an article in the new issue of The Nation about Blackwater.

[babylonsister]

20. Thanks, Dr. P. I know that will be posted. nt

[omega minimo]

39. Yeah it sank like a bloody stone

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=460550&mesg_id=460550

[ellie]

54. I watched that too!

I will have to read that book. My brother trains Blackwater "contractors". My mom and I call them mercenaries.

[soothsayer]

5. ken starr=counsel, fieldings (*'s lawyer) =

former blackwater counsel. small world, eh?

[live love laugh]

7. Small world indeed. These people sicken me with their political incest. n/t

[Bosso 63]

26. Fun fact : Mary Kay Letourneau is Joseph E. Schmitz sister.

Joseph E. Schmitz is in the top brass at Blackwater, and Mary Kay Letourneau became infamous for being impregnated by one of her students when she taught in Washington state.

[live love laugh]

42. You couldn't make this stuff up in a novel. nt

[lvx35]

8. bad, bad, company.

Companies are to football players as governments are to referees.

When a football player becomes a referee, then its not football anymore.

[Obamarama]

9. Erik Prince is the brother of Michigan's Betsy "The Bitch" DeVos...

Which makes him the brother-in-law of Dick Devos, who tried to buy the governorship of Michigan but was handed his ass on a platter by Michigan voters.

Here is a link to a March 19 Fresh Air interview on NPR with an author who wrote a book about this scary guy: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8992128

[live love laugh]

10. It is only a matter of time before Michigan voters' votes won't matter, Devos will

buy the governorship. Republicans have figured out that "the people" don't matter and that they can do anything if they have control of the purse strings--anything for their personal benefit that is.

[Island Blue]

11. Yes they are,

and they are headquartered in the county next to mine. I fear this operation more than I could possibly fear any "terrorist" organization in the world.

[monmouth]

12. No wonder Bushco doesn't want to end this war. Money at stake here.. n/t

[graywarrior]

14. Democracy Now did two days of coverageon Blackwater this week. Frightening.

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

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/21/1340210

[Solo_in_MD]

15. The author has been making the talk show rounds

I've seen some of his videos. Trying for a documentary, but comes across more like editiorial. For example, there is little distinction made between food service and truck drivers vice armed solider surrogates. He also ignores the non combat parts of the company, including training done in the states.

Whats new with Blackwater is the openess and size. However, its a plethora of small contracts not a huge omnibus. If it wasn't Prince, it would be another. Change the way we staff things in the Government and private sector and Blackwater will wither.

[live love laugh]

16. There are others like Blackwater too, but none have contributed as much

or infiltrated as deeply as Blackwater. The scandal is their political contributions and what they have gotten in return.

[Solo_in_MD]

21. No, the scandal is the unwilling to properly staff the military and using contractors in the name

of reduced costs.

They and their predecessors have always been in that deep, it just wasn't known outside a limited audience

[live love laugh]

25. The contractors don't reduce costs. It would be interesting to

see who, besides the owner is profiting from Blackwater's windfall. It makes no sense to me that a $1 or $2 million donation should result in hundred million dollar profits.

[annabanana]

29. They are another revenue stream OUT. . .

The crowd that would bankrupt the government and sell off ALL public assets love these guys.

[Laurab]

45. Actually I don't think they've been in that deep prior to Blackwater

Along with the contractors in Iraq, they were the first-responders in Katrina - but all they brought was guns and ammunition, nothing to help the people. They are trying to get the US to send them to Darfur and Rwanda, as well, for "peacekeeping", which is really not something they're good at.

Yes, if the government changes, Blackwater will probably become smaller, but they are constantly lobbying their "product", and have a LOT of government connections. It's hard to tell where the government officals end and Blackwater begins.

[Kool Kitty]

56. Funny you should mention Africa, because

Scahill's piece in the April 2, 2007, issue of The Nation says that last October, "Bush lifted some sanctions on Christian southern Sudan, paving the way for a potential Blackwater training mission there. In January the Washington, DC, representative for southern Sudan's regional government said he expected Blackwater to begin training the south's security forces soon."

[Laurab]

58. I just finished the book - they want to be everywhere.

Their American troops are usually highly qualified former military or police, but their other troops from other countries are often from former militia's of really bad regimes.

The South African government has apparently recently passed some kind of legislation forbidding their people from fighting in places like Iraq, where the government doesn't support the war, but it's largely being ignored.

Blackwater is very scary, but I think, only as long as republics are in charge. Waxman has already held hearings about some things, and hopefully will have more. Right now it seems they can kill with impunity, and I have no doubt that they do.

On the back of the book jacket, someone compares them to Saddam's Republican Guard - I don't think it's quite at that point yet, but given time, who knows?

[jwirr]

17. Yes they are, not only for us but for the rest of the world. Does our

constitution allow for the existence of a private military in this country? They remind me of the middle ages when the most powerful overlord ruled and often not fairly. We are supposed to have control over our government actions both military and law enforcement but when corporations are allowed to have "security" like Blackwater then who controls them? Who makes sure they do not act like a Gestapo?

[jane_pippin]

18. The author is Jeremy Scahill if it's who I'm thinking of

That book's supposed to be really good. Scary, but very good.

[Faux pas]

22. kickin'. n/t

[cindylouwho]

23. Interview on NPR also.

Just this week, I think.

[etherealtruth]

27. Yes

[Time for change]

24. This is outrageous -- The fact that this is tolerated in this country is outrageous

This ought to be a scandal of major proportions that is covered regularly by all the major news channels. The fact that it's not really makes one wonder how close we are to Fascism. Thanks for posting this.

[EnviroBat]

28. I just posted about this 10 min ago!

Please call your representatives and demand that this organization is stopped, no more funding, no more legality!

[EnviroBat]

30. We've got to stop these thugs NOW!

In a related thread I urged everyone to start calling their state representatives and demand that Blackwater not be allowed to operate there. If they are already in your state, call to have them evicted! We can not allow this harboring of treasonous militants to continue in OUR country!

[rman]

31. Linked to the religious Right, Repub insiders..

from Democracy Now

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1337226&mode=thread&tid=25

...
Well, I actually got a letter from Blackwater's -- one of Blackwater's many lawyers. They have an army of lawyers. Their counsel of record is Ken Starr, the man who led the impeachment charge against President Clinton. And their previous lawyer was Fred Fielding, who now is President Bush's White House counsel, defending him against the attorney purge scandal. So they have powerhouse law firms, many law firms working for them. We got a letter from their law firm saying that they respect my First Amendment rights to criticize Blackwater, but take down your website. And they said that I’m violating the Lanham Act, which has to do with like corporate competition and trademark. And, I mean, this is intimidation tactics. And we're not going to back down. The website is going to remain up.
...

Now, Blackwater has argued in its legal briefings that it can't be sued in civilian courts and that it's entitled to the same immunity enjoyed by the military from civilian litigation inside of the United States. And the reason that Blackwater says this, or among the top reasons, is that Donald Rumsfeld in February of 2006 classified contractors as an official part of the US total force, making up an effective part of the US war machine. So Blackwater has turned around and taken Rumsfeld's designation of their company as an official part of the US total force and said, “This means we're part of the US military, and you can't sue us.” At the same time, Blackwater, since 2004, has been lobbying against having its forces placed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, commonly known as the court-martial system. So Blackwater is essentially saying, “We're above the law. We can't be prosecuted in military courts. We can't be sued in civilian courts.”
...

Part II - Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/21/1340210&mode=thread&tid=25

[EnviroBat]

33. They actually told you to take down Democracy Now?

This is complete bullshit. I've been trying to rally everyone here to call their representatives and demand the end of Blackwater. There is a war going on right here under our noses and people seem generally oblivious to it. What can we do?

rman, let me know what I can do to help in the fight against these fascists thugs, donations? Anything?

[rman]

34. The quoted segments are from Jeremy Scahill,

who was interviewed on DN. The website he's talking about is http://www.blackwaterbook.com. Blackwater wants that website taken down.

[scarletwoman]

36. Heh. Your post went up while I was busy writing my own, to make the same clarification. (nt)

[scarletwoman]

35. No, not Demcracy Now's site -- the author in that interview is saying that HIS site is under threat.

The author being quoted is Jeremy Scahill, and his site is here: http://www.blackwaterbook.com/

The post to which you replied is an excerpt of the Democracy Now! transcript of their interview with Scahill.

[ClayZ]

38. This reminds me a of Hymn from my youth!

1. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.




:hide: :scared:

[rman]

40. glad to see you've turned out alright

;)

[scarletwoman]

37. k & r -- This is really just another aspect of the New World Order.

The corporatists/financial elites seem to be aiming for the ultimate destruction of nation-states and their powers to govern and enforce laws; replacing them with privately-controlled corporate entities who are accountable to no one.

This is a trend that MUST be fought tooth and nail.

sw

[live love laugh]

41. kick..nt

[Sybil_23mist]

43. Private thugs

for corporate profits

[Jcrowley]

44. K&R n/t

[Laurab]

46. Kicking - people need to learn about these guys. n/t

[live love laugh]

47. I second that. nt

[omega minimo]

48. Right. And Arnie talks with Blackwater to contract to replace Nat. Guard in California

see #39

[live love laugh]

50. There are many other states where Blackwater is setting up camp. I can't

find the names (yet).

But while looking, I ran across this Bush quote from the State of the Union - basically advocating for Blackwater:

"A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time."

[omega minimo]

53. yup

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=460550&mesg_id=460550

[bonito]

49. kick n/t

[live love laugh]

51. Quotes from and about Blackwater

"Blackwater right now has contracts that says are so secret that he is not able to tell one branch of the Feds that he's working for a different branch of the Feds.. Much of the interview I had with them was couched in this -- this almost cowboy-like secrecy. They were very proud of being on these top secret missions."
Barry Yeoman, author of "Soldiers of Good Fortune," on Democracy Now


"Private military corporations become a way to distance themselves and create what we used to call 'plausible deniability.'"
Daniel Nelson, former professor at the Defense Department's Marshall European Center for Security Studies


"Under a shroud of secrecy, the United States is carrying out military missions with people who don't have the same level of accountability."
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)

"I would like to have the largest, most professional private army in the world."
Gary Jackson, president of Blackwater USA

[byronius]

52. Got me. Buying the book, emailing my senators and reps, LTTE, Thank You.

This just stinks.

[Rhythm]

55. When i hear about "private contractors" getting killed in Iraq...

I don't give a shit. And this is why.

They're private mercs, getting paid a hell of a lot more than our servicemembers, and with no accountability for the horrors that they do.

I won't shed a tear then next time they find one of them hanging from an overpass.

[file83]

57. When America becomes a "Police State" - it's Blackwater that'll be "policing" us.

And they will be held accountable to NO ONE. Legally untouchable. Now can you just imagine the horrors that will ensue?