tagged w/ Blackwater Security
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One of the stars of the widely acclaimed Iraq war film The Hurt Locker has revealed that the filmmakers hired the mercenary firm Blackwater while shooting the film in the Middle East, including in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. Blackwater, whose operatives are accused of killing innocent civilians, has an office in Jordan and has trained Jordanian military forces.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100125/scahill5One of the stars of the widely acclaimed Iraq war film The Hurt Locker has revealed... more
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Criminal charges in the US have been dismissed against Blackwater security guards who opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007. Iraqis reacted with disbelief, anger and bitter resignation to the news.Criminal charges in the US have been dismissed against Blackwater security guards who... more
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New assessments of U.S. war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan suggest that the total force commitments there are approaching a level comparable to the Vietnam War, if military contractors are included in the tally.
At its peak, the U.S. effort in Vietnam involved more than 500,000 personnel. As of September this year, a total of about 280,000 U.S. military members were deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
The Iraq and Afghanistan totals, however, do not include people hired to work for the U.S. military as cooks, drivers and security guards, or in other support roles. Such jobs were largely filled by military personnel in Vietnam, meaning comparisons between the wars can be deceptive. With contractors included, a total of 522,230 personnel are engaged in the overall U.S. war effort from the Middle East to Afghanistan, according to a report released this week by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), using data from September 2009.
The increased use of military contractors, according to the CRS report, "frees up uniformed personnel to perform combat missions." In addition, contractors can be hired and deployed relatively quickly and may provide expertise that is in short supply within the uniformed military services. Plus, it saves money. "Hiring contractors only as needed can be cheaper in the long run than maintaining a permanent in-house capability," the CRS noted.
Among the areas where contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan now provide services are construction, food service and transportation. Mostly gone are the days when soldiers did KP duties (kitchen patrol) in the mess hall or worked as truck drivers. Armed contractors are even performing sensitive security roles.
"They'll be providing perimeter security at a forward-operating base," says Moshe Schwartz, a CRS researcher. "They will [also] be providing convoy security, protecting convoys that are moving throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, and personal security details, where they'll be involved in protecting individuals that are moving from point to point."
During the Vietnam War, there was just 1 outside contractor for about every 8 uniformed U.S. military members. These days, the ratio is about 1 contractor to 1 service member. The 30,000 new U.S. troops headed for Afghanistan will likely be accompanied by 26,000 to 56,000 contractors, according to the CRS report.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121590071New assessments of U.S. war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan suggest that the total... more
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To stifle criticism of civilian killings, the American mercenary group formerly known as Blackwater approved payoffs of up to $1 million for Iraqi politicians, according to former company officials who spoke to The New York Times.
In August, a former Marine and former Blackwater employee filed sworn affidavits linking company founder Erik Prince to murders and prostitution.
The statements also say that Prince and Blackwater executives were involved in illegal weapons smuggling and had, on numerous occasions, ordered incriminating documents, e-mails, photos and video destroyed. Prince has since resigned -- however, he did not dispute the bribery allegations when confronted by Blackwater's vice chairman at the time, according to one of the whistleblowers quoted by the Times.
The Iraqi government ultimately revoked the mercenary group's operating license after the Nisour Square massacre, which left 17 civilians dead. Five Blackwater guards were charged for the killings. In spite of this, Blackwater's security apparatus continued to operate in the country for two years after it was banned.To stifle criticism of civilian killings, the American mercenary group formerly known... more
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S3th
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added this
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2 years ago
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Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Four former executives described the plan under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said.
Iraqis had long complained about ground operations by the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe Corp. Then the shooting by Blackwater guards in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17 civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led U.S. prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater contractors involved.
The State Department has since turned to DynCorp and another private security firm, Triple Canopy, to handle diplomatic protective services in the country. But Xe continues to provide security for diplomats in other nations, most notably in Afghanistan.
The former executives told the Times that the payments were approved by the company's then-president, Gary Jackson. They did not know if he came up with the idea.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/10/blackwater-said-to-approv_n_352980.htmlFormer top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent... more
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The U.S. government overpaid tens of millions of dollars to the scandal-ridden security contractor once known as Blackwater, according to a new government audit.
The firm, now known as "Xe," understaffed its security teams assigned to protect the U.S. ambassador in Iraq and other U.S. officials in country. In total, the State Department could have dinged the company $55 million for work it didn't properly perform, auditors concluded.
Those fees should have been assessed for Blackwater's failure to meet staffing requirements laid out in its contract, the auditors said in their report. In addition, Blackwater also overcharged over $125,000 for travel, by booking tickets "in excess of coach fare."The U.S. government overpaid tens of millions of dollars to the scandal-ridden... more
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"No word on the fryer yet," says Tyrrell, who’s currently investigating its whereabouts."No word on the fryer yet," says Tyrrell, who’s currently... more
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WASHINGTON — No one knows for sure, but auditors think the U.S. has paid well over $6 billion to private security companies who've been guarding diplomats, troops, Iraqi officials and reconstruction workers in Iraq.
The money amounts to about 12 percent of the $50 billion Americans are paying for reconstruction in the country, said Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen.
The figure, included in a report being released by Bowen's office Thursday, is likely to be taken as the most authoritative accounting so far of what it has cost taxpayers to provide private security since 2003 in the violence-plagued nation.
It included bodyguards for diplomats and top commanders and guards for U.S. military bases, as well as for military supply convoys, contractors, subcontractors and others supporting the U.S. mission and military.
Also included were personal security details for high-ranking Iraqi officials, as well as security advice and planning costs.
Government agencies in Iraq were not required to keep track in one place of how much money was going to security. So Bowen's office spent three months going through records from the State Department, Defense Department U.S. Agency for International Development and other government sources to try to pull together the figure.
There are likely more contractors he has yet to count and so the $6 billion is almost certainly not the full picture, he said in an interview Wednesday.
The report accompanies Bowen's quarterly reconstruction report to Congress, which included the following other findings:
More than $125.7 billion has now been committed to rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and government since U.S.-led forces toppled the government of Saddam Hussein five years ago.
Though all of that has not been spent, it includes $50.77 billion in money appropriated by the U.S., $57.96 billion in Iraqi funds and $17 billion pledged by other international donor, the bulk of it in the latter in loans and under $5.3 billion in grants.
_ Iraq's rule-of-law system remains broken, most evidenced by the fact that Iraqi judges continue to be assassinated across the country. In 2008, terrorists killed seven judges, compared to 11 killed in 2007 and bringing the number to more than 40 judges and family members since 2003.
_ A serious problem remains with corruption _ which Bowen has long called a "second insurgency" in Iraq for the challenge it poses. For instance, auditors noted that a local contractor asked to be released from his work on three schools in Baghdad's Sadr City this quarter because he and his family were threatened when he refused repeated requests from government officials that he pay them bribes.
_ The United States has allocated nearly $25 billion to support training and equipping new Iraqi security forces and the justice system and spent more than $10 billion on Iraq infrastructure.
WASHINGTON — No one knows for sure, but auditors think the U.S. has paid well... more
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In April 2004 8 Blackwater " commandos " were involved in the defence of Camp Golf/ Al-Andalus Base in An Najaf after an escalation in violence from protests and demonstrations. Muqtada Al Sadr broadcasted this message to the protestors "There is no use for demonstrations, as your enemy loves to terrify and suppress opinions, and despises peoples. I ask you not to resort to demonstrations because they have become a losing card and we should seek other ways. Terrorize your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations."
On April 4th the demonstrations turned violent and the Mahdi Army was on the scene (it seems supporting the demonstrators), and the battle of An Najaf commenced.
This event is not in question, but eight Blackwater commandos have been praised for the defence of the compounds in the event, with the notable videos Blackwater in Najaf1/Blackwater in Najaf2.
'Now, however, we need to revise that account, according to the new book "Wiser in Battle" by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq.'
Lt. Gen. Sanchez's reviews the reports he'd received, firstly from the major in Camp Golf saying the Spanish had abandoned their post and that they were close to being over-run. 'The situation sounded so dangerous that Sanchez immediately ordered close air support. But when the fighters flew over the area, they could see no enemy activity.'
With the conflicting reports Lt. Gen. Sanchez decides to go himself to see what’s happening, continuing to receive reports on his way there. He goes on to conclude that the Spanish had acted competently and defended their compound, and that the Private Contractors in the area were delivering confusing reports and complicating the situation. However I seriously recommend you read the account at the bottom of the article linked for yourself.In April 2004 8 Blackwater " commandos " were involved in the defence of... more
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They have a homeland Security contract to control us in case of emergency and a contract to patrol the boarder. Be afraid, be very afraid.They have a homeland Security contract to control us in case of emergency and a... more
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I hadn't realized that the pentagon labeled the civilian killings a criminal event.
We are pretty stuck over in Iraq. We have built a huge reliance on civilian contractors to compensate for our breaking army and to sharply reduce numbers of armed people on "our" side would most likely cause the country to implode. What do you do? Furthermore, the right-wing has made a pretty good situation for themselves as we have now built these "super-bases" in Iraq costing billions of dollars. Now that they are built, it is highly unlikely that any president will abandon them due to their massive investment and strategic location. Crafty little buggers those warmongers are.I hadn't realized that the pentagon labeled the civilian killings a criminal... more
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The saga continues as Rambo heads to Washington D.C. to get some answers. Meanwhile Osama bin Laden and his cohorts race to build a rocket to send to the moon. Will Rambo make it in time? Find out in this episode.The saga continues as Rambo heads to Washington D.C. to get some answers. Meanwhile... more
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Rambo is back and ready to kick some serious butt. With Osama Bin Laden still at large, Sly Stallone teams up with Blackwater USA to fight the war on Terror.Rambo is back and ready to kick some serious butt. With Osama Bin Laden still at... more
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Serves 'em right for doing so many back stories on us!
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It's also sad what Haliburton is doing!
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Torture, Blackwater, and other big problems
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And the FBI investigation into the September 16 incident isn't over yet. According to sources, the guards violated rules of deadly force and no evidence has been uncovered that supports claims by the Blackwater guards that they had been fired on. A Blackwater spokeswoman said the company "supports the stringent accountability of the industry."And the FBI investigation into the September 16 incident isn't over yet.... more
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Tori
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added this
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4 years ago
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In a rare move, the US embassy in Iraq is giving thousands of dollars to the victims of Blackwater shootings. Conservative guilt?In a rare move, the US embassy in Iraq is giving thousands of dollars to the victims... more
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Chris Cannon, a Republican from Utah, opposed a bill that would apply U.S. criminal law to private security contractors working in Iraq and questioned where it could lead the nation.
"What's next? Supplying Moqtada al-Sadr with a taxpayer-funded trial lawyer?" Cannon wrote in a piece published last week in the conservative newsletter Human Events.
Cannon was also quoted as saying "I personally believe the war is well on its way to being won."
Although I have shared similar ground with the ultra conservative from Utah in the past, I would have to say I strongly disagree with him on these latest statements. Security contractors are being paid very well to do their job. Their Job does not require them to shoot unarmed civilians. Responsibility comes with any job, any place, any situation. If you are not responsible be prepared to face the consequences.Chris Cannon, a Republican from Utah, opposed a bill that would apply U.S. criminal... more
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