Scahill on Maddow: is Blackwater still around because Obama's afraid?

here's an interesting twist on the on-going blackwater story...

Despite news reports that the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater has seen its contracts dry up and its influence wane, the company continues to do brisk business in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and the Obama administration may be too afraid of the firm to do anything about it, says investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill.

"You know who's guarding Hillary Clinton in Afghanistan right now? Blackwater," Scahill told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Tuesday night. "You know who guards members of Congress? Blackwater. They have half a billion dollars in contracts in Afghanistan right now. CIA, State Department, Defense Department. Why is President Obama keeping these guys on the payroll? There has never been a company in recent history that made the case that corporations are corrupt, evil organizations [better] than Blackwater."

Scahill was on The Rachel Maddow Show discussing the New York Times' revelation that senior Blackwater executives allegedly arranged for bribes of up to $1 million for Iraqi politicians in a bid to retain its contracts and silence criticism of the company in the wake of the Nissour Square massacre in 2007, in which 17 Iraqi civilians died after Blackwater guards opened fire.

so, afraid why...? afraid to lose a kickback...? afraid of what they know and would be willing to tell...? afraid for his life...? afraid why...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

The Nation's Jeremy Scahill reports on Blackwater

the rise of blackwater usa, the world's most powerful mercenary army...



from brasscheck tv...

Bush has his own private army.

It's called Blackwater.

The company was caught red handed murdering
Iraqi civilians in cold blood.

No problem according to the US State Department
(Condi Rice). Their contract to provide protection
to US "diplomats" in Iraq was just renewed.

Why?

The State Department claims it could not find
anyone else to do the job.

"We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq,"
said Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for
management. "If the contractors were removed, we would have
to leave Iraq."

Bizarre, isn't it?

bizarre is an understatement...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

Privatizing our military

better add "support our mercenaries" to your "support our troops" ribbons...

as the wapo points out, our highly-paid, fast-growing, private armies are "surging" right along with those poor, under-paid grunts... no wonder bush doesn't go to any funerals for our soldiers who die in iraq... if he did, he'd have to go to the funerals of private contractors too and that might not look so good...

The U.S. military has never released complete statistics on contractor casualties or the number of attacks on privately guarded convoys. The military deleted casualty figures from reports issued by the Reconstruction Logistics Directorate of the Corps of Engineers, according to Victoria Wayne, who served as deputy director for logistics until 2006 and spent 2 1/2 years in Iraq.

Wayne described security contractors as "the unsung heroes of the war." She said she believed the military wanted to hide information showing that private guards were fighting and dying in large numbers because it would be perceived as bad news.

"It was like there was a major war being fought out there, but we were the only ones who knew about it," Wayne said.

and it continues to grow...

The security industry's enormous growth has been facilitated by the U.S. military, which uses the 20,000 to 30,000 contractors to offset chronic troop shortages. Armed contractors protect all convoys transporting reconstruction materiel, including vehicles, weapons and ammunition for the Iraqi army and police. They guard key U.S. military installations and provide personal security for at least three commanding generals, including Air Force Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Scott, who oversees U.S. military contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The military plans to outsource at least $1.5 billion in security operations this year, including the three largest security contracts in Iraq: a "theaterwide" contract to protect U.S. bases that is worth up to $480 million, according to Scott; a contract for up to $475 million to provide intelligence for the Army and personal security for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and a contract for up to $450 million to protect reconstruction convoys. The Army has also tested a plan to use private security on military convoys for the first time, a shift that would significantly increase the presence of armed contractors on Iraq's dangerous roads.

i find it deeply disturbing that the security of three commanding generals is being handled by private contractors... what kind of an impression does it leave on soldiers in the field to see their commanding general surrounded by private contractors...? an even better question is, what does it do to morale...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments