Comments on: Iraq To Eject Security Firm Over Killings

Government Official Says Blackwater USA Contractors Linked To Civilian Slayings

[Knight6000]

this event is SOOO much ***!!!!
tangos set off a car bomb to initiate an ambush and these guys returned fire they did nothing reckless.
If anyone was reckless it was the tangos!
Innocent lives lost in a gun battle are inevitable but sad of course.
problem is no lives would have been lost if the ambush didn''t happen.
the Iraqi govt. should be condemning the tangos for starting it in the first place!!!
blackwater weredefending themselves pure and simple!
I tried to stay away from this post cause it pisses me off but I couldn''t help it.
OK my rant will now end.

[gretagreen]

What does this mean for our soldiers? Will they be in more dangers - stretched thinner? Also, is the ministry of interior terribly corrupt and powerful and the head of Al Maliki''s "shadow government"?

I hate this war!!!!!

[dscott407]

Posted by robertkjjj at 06:20 PM : Sep 17, 2007

You make a good point. It would be nice to see the Iraqi Government act so swiftly with regards to their own Shia and Sunni Death Squads. It is certainly a bold move. But this is not be as rare an incident for this firm. They have quite a bit of leeway.

[alphaa10-2009]

CBS said, "Since the fall of Saddam Hussein''s regime in 2003, private security contractors have enabled the U.S. military to overcome some of the problems created by the Bush administration''s decision to limit the number of troops on the ground.

Private companies and nongovernment organizations also turned to security companies to provide protection when security collapsed in the Iraqi capital in 2004."
---
Bush tried to escape the political overhead of putting enough troops on the ground in Iraq by letting his private sector buddies in on the "security market" action. The problem this creates is (1) the US military often finds firms like Blackwater clueless about the natives and obstructive to official operations (2) US military units engaged in "hearts and minds" work with the locals can have months of goodwill trashed in a single incident with a Blackwater vehicle (3) the military often ends up saving overextended Blackwater units, interrupting its own operations and endangering its own men in the process.

Granted, there is a place for private security units in Iraq, but a very, very limited one compared to their current role. From the beginning, the core problem is Iraqi civilians cannot work well with either occupation forces or private security.

[greco99-2009]

robertkjjj:

You said: "The only thing these Arab animals understand is sheer force."

Are you arguing that we should make racist hate a justification of the war? Do you think we should attack all "arab aminals" or just those in Iraq?

Your way of thinking is profoundly damaging to U.S. political and economic interests. Most normal human beings see that a mercenary war featuring torture (by contractors, in some cases) and wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians is unwinable and will produce a very motivated generation of Jihadis while we become a pariah nation to the rest of the world.

Tell us more how great and wonderful Blackwater and Bush are. Tell us how great it will be to spend another $500 billion on this war.

In truth, I think your opinion is shared by about 10-15% of Americans -- the majority of the few remaining Bush supporters...

You must be a big supporter of torture and depleted uranium weapons.

[tejasdemo]

More blood squarely at the feet of Bush and Cheney. I dont know how they sleep at night. I really dont.

[robertkjjj]

Whether it''s Haditha, Abu Ghraib or this nonsense re Blackwater now, the USA is much more at war with itself and it''s own men than it is with the murdering Islamic scum. Funny how the Iraqis lose hundreds of innocent lives a week with barely a mention, yet have some US-related force kill a solitary civilian, and they go ape*hit. We can never win a war while we spend so much time, effort, and emotion engaged in this mindless self-flagellation. 99% of what Blackwater does is useful, legal, and contributory. Yet, they make this one error, and we allow the Iraqi so-called "government" to call the shots and kick the world''s best non-government fighting force out?? What does this inept and incompetent Iraqi government know about anything? Name one correct decision they have made so far. The only right thing to do is to boot out al-Maliki and his incompetent cronies by force, and go back to rule by gun. The only thing these Arab animals understand is sheer force.

[azmka]

Blackwater shoots at American troops! What the H*ll is that?!
If one of our troops were killed by Blackwater the U.S. government would probably cover it up IF they have to take any responsibility. If NOT, they will take very public action to look like moral crusaders.
Question authority NOW MORE THAN EVER!

[boatdocster]

We chastise the Iraqi government for not making decisions and looking out for their people.

More innocent civilians are killed by US representatives, and the Iraqi government finally makes a decision (and hopefully will stand by it).

Wait a minute - Rice states she is going to "call them".

Sounds like Bush and crew want the Maliki government to only make US pre-approved decisions, and this was not one of them. Of course Bush and Cheney''s kids are not the ones being killed.

[dscott407]

Secretary of State Rice is going to call Prime Minister Maliki on this matter. Talk about having friends in high places. Depending on how well the phone call goes, I wouldn''t surprised to see her on a plane for Iraq by weeks end.