US News
Blackwater scandal deepens
By Karyn Chenoweth Oct 2, 2007, 4:16 GMT
US ambassador L. Paul Bremer (front L) and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh (front R) guarded by private US security company personnel at the Baghdad International Airport. The Iraqi government revoked the license of Blackwater USA, one of the most prominent private US security firms operating in Iraq, after a firefight left eight civilians dead on 16 September 2007. EPA/STF. SGT. D. MYLES CULLEN/POOL
U.S. security contractor Blackwater has been involved in at least 195 shooting incidents in Iraq since 2005 and, in eight of 10 cases, their forces fired first, a leading U.S. lawmaker said on Monday, reported Reuters.
State Department contractor Blackwater is under investigation for the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis on September 16, they will answer questions about that incident and its performance in Iraq at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Senior State Department officials will also be grilled by the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform examining whether the growing use of military contractors is undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman, a vocal critic of the Iraq war, released details from Blackwater's own reports of multiple incidents involving Iraqi casualties.
The memorandum also deeply criticized the State Department's oversight of the company.
Reuters claims it contains reports of 195 shooting incidents from the start of 2005 until September 12 of this year, an average of 1.4 per week.
"In 32 of those incidents, Blackwater were returning fire after an attack while on 163 occasions (84 percent of the shooting incidents), Blackwater personnel were the first to fire," Waxman said.
Blackwater, which has been paid a little over $1 billion by the U.S. government since 2001, declined to comment on Waxman's memorandum.
"We look forward to setting the record straight on this and other issues" when Erik Prince, Blackwater's chief, testifies before the committee, spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said, reported Reuters.
Waxman also criticized the State Department's handling of several incidents involving Blackwater and incidents of paying off victims' families, rather than investigating.
"It appears that the State Department's primary response was to ask Blackwater to make monetary payments to put the 'matter behind us' rather than to insist upon accountability or to investigate Blackwater personnel for potential criminal liability," said the memorandum.
In a shooting incident on December 24, 2006, a security guard for Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi was killed by an allegedly drunken Blackwater contractor, who was then flown out of the country and faced no charges.
One incident allegedly claimed Blackwater shooters killed an "innocent Iraqi."
Waxman said the State Department requested only a $5,000 payment to "put this unfortunate matter behind us quickly."
Blackwater protects U.S. embassy convoys in Iraq and, along with two other contractors, DynCorp and Triple Canopy, has a worldwide lucrative security deal with the State Department.
Waxman said reports provided by Blackwater show the North Carolina-based firm was involved in more shooting incidents in Iraq than the other two companies combined.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Mercenaries ... Lol
Thats what you get when you make buisness with such guys. Nothing but trouble.
The Board and personnel list of Blackwater constitutes a fine example of what your current administration is like .One moment you are in the Pentagon investigating and handing out contracts to private security corporations and one month later you are a member of the board of Blackwater ? An exeption ?Certainly not ,Blackwater ,the Republican Party ,the Pentagon and the White House are one branch of the military industrial complex ,easy to identify because the ties are so easy for all to view.They loot the taxpayer,hand out hefty sums from it to friends ,swap jobs and reward each other for services rendered to Blackwater. .You will not be surprised to learn that Kenneth Starr ,the fine gentleman that spent 30 million dollars taxpayer's money on an inquiry to discover that Bill Clinton got a blow job from Lewinsky is now rewarded by a job as a council to Blackwater .I guess his moral crusade has ended there and then .
Let's review:
Clinton wasn't impeached for the blow job, he was impeached for lying to a federal judge about it. His peers at the trial bar, took his law license away for it, so I suspect they had an ax to grind, and they CERTAINLY are not part of the phony mil-ind complex.
These private rent a cops are put in impossible circumstances, for the lure of huge money, and then get pilloried for saving their own lives. Hell, I'd drink too!
How many of these stories have we seen debunked? How many lopsided judgements i.e. 9 years for a kid who made a prisoner act like a dog or some other rediculous judgement have we seen?
Good old SP4 always good to voice the neocon side of things .Defending their life ?The mercenaries of Blackwater ?Read the article well,SP4,also check the current investigation in Congress .I'm sorry if once more facts do not agree with your vision.But I admire your courage .I've never seen a man putting so much effort at stopping the tide.
Other breaking news stories:
A woman was beaten in (insert any Islamic republics name here)
A black person in africa doesn't have enough to eat
Someone lied in Washington DC...besides Hillary...
Someone in China is having a baby.
Someone was shot in Iraq, Tonny! Quick, investigate it! Hell, they might be dead!
What kind of gossamer world do you live in for christsakes?
There is NO context in any of this drivel. Waxman? What a turd. he's been bucking this all along and now has some new victims.
Typical libnazi move i.e. take the obvious and put it in front of a committee and throw dung until some sticks. This will last until they get a democratic president and then, once it can touch them, the 'cone of silence' will descend.
Now, we are expected to believe that Waxman, seems disturbed by death in Iraq. Who died? Who knows.
Civilians dead in Iraq...195 incidents since 2005...how rediculous is this???
It's an easy deal for Waxman. He attacks someone no one cares about. He gets his 15 minutes and no matter the outcome, walks away with his core group tickled pink. Never mind the service these men and women provide,or that they are never going to get a fair hearing. Waxman is the democratic answer to Joseph McCarthy.
Doesn't it just seem weird, in a nation where up to 250 civilians at any one time may be bombed or killed, by a ruthless enemy that they focus on these, relatively small incidents?
WEll well,you some how missed a few points .The point is not on some 250 men .There is much more to Blackwater .It hosts some of the fines neocob cronies from the GOP like Kenneth Starr and other refugees from the Pentagon .One day you are handing out contracts to Blackwater,the next month you are on their paylist .
Today Blackwater was the talk of the town on Capitol Hill,it may well prove to be the achilles jeel of the BUsh administration ,one of many .
I'm stll awaiting some replys to my previous remarks about the value of the average Iraqi killed by some Blackwater lercenary,is the rate still 2 weeks salary of a mercenary ?Apprently I made a mistazke ,it is about 3 days salary .Go figure ...
Oh yeah ,I almost forgot.Is there a galant neocon around to enlighten me on this .How do you explain to anybody that the same administration claiming to bring security to Iraq has to rely on mercenaries to provide that very security to it's own staff .I will be very amused by any tentative to explain that.Try your best,but please leave out the insults
Hey SP4 What kind of gossamer world are YOU living in ?Isn't it you who thinks Bill Clinton getting a blowjob is worldnews ?Your whole world is build around that.I'll hand you that;you know your priorities.
The sense of honor and duty in our military gets replaced with the profit motive once privatization enters the picture. There is no honor in putting one's life at risk for the sake of money, natural resources or other materialistic motives. Our government and the corporations that own it don't genuinely care about the Iraqi people. That's why many of them are left without the basic necessities. From the get-go, this war was always about money. We are going to lose this war and we deserve to.
'Doesn't it just seem weird, in a nation where up to 250 civilians at any one time may be bombed or killed, by a ruthless enemy that they focus on these, relatively small incidents?'
'Small' to who? Your racism is showing, Penman. Who would have guessed.
Add a little respect to your ego-driben hubris and you might be classified as a human being, eventually.
And quit crowing about a 'ruthless enemy'. Clucking 'enemy!'
Is that supposed to associate the ethnic strife with 911? Is it supposed
to associate the ethic strife with 'Al Qaeda'?
How about some proof. For once. And by proof I don't mean laying waste to a people,
scouring it for any and every clown who claims some link to, then pretending it existed befoer the attack in the first place.
Speaking of civilians, how many Americans are slaughtered by other Americans every single day?
Where's Blackwater when you need them?
Of course, there may be some 'small incidents', like you child etc....But c'est la vie.
lol
I see it differently. I see BlackWater being in the news on purpose. If the govt really wanted to cover something up, they will. This time, they didnt...must be for a good reason.
As we all know, the us govt has always covered things up professionally. What would Blackwater gain when it wasnt covered up? I could bet, they will gain a lot more than what the media is telling or even isnt aware of.
In the news, blackwater will face a congressional hearing. Someone on that board will profit so much money from this. Makes Sense?
We are divided, and thusly conqured. There is no moving forward under this system of pros & cons. The cons so greatly outweighing the moments of quiet consternation and methodical thought.
I used to believe in art & architecture. Of a civilization built on progressive ideals.
Then I met Bill and Hillary and I was the very first to stand before the Arkansas Senate and challenge them for the systemic nature of the the games they would so wantonly deny. Then came Mena, and the boys on the tracks.
I don't see a comment here that merits my faith in the body politic restoring this republic.
We're not going to get our faith restored in current such politics.
Makes us wonder why...
There is something enormous out there going on, which the most of us are not aware of. Something hidden... and perhaps evil to its core. The best secret of all is psychological, a distraction that keeps us at bay.
Its like the grand lottery. All of us play all sorts of lotteries... some of us die, some of us get rich...some of us come into power... the list goes on and on.
Politics running around involving BlackWater this time, is only there to show to the public. What ever happens to the quote 'The Public has the right to know'?
What about those secret missions that BlackWater had done? Anyone investigate that? They cant nor will they ever get any information about these secret missions... nope not even the highest authority in washington can get it. A nondisclosure is a nondisclosure for all time.
Little iraqis getting killed, attracting attention of the iraqi govt, was done on purpose. Trust me, you will know, by heart. Conspiracy? Well, its close, but like I said previously, there is something else big going on, which they cannot afford to allow the public to know. They had to come up with a description of such attention with the iraqi govt.
A risk well taken, but is it worth it? They think so.
So where does this 'dream' of the international banking families end? Do they really believe that they can build a lasting world empire through deceit, death, and greed? The very seeds of its collapse lay deep within its origins. The only things that last in this world are those things that are in harmony with nature (the Tao). This is the truth of this reality. All other things perish and change into something else.
So why do they bother? Why can't these uptight megalomaniacs simply relax and enjoy life, like the rest of us? Perhaps it's because they are genetically deformed or Satanically inspired, because no person in their right mind would waste their precious life pursuing such idiotic endeavors.
Scott asked how many americans are slaughtered by other americans every day. The yearly figure for gun related killings is 30,000 - no doubt there are many more by other methods.
The Blackwater group are much like most police depts now.
Just your next doo bully coward in a uniform.
www.wintersteel.com/RobertDuncanOFinioan.html
It's time to put Blackwater out of business and Mr. Erik Prince the owner in prison!
No doubt all that taxpayer money he made is in offshore bank accounts!
This is the same scum bucket company that went door to door after hurricane Katrina hit rounding up innocent citizens and grabbing firearms! Bring it on Erik Prince, I'd like to see your contractors come to my front door trying to round me up and grab my weapons because your contractors will get 7.62 slugs in their head plus you'd be sued for violations on obstructing my liberties! So what do you all say? Let's shut down Blackwater and prosecute Erik Prince and some of his employees and contractors! Enuff said!
It has been generally known that Blackwater USA has been involved in many'situations' for some time now.There are videos on the internet of Blackwater operatives shooting innocent people in Bagdhad(allegedly).This is an organization that to be frank is an abomination and along with certain prominent politicians,is dragging the good name and credibility of the American people through the mud.Back here in the UK I occasionally see a Carlyle Group or Blackwater vehicle in our area this appears to be associated with missing persons and drugs violence-this may be just a coincidence but to be honest coincidences appear to be a very convenient excuse.
Wizard is right, if this was told there is a reason.
Here are my two 'sense' worth:
First, Reagan replaces air traffic controllers, then private corporations begin working in the public schools, running prisons and now private 'contractors' try and run a war. It seems that the Regulators never, EVER quit.
A gun for hire is a Mercenary.
Be real? OK this Planet's social systems are the biggest money making and control scheme ever devised! Freedom? You must be kidding.
Fighting for peace is like...well you know the rest.
The neocon cabal who hijacked the republican party to promote their
own privatization schemes consider government itself to be evil.
Private mercentary armies are only a small part of their privatization
plans. According to the neocons' dogma we don't need no stinking
government for anything except to steal peoples' earnings thru taxation.
The private sector does everything better including killing everyone
considered enemy. While the neocons impatiently wait for Armageddon,
they will do everything in their power to 'Bring it on'. Only then
will this cult of crazy fanatics be content, when Jesus re-appears to
personally escort the chosen ones, the true believers, to glorious heaven.
Everyone else- all the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics, hheretics, atheists, will be left behind to perish in a burning pool of
blood and guts. This according to the necon God.
They are well named. RV owners understand what 'blackwater' means.
I was reading about the money- @ $450,000 per year minimum per person,
that we pay for each blackwater mercenary. GI soldiers are useless
to neocons. I suppose the neocons want to live expensively, drinks,
drugs, women, etc. before they join Jesus on a trip to heaven, after they
help their god destroy all of humanity except supposedly themselves.
Beam me up Scotty, no intelligent life on this rock...
i THINK sp4 is right nobody has been killed in Iraq it's just propaganda put about by those dastardly Iranians, let's bomb the shit out of them!
'The neocon cabal who hijacked the republican party to promote their
own privatization schemes consider government itself to be evil'
'+The Evil Empire was founded around this era'.
Daarth Vadar
Star Wars.
Let Blackwater stay in Iraq and die over there, cause the more that die over there the less that will come after US here, when Martial Law kicks in! Shalom! Sincerely,
jfele@aol.com
Admiral Kirk: Scotty! Where's SP4!?
Scotty: We've had a transporter malfunction sir! I tried to beam him up but all that materialized was this black sludge.
Admiral Kirk: We're gonna need to whitewash this one. Call in the janitor and tell him that a Farangi err.. I mean Ferengi took a dump on the transporter before he left when he heard that our replicators can easily replicate their currency and that we have no need of money.
My god SP4, you keep showing your Rush Limbaugh side. Clinton was not 'impeached', I know you have a problem with facts but this one is pretty much known by even 6th graders.
Impeachment proceedings took place. In the end they voted to not impeach him, but only he and Andrew Johnson ever had proceedings brought.
This is why Hillary was promised her senate seat, if she wouldn't divorce Bill. The dems promised to deliver if she did not emabrrass the president...well...any further than he did to himself, I guess.
This is why Obama has no chance. Well, that, and the fact that dems don't REALLY want a black president. It's been decided for you, another compelling reason to walk away.
Basicly the rooky us solders get shit money to defend themselves in the worst areas of Iraq but aren't trusted to guard important people because they aren't hardened trigger happy psycos that kill every time someone farts...
Blackwater probably wants a little bit of free advertising- that's why they're in the news. Unfortunately for them, depleted uranium dust doesn't discriminate among neocons, mercenaries, the luckless Iraqis, or American soldiers. They're all casualties now- it's just going to take some time for their wounds to appear.
murderers for profit. halliburton. blackwater. all. misery. death. torture. war crimes for war profitears. tears. not mispelled. death. dismemberment. war crimes against all humanity. saddam dangling on a death rope and you loved it. you cheered. your own demise. your own republic. your own freedom. gone. with. the. wind... never to return. never to be regained. enjoy your serfdom.
Bush;sorry guys no more money for millions of our kids,we give the money to mercenaries.
If you are at the poverty line, programs exist for those persons. If you are above that line then they do not. Don't like it? Raise the line!
The cake and ice cream libnazis are now crowing the fact that, on their first outing, they ignored their own fiscal sermons and did not FUND their bill. Golly, even I can understand THAT!
FUND the bill. That's not too hard to understand, even for a liberal.
Tonny, if you ARE actually living in Europe, maybe you should go see what those monarchists called the EU are going to do to you shortly. Don't worry about us americans, we'll be fine.
¨Perhaps you will be fine indeed SP4,after the next elections .Meanwhile what do you think about this .The Bush administration found a good way of solving the Blackwater scandal.They will now add an extra military security to the mercenaries .I guess the idea that they could just REPLACE the mercenaries with military security staff was too simple for them .Blackwater being majot beneficiary contributor to the GOP has special finanacial needs that need to be met .Will they soon hire an extra Blackwater mercenary to protect the government security that oversees the first Blackwater mercenaey ?I'm pretty sure you'd find that perfectly normal SP4,there is simply no limit to you loyalty to Bush.
This might surprise you, but this is a subject I actually know a little something about!
Actually, partnering with troops is a pretty good idea. It is a force multiplier, and provides extra security where needed. The private guys provide the inner circle of protection and the military covers the perimeter. This is the best for everyone. If there is an attack, it is on the strongest part of the defense.
Leave it to the Bush guys to come up with a very sensible solution.
Then, if some 'civilian' with a rifle or hand grenade, rocket launcher or bomb-strapped-to-their-asses interfaces with them, it's with the occupying force, not the rent-a-cops.
Tonny, you really ned to apply yourself to your homeland situation. They will replace your government with a nameless, faceless bureaucracy. I actually think you'll like it just fine!
We have the only legislative branch on earth that would investigate shootings in a war zone.
How moronic is that?
Hey SP4 ,you got my attention.Who is the THEY that will replace my government with nemeless burocrats ?Are you now spreading your paranoia to Belgium ?You've gor me scared .Awaiting yor expert opninon to save my country from the evil THEY,whoever they might be.
This firm is a huge donor to Hillary Clinton's campaign, she is now known as Hillary Rodham Bush.
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RogérOct 2nd, 2007 - 07:23:47
The caption next to the picture above reads: '...after a firefight left eight civilians dead on 16 September 2007.'
The body count is getting lower over time; Iraqi police counted 18 killed, Americans watered it down, with help of the media, to 11 ... now it's only eight left. Soon, the incident did not occur at all or becomes a fistfight.
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