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Bush Seeks 12 Billion to Waste on Obsolete Missile Defense
Bucking the wishes of top Pentagon officials, Bush is pushing one of the largest military buildups in history.
Will Congress back this senseless spending? Is this about our safety or is the administration using our fear of being attacked to gain wealth on huge military spending contracts (again)? Bucking the wishes of top Pentagon officials, Bush is pushing one of the largest military buildups in history. ... more -
Thanks to you, impeachment will be heard Friday
A message from Congressman Dennis Kucinich. July 22 2008 log on to: http://kucinich.us to sign the petition.
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Blackwater says oversight and media scrutiny not part of master plan
Blackwater Worldwide said Monday that it planned to shift away from the lucrative security contracting business because U.S. government scrutiny and negative media attention had made the business too costly.
Blackwater executives say that they have unfairly become a symbol for all contractors in Iraq and that the company has become a flash point for those opposed to the war. It plans to focus on training, aviation and logistics.
Blackwater has been under intense scrutiny since September when its security contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection while responding to a car bombing. Seventeen Iraqis were killed, prompting congressional hearings and an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
In 2005 and 2006, security jobs, including guarding U.S. diplomats in Iraq and helping to secure New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, represented more than 50 percent of the company's business.
Security now represents about 30 percent of revenue, and Gary Jackson, president of Blackwater, said it would go much lower.
"If I could get it down to 2 percent or 1 percent, I would go there," he said, adding that "security was not part of the master plan, ever."
Blackwater Worldwide said Monday that it planned to shift away from the lucrative security contracting business because U.S. governmen... more -
Why Iraqi Farmers Might Prefer Death To Paul Bremer's Order 81/GM Foods
Heard about the thousands of farmer suicides in India? Well, Iraqi farmers may be next thanks to the work of U.S. diplomat Paul Bremer and his Monsanto friends.
Anyone hearing about central India's ongoing epidemic of farmer suicides, where growers are killing themselves at a terrifying clip, has to be horrified. But among the more disturbed must be the once-grand poobah of post-invasion Iraq, U.S. diplomat L. Paul Bremer.
Why Bremer? Because Indian farmers are choosing death after finding themselves caught in a loop of crop failure and debt rooted in genetically modified and patented agriculture -- the same farming model that Bremer introduced to Iraq during his tenure as administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the American body that ruled the "new Iraq" in its chaotic early days.
In his 400 days of service as CPA administrator, Bremer issued a series of directives known collectively as the "100 Orders." Bremer's orders set up the building blocks of the new Iraq, and among them is Order 81 [PDF], officially titled Amendments to Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law, enacted by Bremer on April 26, 2004.
Order 81 generated very little press attention when it was issued. And what coverage it did spark tended to get the details wrong. Reports claimed that what the United States' man in Iraq had done was no less than tell each and every Iraqi farmer -- growers who had been tilling the soil of Mesopotamia for thousands of years -- that from here on out they could not reuse seeds from their fields or trade seeds with their neighbors, but instead they would be required to purchase all of their seeds from the likes of U.S. agriculture conglomerates like Monsanto.
That's not quite right. Order 81 wasn't that draconian, and it was not so clearly a colonial mandate. In fact, the edict was more or less a legal tweak.
What Order 81 did was to establish the strong intellectual property protections on seed and plant products that a company like the St. Louis-based Monsanto -- purveyors of genetically modified (GM) seeds and other patented agricultural goods -- requires before they'll set up shop in a new market like the new Iraq. With these new protections, Iraq was open for business. In short, Order 81 was Bremer's way of telling Monsanto that the same conditions had been created in Iraq that had led to the company's stunning successes in India.
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Insidious bastards.
Heard about the thousands of farmer suicides in India? Well, Iraqi farmers may be next thanks to the work of U.S. diplomat Paul Bremer... more -
Feds raid Blackwater compound
Federal agents raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation into a deal that allowed a local sheriff's office to store high-powered assault rifles at the company's armory in Moyock.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said Thursday that investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Blackwater's armory Tuesday as part of the investigation. She said she did not know whether the weapons in question were seized. Federal agents raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation into a deal that allowed a local sheriff's office to ... more -
In Florida Legal Case, Blackwater Demands Taliban Treatment
"With no universally applicable laws to reign them in, firms like Blackwater are free to pick and choose which ones they'll follow. Sometimes, when convenient, those laws appear to include the ones passed down from the Prophet Muhammad."
Excellent quote from Bruce Falconer's blog post over at Mother Jones yesterday, trying to make sense of the nonsense that results when a semi-legal entity like Blackwater faces responsibility in the courts. "With no universally applicable laws to reign them in, firms like Blackwater are free to pick and choose which ones they'll follow. So... more -
Blackwater + San Diego + training center= trouble for all
A new counterterrorism training facility operated by military security contractor Blackwater Worldwide echoed with the grunts of Navy sailors, a day after a federal judge ordered the city to let classes begin.
The 24 trainees batted and punched each other Thursday as they learned basic strike tactics in a corner of the 61,000-square-foot converted warehouse in an industrial area near the U.S.-Mexico border.
For the next three weeks, they’ll practice shooting inside a 25-yard indoor firing range and learn to wear sidearms safely while wriggling through ship hatches and up narrow ladders installed in white metal cargo containers stacked along one wall of the building to simulate a ship. Trainers from Blackwater will quiz them on distinguishing small boats carrying cargo from those carrying bombs.
p.s. picture was seprate from the article. A new counterterrorism training facility operated by military security contractor Blackwater Worldwide echoed with the grunts of Navy ... more -
Mccain is Bush's "clone"
American actor John Cusack has called John McCain 'a clone of George W. Bush' that would follow in his footsteps and continue his policies.
"I know my opinion doesn't matter more than anyone else's, and I just make films,'' he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday. "But I do feel you have to speak out, and that's what I'm doing.''
In a 30-second video, Cusack offers a "pop quiz'' to voters, asking them among other things: "Who supports keeping our troops in harm's way in Iraq but not the bipartisan G.I. bill of rights to support them when they return home?''
McCain and Bush both do, Cusack says, adding, "Bet you can't tell them apart.''
In his latest film, the war satire War Inc. Cusack makes no secret that he believes the Iraq war was created to profit private businesses like Blackwater Worldwide (whose founder is also part of missionary group), Bechtel Corp. and others that hold war-related contracts worth millions of dollars. (See BBC'S Panorama programme: "Daylight Robbery" -brodcasted on June 2008 for more).
"I'm not going to pretend this thing in Iraq was some kind of free market utopia to spread the gospel of democracy through the Middle East,'' he says.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdSPw68oY4IS0oUJEDdv... American actor John Cusack has called John McCain 'a clone of George W. Bush' that would follow in his footsteps and continue his poli... more -
BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions
** OUR TROOPS ARE STUCK IN IRAQ, WHILE AMERICAN MEDIA AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE MISSING IN ACTION **
By Jane Corbin
BBC News
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
War profiteering
While George Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.
To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.
The president's Democrat opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.
Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, its egregious.
"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
In the run-up to the invasion one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth seven billion that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company, which used to be run by Dick Cheney before he became vice-president.
Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won.
Missing billions
The search for the missing billions also led the programme to a house in Acton in West London where Hazem Shalaan lived until he was appointed to the new Iraqi government as minister of defense in 2004.
He and his associates siphoned an estimated $1.2 billion out of the ministry.
They bought old military equipment from Poland but claimed for top class weapons.
Meanwhile they diverted money into their own accounts.
Judge Radhi al-Radhi of Iraq's Commission for Public Integrity investigated.
He said: "I believe these people are criminals.
"They failed to rebuild the Ministry of Defence , and as a result the violence and the bloodshed went on and on - the murder of Iraqis and foreigners continues and they bear responsibility."
Mr Shalaan was sentenced to two jail terms but he fled the country.
He said he was innocent and that it was all a plot against him by pro-Iranian MPs in the government.
There is an Interpol arrest out for him but he is on the run - using a private jet to move around the globe.
He stills owns commercial properties in the Marble Arch area of London.
** OUR TROOPS ARE STUCK IN IRAQ, WHILE AMERICAN MEDIA AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE MISSING IN ACTION ** By Jane Corbin ... more -
Blackwater's private CIA
This past September, the secretive mercenary company Blackwater USA found its name splashed across front pages throughout the world after the company's shooters gunned down seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square. But by early 2008, Blackwater had largely receded from the headlines save for the occasional blip on the media radar sparked by Congressman Henry Waxman's ongoing investigations into its activities. Its forces remained deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and business continued to pour in. In the two weeks directly following Nisour Square, Blackwater signed more than $144 million in contracts with the State Department for "protective services" in Iraq and Afghanistan alone and, over the following weeks and months, won millions more in contracts with other federal entities like the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. This past September, the secretive mercenary company Blackwater USA found its name splashed across front pages throughout the world af... more
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Blackwater: future of the mercenary industry
The private military firm Blackwater has gone from being a relatively unknown contractor working in Iraq to a household name and the subject of multiple investigations, lawsuits and congressional inquiries. In the meantime, the company continues to reap millions of dollars in profits and was recently awarded a new contract from the State Department. The private military firm Blackwater has gone from being a relatively unknown contractor working in Iraq to a household name and the s... more
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Haditha Massacre Investigation: Iraqis Testify in D.C.
A federal panel heard Testimony from three Iraqis today in Washington D.C.. The investigation is about the "Haditha Massacre", where Blackwater security guards illegally fired into a crowded Baghdad intersection, 17 Iraqi civilians were killed for no apparent reason.
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"An Iraqi police major told The Associated Press in Baghdad that two of his officers were flown to the United States several days ago to testify. The major, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said they were expected to remain in the United States for two weeks."
"The shooting enraged the Iraqi government, which originally sought to expel Blackwater and its 1,000 employees from the country, and strained diplomatic relations between Washington and Baghdad."
"The shooting also raised questions at home and abroad about the U.S. reliance on heavily armed private contractors in war zones"
End of Excerpt
Sources: MSNBC, Associated Press
A federal panel heard Testimony from three Iraqis today in Washington D.C.. The investigation is about the "Haditha Massacre", where B... more -
Controversial contractor's Iraq work divided up
Army officials and executives of the three companies are planning to meet in the next few weeks to start the complex process of breaking up KBR’s sprawling operations in Iraq.
KBR, previously a subsidiary of Halliburton, once headed by Mr. Cheney, has collected more than $24 billion since the war began. It has 40,000 employees in Iraq and 28,000 more in Afghanistan and Kuwait.
But KBR has come under fire from Congress and Pentagon auditors for complaints ranging from making more than $200 million in excessive charges, including meals never served to soldiers, to delivering unsafe water to American troops to doing little to prevent sexual assaults of its female employees, often by their KBR co-workers.
Army officials acknowledge that they were under intense pressure from Capitol Hill to give KBR some competition, yet leading Democratic lawmakers and other critics say the new contract will merely paper over the fundamental problems that stem from the Pentagon’s heavy dependence on outside contractors in Iraq.
Five companies submitted bids (primarily covering work in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan), and the Army initially awarded contracts to KBR, Fluor and DynCorp last June. But the two losing companies protested, and the Government Accountability Office upheld their protests in October, ruling that the Army had given preferential treatment to the winning companies. The Army then made some adjustments in the contract and announced in April that the same three companies had won again.
Like KBR, DynCorp, based in Falls Church, Va., has had serious problems in past contracting work, including allegations that its employees engaged in sex trafficking in Bosnia while working on a police training contract there in the late 1990s. In addition, government auditors concluded last year that the State Department’s $1.2 billion contract with DynCorp for police training in Iraq was so badly managed that they could not determine exactly what was done for the money. Army officials and executives of the three companies are planning to meet in the next few weeks to start the complex process of breaki... more -
American citizens' billions in taxes go missing
"A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in American taxpayer money spent by the United States Army on contractors in Iraq has found that almost none of the payments followed federal rules and that in some cases, contracts worth millions of dollars were paid for despite little or no record of what, if anything, was received."
"...a cash payment of $320.8 million in Iraqi money was authorized on the basis of a single signature and the words “Iraqi Salary Payment” on an invoice. In another, $11.1 million of taxpayer money was paid to IAP, an American contractor, on the basis of a voucher with no indication of what was delivered."
What is going on with this Administration? They are stealing right from under our noses, and we are doing nothing to stop them. Billions of dollars that could be spent on health care, education, disaster relief, New Orleans rebuilding... ANYTHING is being shifted over covertly without any regulation to the pockets of this Administration's friends. "A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in American taxpayer money spent by the United States Army on contractors in Iraq has found that alm... more -
Pentagon gives $411 million to Alaskan Indians to provide Iraqi impersonators
Just shoot me. Giving away nearly 1/2 billion dollars for this makes my head explode. I guess they need to blow out all these billions before the party ends. Think about how many acors you could get for 411 million. By the time this is all implemented, maybe they can give like Punch and Judy shows in the desert. Or turn it into some bizarre form of reality show. Can we all just scream together? Just shoot me. Giving away nearly 1/2 billion dollars for this makes my head explode. I guess they need to blow out all these billio... more
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Contractors Gone Wild
Bruce Falconer writes in Mother Jones:
Theft, hookers, melting down Iraqi gold to make cowboy spurs—all in a day's work for private military contractors in Iraq?
Allegations of widespread mismanagement and corruption among private contractors in Iraq are nothing new; if anything, tales of cronyism, over-billing, and embezzlement have become so frequent that our national tolerance for them seems only to have increased as the Iraq War has drawn on. Even so, the testimony earlier this week of three whistleblowers before the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) stands out for the sheer outrageousness of their accusations—namely that U.S. private contractors looted Iraqi palaces and ministries, stole military equipment, fenced supplies destined for U.S. troops, and even operated a prostitution ring that may have contributed to the death of fellow contractor. Yet despite its focus on such salacious matters as sex and corruption, the session earned little media attention.
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By Bruce Falconer
May 2, 2008
motherjones.com
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/05/...
Photo by flickr user James Gordon
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
Bruce Falconer writes in Mother Jones: ... more -
Blackwater: Privatization of military permanent?
With the concentration of military might in private hands growing, I wonder what happens to the soldiers and equipment if the Democrats are elected? Personally, the best thing I can come up with is to enlist all of them. They're trained soldiers and we apparently need them in the ARMY. What do you think?
How dangerous is it to have private military operating in US (or any) territory?
What is the "right" or conservative point of view? And the liberal POV? Shouldn't they be close?
STORY from DemocracyNow.org
Southern California Residents Gear Up for New Fight to Stop Secretive Expansion by Military Firm Blackwater
Just two months after local opposition thwarted its effort to build a massive outdoor training facility near San Diego, the private military company Blackwater USA is being accused of secretly trying to build a new one just blocks from the US-Mexico border. Blackwater received approval for the 61,000 square-foot indoor facility in Otay Mesa, California, by filing for permits using the names of two subsidiaries.
Follow link for extended coverage and interviews...Full text, audio and video of Amy Goodman's on DemocracyNow with interview with Raymond Lutz, l(Local resident who has fought Blackwater’s expansion into the San Diego region), and Rep. Bob Filner, Democratic Congress member representing California’s 51st congressional district. With the concentration of military might in private hands growing, I wonder what happens to the soldiers and equipment if the Democrat... more -
Blackwater Is Back
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 contract to patrol the boarder. Be afraid, be very afr... more
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War, was it really for nothing? New studies say, yes!
This article discusses a study that says all the money put into Iraq hasn't actually done any good, mainly because none of the projects were ever completed. This article discusses a study that says all the money put into Iraq hasn't actually done any good, mainly because none of the project... more
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Blackwater contract renewed despite Pentagon labeling killing of 17 civilians "a c...
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 event. ... more
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War Profiteering
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War Profiteering
