About Iraq

Breadstreet.com asked:


By James F. Cotter

Blackwater Worldwide, a private military company,  was founded in 1997 (as Blackwater USA) by Erik Prince and Al Clark.  Today the company is contracted by the U.S. government to provide security in Iraq.  Two-thirds of its government contracts are no-bid contracts,  and 90 percent of its revenue comes from these government contracts.  (1)

A staff report by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said that Blackwater was “staffed with reckless, shoot-first guards who were not always sober and did not always stop to see who or what was hit by their bullets.”   (2)

According to an IRS ruling, Blackwater “violated federal tax laws by treating an armed guard as an ‘independent contractor.’”  Congressman Henry Waxman observed, “The implication of this ruling is that Blackwater may have avoided paying millions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and related taxes for which it is legally responsible.”  (3)

Blackwater illegally required an employee “to sign a non-disclosure agreement before (Blackwater) agreed to pay the back pay and other compensation that he was owed.  The terms of this agreement  explicitly prohibited the guard from disclosing any information about Blackwater to ‘any politician’  or ‘public  official.’”  As Waxman said, “It appears that Blackwater used this illegal scheme to avoid millions of dollars in taxes and then prevented the security guard who discovered the tax  evasion from contacting members of Congress or law enforcement officials.”  (3)

On September 16, 2007, Blackwater gunmen opened fire on a Baghdad street, killing 17 civilians.  The shootings were unprovoked, according to witnesses,  who also reported that the gunmen continued firing while the Iraqi civilians were trying to run away.  Two Blackwater helicopters were also involved in the attack.  Although Blackwater claimed that its people were under attack, an FBI investigation concluded that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified.  No evidence was found of an attack on the Blackwater employees.  (4)

Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo, in The Nation, say  “Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences.”  In discussing the presence of hordes of Blackwater mercenaries on the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the authors wonder “why the government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here.”  At least some of these Blackwater “troops” were said to have been deputized by the governor;  others were hired by wealthy individuals who had fled the city and wanted their property protected.  “With President Bush using the Katrina disaster to try to repeal  Posse Comitatus (the ban on using U.S. troops in domestic law enforcement) and Blackwater and other security firms clearly initiating a push to install their paramilitaries on U.S. soil, the war is coming home in yet another ominous way.  As one Blackwater mercenary said, ‘This is a trend.   You’re going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations.’”  (5)  (6)

In 2006 an SUV with Blackwater “security” men crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee in Baghdad’s Green Zone.   The Blackwater “security” people disarmed the soldiers,  forcing them  to lie on the ground at gunpoint  until the SUV  could be extricated.  (7)

Sourcewatch reports, “Blackwater  has receieved no-bid government contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and post-Katrina New Orleans, all from (George W. Bush’s)  administration.”  (8)

In March 2004, four Blackwater employees were killed in Iraq because the company had decided to save money ($1.5 million, as it turns out) by not buying armored vehicles.  (9)   Insurgents simply walked up to their vehicle and killed the men with small-arms fire.  An armored vehicle would have repelled the attackers.  When the families sought details about the incident, they ran into a stone wall.  The mother of one of the victims said, “We were actually told that if we wanted to see the paperwork on how my son and his co-workers were killed that we’d have to sue them.”    (10)

The grieving wife of one of the men says, “Blackwater seems to understand money. That’s the only thing they understand.  They have no values, they have no morals.  They’re whores.  They’re the whores of war.”  (11)

 Our roving reporter,  Frank “Scribbles”  Melooney,   managed to track down Blackwater owner Erik Prince, who does not like giving interviews,  by disguising himself as a tuna casserole.  Or that’s what he says.  I’m not sure I believe him.

The interview was rather short, as you will see.

 Q.  Why can’t the military handle these security  matters in Iraq and Afghanistan?  And domestically, isn’t Blackwater  somewhat usurping the role of the National Guard?

A.  We’re more efficient.  We’re better than they are.  The army and the National Guard—buncha pansies.

Q.  Blackwater does not seem to be accountable to anybody. 

A.  We’re stronger than the government.  We do whatever we please. That’s the way God wants it.

Q.  Why do you say that?

A.  It’s  in the Bible.  Which you  obviously haven’t been reading, or you’d know.

Q.  Let’s see—your organization has tons of weapons.  You do whatever you want. You’re answerable to no one.  What’s to stop you from invading Poland?

A.  We are a peace-loving people, Frank.  We hate the idea of having to invade anybody.

Q.  Do you really?

A.  But that’s a good question. And the answer is:  Nobody.  Nobody can stop us.  Hmm,  Poland–I hadn’t thought of that one.

Q.  Are your employees given psychological tests?

A.  Urine tests.  They’re quicker. 

Q.  Not really.  The urine has to be analyzed.

A.  We do analyze it.  If it’s any color but yellow, we won’t hire them. You wouldn’t believe some of the colors we’ve seen. 

Q.  Some have  suggested that a large proportion of your employees are mentally unstable. 

A.  Those people are  jealous.  Jealous  pinko  swishes.

Q.  Jealous of what?

A.  The size of our guns.  Don’t let anyone fool you—size counts. This “angle of the dangle” crap is left-wing poopy. 

Q.  You’ve never felt that a great percentage of your people have deep-seated insecurities that lead them to crave power and control?

A.  It’s about time Christians had some power. 

Q.  But Christianity has been the dominant religion in Western civilization for 2,000 years.

A.  Yes, but they never let us do anything–until  Blackwater came along.  Except the Crusades.

Q.  Who are “they”?

A.  You know.

Q.   No, I really have no idea who you’re talking about.

A.  The international banker set.  The Christ-killers.

Q.  Well,  I honestly don’t think we need to go on.  

A.  I’ll tell you what to think, you little punk.

Q.  Goodbye, mister Prince.  There’s really no point in continuing. 

A.  Hold it right there, sissypants.

Q.  Now, now, Mr. Prince—put down that gun.

A.  You’ll have to pry it out of–

Q.  Your cold, dead hands?

A.  How did you know what I was going to say?

Q.  I’m psychic.  Look, it’s Jennifer Aniston.

A.  Really?  Where?  I don’t see her.  Frank?  Where did you go?  Frank?

References



 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Worldwide

www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/washington/01cnd-blackwater.html

www.mediamouse.org/news/2007/10/congressional-committee-invest.php - 25k

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Baghdad_shootings

www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0910-07.htm

www.indymedia.us/en/2005/01/10721.shtml

www.infowars.com/articles/iraq/blackwater_drew_weapons_on_us_troops.htm



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Ruben

Ernie Fitzpatrick asked:


The nation of Iraq brought in the new year with a new power! The United States handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace to Iraqi authorities on Thursday in a ceremonial move described by the country’s prime minister as a restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty. Things are changing, but how fast is what most politicians will ask. 

What was once the biggest issue for Americans has now faded into the past for two major reasons.

We are leaving Iraq. It’s becoming more and more obvious that our combat troops are les and less involved in fighting and more involved in training and preparing to depart over the next 1-3 years. But then there’s the bigger gorilla in the neighborhood that we’re focuing on and that would be the MAJOR RECESSION worldwide.

At a ceremony marking the transition, Nouri al-Maliki said he will propose Jan. 1 be declared a national holiday to commemorate what he called “Sovereignty Day”: the day Iraq took the lead in security away from U.S. forces, regained control of its airspace and reclaimed a wide swath of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. The area that became known as the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River was occupied by the United States shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion and walled off from the rest of the city.

Until Wednesday, Saddam’s former palace formally served as the U.S. Embassy and headquarters of the U.S military in Iraq. Thursday’s palace handover was mostly ceremonial, as most U.S. diplomats and military officials long since moved to a new embassy building on the other side of the Green Zone, which is also known as the International Zone.

“This palace is the symbol of Iraqi sovereignty and by restoring it, a real message is directed to all Iraqi people that Iraqi sovereignty has returned to its natural status,” al-Maliki said.

And so the transition continues.



Ron

rog asked:


Not sure if I ran out of allowable letters above. I would like to know how much our government is paying to Blackwater per month or year or whatever for its services in Iraq.

Carolyn

Fred.Dspnr asked:


Arms sales to Israel must be through the roof similarly Iraq, america’s interest, looks like a similar democracy in an area where the majority of inhabitants do not regard foreigners very highly, yet, america keeps pushing.

Edwin

Ernie Fitzpatrick asked:


He’s BACK! And I doubt that the Soros team will be guilty of another ad saying that Patraues Betrays Us. That campaign went over like a lead balloon. But you can rest assured that the Senators running for president will get in as much “shine time” as they can. And they’ll be very careful to speak to the constituency that they think will be voting for them. What’s right just isn’t the issue right now. It’s called politics!

Gen. David Petraeus in congressional testimony Tuesday declined to establish a specific timetable for drawing down troop levels beyond July, the departure time for the last of the 30,000 extra troops sent to Iraq last year. And you know that’s not going to sit well with Hillary or Obama!

Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told the Senate Armed Services Committee a 45-day pause in troop drawdowns after July would allow commanders to assess conditions in Iraq after the extra troops leave. After the 45 days, Petraeus said, commanders will continue to assess conditions in Iraq to see when they can withdraw more troops.

Come on David, it’s an election year. Give us some good news!

Bush has said he intended to accept Petraeus’ recommendation. On Thursday, the president will make a speech about the war, now in its sixth year, and his decision about troop levels. Bush knows this isn’t going to sit well with even many in his own party, much less the oppositions that’s now a majority!

Here’s a few of the Committee’s comments:

>Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee chairman, called Petraeus’ recommendation a “clear, open-ended pause.”

>Virginia Republican John Warner, a former chairman of the committee, interrupted Petraeus during a long answer about whether the war was making the U.S. safer. “My time on the clock is moving pretty quickly. Can you now, just in simple language, tell us, yes, it is worth it and it is making us safer here at home?”

>Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the committee, said the strategic purpose of increasing troops in Iraq had not worked. “We’re stuck where we started before the surge with 140,000 troops in Iraq and no end in sight. That in my view is unsustainable….and it is unacceptable to the American people.”

>Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican, was equally critical, saying that “simply appealing for more time to make progress is insufficient. We need a strategy that anticipates a political end game and employs every plausible means to achieve it.”

>Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, said the extra troops have reduced violence and prompted some political reconciliation. The political fortunes of McCain, a major supporter of Petraeus’ strategy.”We’re no longer staring into the abyss of defeat.”

>Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, one of the two remaining Democratic presidential candidates, called a continuation of the Bush policies “irresponsible. The additional troopsvhave not provided security to allow Iraq’s government to bring the nation’s various factions together. Instead, the United States should begin an orderly process of removing troops from Iraq. I think it could be fair to say that it might well be irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced the results that have been promised time and time again at such tremendous cost to our national security.”

>Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., used a line of questioning to show he believed U.S. forces were wrongly being drawn into sectarian fighting, rather than maintaining the fight only against Al Qaeda.

For now, Petraeus faces a dramatically different political landscape than last fall when support for the war had been eroding steadily among Republicans. Petraeus’ testimony helped shore up GOP defections at the time. And since then, a significant drop in violence has helped stave off legislation ordering troops home.

But all the while we’re creating more and more enemies.

For those who have lost loved ones in the war these such meetings are very difficult to hear.



Susan