tagged w/ Private Military Contractors
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To: Sen. John McCain AZ, Sen. Michael Bennet CO and Sen. Tom Coburn OK, see more...Sen. Roland Burris IL, Sen. Bob Bennett UT, Sen. Danny Akaka HI, Sen. Mark Pryor AR, Sen. John Ensign NV, Sen. George Voinovich OH, Sen. Joe Lieberman CT, Sen. Jon Tester MT, Sen. Lindsey Graham SC, Sen. Susan Collins ME, Sen. Mary Landrieu LA, Sen. Tom Carper DE, Sen. Claire McCaskill MO, Sen. John McCain AZ, Sen. Michael Bennet CO and Sen. Tom Coburn OK
Started by: Aaron Norcia
As you may know contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan make up 57% of the DOD work force at last census in Sep. 2009. Furthermore, recently there has been a flux of discreditable actions against what the DOD refers to as "Private Security Firms" or in other words Hired Mercenaries. Recently a story was uncovered thanks in large part to company whistle blowers for one of those hired "security firms" known as ArmorGroup. ArmorGroup video was uncovered showing members of this private security firm engaging in acts of blatant licentious behavior. Also a company hired for private security formally known as Blackwater, now known as "XE". Six of their former contracted employees were indicted for the murder of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007. Blackwater's contract expired in September and the U.S. still decided to extend the contract, giving the tainted company over 1 billion dollars under the Bush administration alone. These companies among many others are currently being paid with U.S. tax dollars appropriated by Congress with little to no restrictions placed on the actions of their employees. Though these companies don't "officially" represent the United States, to millions of citizens in these inhabited regions, it's the common belief that these are in fact representatives of the U.S. Signing this petition will demand that Congress create exploratory committee's to investigate the inhumane and unjust actions at the expense of the American tax dollar.To: Sen. John McCain AZ, Sen. Michael Bennet CO and Sen. Tom Coburn OK, see... more
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mae37
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added this
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2 months ago
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Washington - In Afghanistan, the US military is relying on private contractors to an extent unprecedented in American history.
Contractors have a long history with US units: In the Revolutionary War, George Washington leaned on them for everything from transportation to the provision of clothing and weapons. In recent conflicts, private workers typically have made up about half of the Department of Defense's total workforce
But in the Afghanistan conflict their use has climbed yet higher, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. As of March, contractors made up 57 percent of the Pentagon's Afghanistan personnel....
CLICK FOR FULL ARTICLE....Washington - In Afghanistan, the US military is relying on private contractors to an... more
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How is ArmorGroup North America responding to the allegations that its Kabul embassy guards were engaging in a range of unbecoming conduct? The firm (and its parent company, Wackenhut) has so far declined to issue any comment. Behind the scenes, however, swift action has been taken, though not against ArmorGroup employees who engaged in or approved of lewd behavior, humiliating hazing rituals, and other practices that put the embassy at risk. Rather, says the Project on Government Oversight, one of the whistleblowers who brought these explosive allegations to the watchdog group's attention has been retaliated against by his employer, an ArmorGroup client:
CLICK FOR FULL ARTICLE......How is ArmorGroup North America responding to the allegations that its Kabul embassy... more
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There are more than 2 million “private security” officers and guards on the streets of America and this number is growing by the day in Oakland and other cities.
The United States is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history. We see this in schools, health care, prisons, and certainly with the US military/national security/intelligence apparatus. There are almost 200,000 “private contractors” in Iraq (more than US soldiers) and Obama is continuing to use mercenaries there and in Afghanistan and Israel/Palestine. At present, 70 percent of the US intelligence budget is going to private companies.
This privatization trend is hardly new, but it is accelerating. While events such as the Nisour Square massacre committed in September 2007 by Blackwater operatives in Baghdad show the lethal danger of unleashing mercenary forces on foreign soil, one area with the potential for extreme abuses resulting from this privatization is in domestic law enforcement in the US. Many people may not be aware of this, but since the 1980s, private security guards have outnumbered police officers. “The more than 1 million contract security officers, and an equal number of guards estimated to work directly for U.S. corporations, dwarf the nearly 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States,” according to The Washington Post. Some estimate that private security actually operate inside the US at a 5-to-1 ratio with police.There are more than 2 million “private security” officers and guards on the... more
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After $1.3 billion in government contracts and controversy over the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians, Blackwater Worldwide is moving on. The Washington Post reported this week that Blackwater, the for-profit military company contracted by the Bush government to provide securities services in Iraq, will not have it’s Iraq contract renewed. But the powerful military corporation has no plans to slow down after what has been an extraordinarily profitable decade.
Nation contributor Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, discusses the legacy and future of Blackwater Worldwide, including its expansion into hot new markets: Chasing Somalian pirates, and total intelligence gathering.After $1.3 billion in government contracts and controversy over the killing of... more
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Blackwater Worldwide is still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, but executives at the beleaguered security firm are taking their biggest step yet to put that work and the ugly reputation it earned the company behind them.
Blackwater said Friday it will no longer operate under the name that came to be known worldwide as a caustic moniker for private security, dropping the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter "z."
It's a rare surrender for a company that cherished a brand name inspired by the dark-water swamps of northeastern North Carolina, one that survived another rebranding effort about a year ago, following a deadly shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The decision to give it up underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by that incident and other security work in Iraq.
"They have established themselves as the bad guys," said Katy Helvenston, who sued the company following her son's death during a mission in Fallujah while working for Blackwater in 2004. "They've established such a horrible reputation. Why else would they change their name?"
Blackwater acknowledged last year in an interview with the The Associated Press the damage to its reputation had persuaded the company to focus on lines of business other than private security contracting.
The issue came to a head last month, when the State Department said it would not rehire Blackwater to protect its diplomats in Iraq after its current contract with the company expires in May. The company has one other major security contract, details of which are classified.
"It's not a direct result of a loss of (that) contract, but certainly that is an aspect of our work that we feel we were defined by," said spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell.
The company is also replacing its bear paw logo with a sleeker black-and-white graphic based on letters that make up the company's new name. In a note to employees, president Gary Jackson said the name change reflects the company's new focus, and he indicated Xe would not actively pursue new security business.Blackwater Worldwide is still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, but executives at the... more
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As the Army struggles to meet recruitment numbers, FRONTLINE takes a hard look at private contractors servicing U.S. military supply lines, running U.S. military bases, and protecting U.S. diplomats and generals. Between the logistics giant Halliburton and a myriad of armed security companies, private military contractors comprise the second largest "force" in Iraq, far outnumbering all non-U.S. forces combined. There are as many as 100,000 civilian contractors and approximately 20,000 private security forces.
In "Private Warriors," FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith travels throughout Kuwait and Iraq to give viewers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at companies like Kellogg, Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, and its civilian army. KBR has 50,000 employees in Iraq and Kuwait that run U.S. military supply lines and operate U.S. military bases. KBR is also the largest contractor in Iraq, providing the Army with $11.84 billion dollars in services since 2002.As the Army struggles to meet recruitment numbers, FRONTLINE takes a hard look at... more
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Wayne Madsen: Ethnic divisions are being stoked by client states of the US who arm both sides. Part 2
Madsen chronicles how the US via its proxies in Rwanda and Uganda has been instrumental in the destabilization of Congo. Supplying arms, stoking ethnic divisions as well providing covert military and intelligence support systems to rebel groups.
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist. His articles have appeared in The Village Voice, Wired, and CounterPunch. Madsen was a Senior Fellow of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He was a communications security analyst with the National Security Agency in the 1980s, and an intelligence officer in the US Navy.He has testified on numerous occasions before the US Congress. He currently hosts The Wayne Madsen Report.
See Part 1 at:
http://current.com/items/89636072/plundering_the_congo.htm
.Wayne Madsen: Ethnic divisions are being stoked by client states of the US who arm... more
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The Justice Department is preparing indictments for the Blackwater security contractors who, in 2007, killed 17 civilians in Iraq. They have a difficult case ahead of them. Prosecutors are thinking of bringing charges under an anti-drug law that requires a mandatory 30-year sentence for any violence committed with a machine gun. The prosecutors will argue that the law can be applied to non-drug-related crimes. They also have to prove that the contractors can be charged in the U.S. for crimes committed overseas by arguing that military law applied to them in Iraq. Problem is, the contractors worked for the State Department, not the military. The government recently lost a similar case against a contractor who killed four Iraqi detainees.The Justice Department is preparing indictments for the Blackwater security... more
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