Blackwater USA Back On Limited Iraq Duty
Embassy Resumes "Mission-Essential" Trips Outside Green Zone With Security Contractor
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A boy peers into a damaged vehicle after an overnight raid in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The U.S. military said a joint raid by Iraqi special forces and U.S. troops and helicopter gunships in Sadr City led to the detention of seven Shite extremists. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Members of a private security company pose on the rooftop of a house in Baghdad, Sept. 18, 2007. (AFP/Getty)
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A private U.S. security officer with his face covered against dust, sits in a Chinook helicopter as he accompanys Iraq's U.S. civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer on a visit to southern Iraq in this Thursday, Sept 18, 2003 file photo. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said Monday Sept. 17, 2007 that it was pulling the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade in Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
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A helicopter owned by Blackwater USA flies over central Baghdad, Iraq, in this Feb. 7, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
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A private contractor gestures to their colleagues flying over in a helicopter as they secure the scene of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq in this Tuesday, July 5, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
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Play CBS Video Video Press Grills Bush On Iraq
President Bush's first press conference after his summer vacation covered a wide range of topics but the press mostly honed in on Iraq. Drew Levinson reports.
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Video Taxpayers Funding Insurgency
According to an intelligence source, a shipment of artillery, intended for U.S.-backed forces in Iraq, was lost. As Armen Keteyian reports, those weapons have been found, in the hands of the enemy.
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Video Iraq Bans Private Security Co.
Blackwater, a private security company in Iraq, was banned by the Iraqi government after a firefight in which eight Iraqi civilians died. David Martin reports.
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Interactive
Battle For Iraq
The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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Special Report
The Road Ahead
Katie Couric reports from Iraq on the future of U.S. involvement there.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the decision was made after consultations with the Iraqi governments and the convoys will be allowed to leave the heavily-fortified Green Zone on a select basis.
"All movements supported by the PSDs have to be mission-essential," she said, referring to an acronym for personal security details run by Blackwater and other security contractors protecting Westerners and other dignitaries in Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she had ordered a "full and complete review" of security practices for U.S. diplomats.
Rice said she had directed the State Department to examine "how we are providing security to our diplomats."
Rice had no comment about Friday's resumption of Blackwater-protected convoys but paid tribute to the guards from the firm, one of three that provide security for U.S. diplomats and other civilian government officials in Iraq.
"We have needed and received the protection of Blackwater for a number of years now, and they have lost their own people in protecting our people in extremely dangerous circumstances," she said.
"We take very seriously what happened," Rice said, noting she had called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday to express regret.
A top aide to Maliki conceded it may prove difficult for the Iraqi government to expel Western security contractors.
The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into Sunday's incident was ongoing, said a way out of the Blackwater crisis could be the payment of compensation to victims' families and an agreement from all sides on a new set of rules for their operations in Iraq.
An Interior Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, said Friday that a report had concluded that Blackwater guards opened fire from four positions on a square in western Baghdad after a vehicle near their convoy failed to stop.
Iraqi witnesses and officials have offered several conflicting versions of events and it was not clear how the Interior Ministry report would affect a joint U.S.-Iraqi investigation.
Today in Washington, Jeremy Scahill, author of the book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," told the Democratic Policy Committee that these private security firms have a long history of being particularly aggressive and abusing their power in Iraq.
"While the headlines of the past week have been focused on the fatal shootings last Sunday, this was by no means an isolated incident nor is this simply about a rogue company or rogue operators. This is about a system of unaccountable and out of control private forces that have turned Iraq into a Wild West from the very beginning of the occupation - often with the stamp of legitimacy of the U.S. government."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Congress must take a look at what happened and hold these companies accountable for their actions.
"Regardless of how one might feel about the war, there should be no disagreement about this that it is long past time to confront and constrain these contracting abuses," Reid said.
Kathryn Helvenston-Wettengel, whose son Scott was killed while working for Blackwater, told the committee that the company's failed promises to provide adequate protection for its guards put her son in peril that might have been avoided.
Helvenston-Wettengel's son was killed March 31st, 2004 when their convoy was ambushed while picking up empty kitchen equipment from the 82nd Airborne Division. She said had Blackwater provided a rear gunner as it had promised, their convoy would have seen the insurgents ambushing from behind.
"The day Scottie died was his first day ever in Iraq. Scottie and the others that died with him were promised so many things - not one of those promises were kept. For example, it was undisputed that they did not have armored vehicles. They did not have heavy machine guns. They did not have a team of six. They did not have three people in each vehicle. They did not have a rear gunner that would have allowed them to see people approach from the rear."
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that, shortly before he died, Scott Helvenston e-mailed the owner of Blackwater to complain about "extreme unprofessionalism."
"We must have laws that apply to these contractors," Kathryn Helvenston-Wettengel told the committee today. "Please, I implore you, do not allow them to continue to get away with murder."
In Other Developments:
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 110 CommentsBlackwater is a huge contributor to the GOP and has deep connections to the Bu$h administration. It''s no surprise that they are back in action in Iraq.
Eric Prince''s mass murderers include the death squaddies of Central America and Pinochet''s demon apprentices from Chile--and his Blackwater management even tries to shortchange and cheat them.
Troops Home Now! No more wars for Oil, Israel and Opium!
Posted by micma at 09:42 AM : Sep 21, 2007
Micma you took the words right out of my mouth. Great post
Posted by ConDumism at 09:40 AM : Sep 21, 200
Where is Pesos when you need him?
In all fairness to the South, Erik Prince is a product of Michigan, a right wing Catholic who got his billions from his daddy who invented the automobile sun visor makeup mirror. He is connected to the Michigan DeVos family, associated with Amway. All big Repugs, to be sure--from the upper Midwest. Source--Wikipedia.
Imagine a universe where a man can gun down women and children anytime he pleases, knowing he will never be brought to justice. A place where morality is null and void, and arbitrary killing is the rule.Well, that universe exists today. It is called Iraq. And the man who made it possible is George W. Bush.
The moral vacuum of Iraq%u2014where Blackwater USA guards can kill 10 or 20 Iraqis on a whim and never be prosecuted for it%u2014did not happen by accident. It is yet another example of something the Bush administration could have prevented with the right measures but simply did not bother about as it rushed into invading and occupying another country.
Worse--it was planned, and it is what the neofascists plan for America--private cops like Blackwater enforcing the police state. That is exactly what they did in New Orleans.
Bushit the Elder used regular army troops in law enforcement operations in northern Calfornia--a military police state. Now Bushit the Younger is planning to do the same with his Hessians.
In all fairness, Iraq was like that under Sadaam. He was above his own laws and anyone he favored as well. Now everyone in Iraq can behave in such a manner. You can say that democracy has taken root. The right to commit indiscriminate violence has been given to the masses.
The Iraqi''s don''t like Dictator Bush''s private SS Blackwater?
I just can''t believe it.
I mean, Bush set them up with all the values he holds most dear. He not only forced the Iraqi government to agree to allow Blackwater to operate outside of Iraqi and International law, he even forced them to agree that no matter what atrocities they committed they could never be prosecuted, and he made sure they couldn''t be prosecuted in the US either.
It''s just so sad. Blackwater is the heart and soul of Dictator Bush. They stand for cruelty, brutality, torture, murder, and all things lawless and evil. Bush''s feelings must really be hurt. I really feel bad for him.
I guess, if you''re evil, things are improving in Iraq.
Sheesh.
General Petraeus, and all of Bush''s henchmen, are bald faced liars, and war criminals. I can''t wait for them to face the true values of America, during their trials for treason.
ST
"Cruelty and brutality are evidence of evil,not strength."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Please check out the history of Blackwater. It was started not during the Bush Administration, but the Clinton Administration. Clinton awarded their first defense contract.
You seem to know so much about Iraq; I guess you spent a lot of time in Iraq, right? To have the type of inside knowledge about the war, Blackwater, and General Petreaus that you do is incredible. You also probably know that most Blackwater employees are former military and spent a long time fighting for your right to bash them on this forum.
Think about this. You are sitting at a computer in a nice air-conditioned or heated room with a soft chair. You might even have a coffee or beer. At this same moment our men and women in uniform and contractors are doing their job. They are not at a computer, but in a convoy or on foot. They are caring 40 pounds of gear.
Say what you want, but people like me spent a lot of time fighting for someone like you and you can never change my opinion about this war. I have been over there and will be back for the 4th time soon and I like so many others never complain, we do our job while people like you sit back at home, complain about everything, and enjoy your freedom that you did nothing to earn.
http://www.doublestandards.org/butler2.html
American servicemen haven''t fought a war in the interests of the American people since they were sent to the Mexican border to deal with border raiders. Like Butler, they have been used and abused as enforcers for the New York banks and gangster capitalists who are ruining our nation from top to bottom.
Blackwater is an organization of slimey mercenary War Pigs fighting for Anglo-American capitalists for control of other people''s oil.
Within 10 days of taking office Bush was asking his NSC to find him an excuse to invade Iraq. Blackwater is employed by the same monsters who planned and executed the 9-11 mass murder of Americans.
Blackwater cuts corners for profits--just ask their employees whose SUV was destroyed in Falujah...Whoops! You can''t!...they were killed with small arms fire because Blackwater was too cheap to provide full crew, armour and escort for them and sent them straight into a hornet''s nest.
The ''diplomats'' deserve the same protection that the grunt in the field and the Marine officers who lead from the front. Devil take Blackwater!--and every Bush it hides behind! Nothing like an oily mercenary counting his lucre and putting on a righteous front... Eric Prince is the Tammy Faye Baker of the War Pig Industry!
As mass murdress, Mad Dog Albright, Clinton''s Secretary of State opined, ''US foreign policy doesn''t change with the party in power.'' She viewed this as one of its strengths. This is eloquent testimony to the fact that America is a One Party State...one Oligarchical Party, like a coin...it has two sides...the Democratic and the Republican.
armysgt1
No air-conditioning or beer, but I am in a comfy chair.
But where was I from last Thursday (the 14th) to last Tuesday (the 18th)?
I was in Washington DC marching for freedom, the restoration of our Constitution, and the end of illegal war. And on Tuesday I was in the halls of both the House and Senate lobbying selected Senators and Representatives to restore the rule of law to this land.
Where were you?
And by the way, I don''t care how many pounds of gear a murderous thug has to carry.
ST
"Once again, it is the followers of King George who are the loyal patriots, and Americans who are the criminals."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Posted by coastiewife6 at 11:01 AM : Sep 21, 2007
You are wrong and I know how much you want to think you are right. Many of us out here knew invading Iraq was a bad decision. Many of us knew that the bush administration was incapable of embarking on such an undertaking. Many of us knew that the people he had chosen to implement his war were not qualified for the positions they were given. The few who were qualified were quickly gotten rid of. Many of us are aware of the sacrifices of our armed services~ in the past and in the present. We, however, find the most damning statement of this situation in your statement:"You cant get an OBJECTIVE - meaning the good and bad of it - view of what happened because those things are classified " Everything about this war has been classified., and there is something wrong with that.
If we are there for oil them I assume you can tell me how many barrels of oil we have received from Iraq over the last 4 years.
Brainwashed?? It is hard to be brainwashed when you are on the ground and see what happens with your own eyes. The ones that are brain washed are the people who listen to the news and take it as the truth.
Lastdance 2,
%u201CUnder a 2004 decree of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Blackwater employees cannot
be tried by the Iraqi justice system. No US contractors have been convicted for killing Iraqi civilians.%u201D
You are right, they cannot be charged by the Iraqi justice system. However they can be charged under the UCMJ. Yes, the UCMJ does apply to contractors just like military. So the notion that they cannot be charged for crimes is just wrong. The issue is where the case is heard.
SearingTruth
GREAT JOB AT YOUR FREEDOM MARCH!!!! I bet you made a difference. You still have that freedom that you did not earn, you were just lucky enough to be born in America.
SearingTruth
"Any who act as if freedom''s defenses are to be found in suppression and suspicion and fear confess a doctrine that is alien to America."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
"The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, ''My country, right or wrong.'' In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
Senator Carl Schurz, remarks in the Senate, February 29, 1872. The applause in the gallery was deafening.
"But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. ... voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, the Nuremberg Diary
"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is revolutionary."
George Orwell, 1984
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
Searing truth--you are a socialist, and a bombast and hyperbole spewing sewer who throws out old phrases under the veil if wisdom--take your venom to Europe where you can sit around a cafe with a beret, an ascot, and a pipe and "be the man"., Guys like you should have been born women--you''re a skinny armed punk.
To the rest of you: we joined the military to fight--we like to fight--we want to fight--we train to fight--we get paid to fight--give us another war, we don''t care. We respect our foe more than the average overweight, spoiled, "cant find Iraq on the map" American becasue at least our foes have the sack to fight for something.
So, pay your taxes--I''m out of ammo and need a resupply.
Posted by armysgt1 at 11:52 AM : Sep 21, 2007
+ report abuse
Have you applied for a job with Blackwater yet. I know your kind, you are all gun ho.. you just want to kill "them" and you could care less about the FACT that there WERE no WMD''s or that there was NO CONNECTION to 9/11 in Iraq. No! You are determined to force "Democracy" right down these people''s throat if they like it or not. People like you, who IGNORE the Constitution and the Will of the PEOPLE aren''t American, so stop PRETENDING to be. The Constitution is VERY clear what our DEFENSE is supposed to be all about... taking care of OIL in Iraq is NOT one of them Sparky! So go to Blackwater and sell your services. There''s always a Third World Country willing to pay you people! Combat Veteran, USMC, Chu Lai, RVN, 1968-69
armysgt1
Well, I do have to admit that I didn''t get my arm ripped out of it''s socket by the DC police like the poor 60+ year old woman who attempted to be arrested peacefully for civil disobedience. Nor did I suffer the agony of the many others who were thrown to the ground and crushed by Bush''s thugs while their arms were repeatedly raised up behind their backs until they screamed in excruciating pain and terror.
Yep, I just got to see your buddies in action.
You see, Bush not only has his own private SS in Iraq, he also has them in Washington DC. And let me tell you, when they are torturing a poor young or old woman, they do it with glee, and a great big smile on their face.
You should go there next time and watch, I''m sure you''d really like it. And here''s a bonus. I''m scheduled to be tortured and arrested at our next fight for freedom, and I''m sure you wouldn''t want to miss that for anything in the world.
Yep. I just don''t think that those who screamed and plead for mercy from Bush''s SS DC police on September 15 in our nations capitol were feeling very lucky.
ST
"Our government is no longer American, thus, as in the beginning, the people must suffice."
SearingTruth
"The weak always surrender freedom, at the first opportunity."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
So, pay your taxes--I''''m out of ammo and need a resupply
Posted by rangerdahl at 12:19 PM : Sep 21, 2007
+ report abuse
There is one thing for certain REAL American Troops, the one''s that went into battle with me and my father in WW II did NOT think like this animal. Real American''s would NOT be part of Blackwater.... When this nation is at war AGAINST the will of it''s people we stopped being anything close to what we''re supposed to be people. I guess the world should think of us all the way they look at Blackwater and all the other Paid Guns out there. No wonder George W. Bush is the most hated man on this planet...who wouldn''t hate something like that? Sieg Heil Bush!!
Posted by Prinzowhales at 11:42 AM : Sep 21, 2007
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Now Sparky everyone knows there is ONE party making any attempt to change the direction of this nation in the world today... the other refuses to break ranks with the Fuhrer and the Fascist Party. Let''s at least try to be honest here!!
So I ignore the constitution. I believe that the law is that if I am in the military and Congress and President say I have to go to war, I have to go to war. I am not forcing a democracy on anyone I am doing my job. People like you think that by me doing my job I am %u201Cnot American%u201D. So I guess since people did not want you in Vietnam and you were there you are not American either.
Searing truth: When you drive away today in your car--where do you think the engine gets power?..when you trun your lights on in the house, where do they get power?...how do you think plastic is made for all the products you use, including the computer?...it''s oil. We need oil and we better be ready to fight for it. And, once it''s all used up, we can ditch the middle east and go fond someone else to pal around with.
I hope a democrat gets elected this time...I could really use a world group hug hosted by the UN. Then we can all sit around in ponchos and pretend Karl Marx is still alive and wear flowers and tell each other how wonderful it is to be progressive.
Posted by rangerdahl at 12:41 PM : Sep 21, 2007
+ report abuse
Look either ADDRESS the issue or get off. I get very tired of you Fascist who never want to talk about a War that has NOTHING to do with WMD''s OR has anything to do with the pursuit and capture of the man who attacked this nation. You constant INSULTS or attempts to paint those of us who WILL NOT march to the tune laid out by the PARTY as some sort of UN American Fanatic!! IF you care to look at the record Sparky those of us YOU attempt to paint as UN American have been right about this entire mess for day ONE... IF not for US you mental midget you losers would still be crowing about us Winning in Iraq and that the Insurgency is on it''s last legs. Frankly you losers have been so wrong for so long, we now cocider the ability of our people to move around with Blackwater again. That''s in a Nation we are "Liberating" Sparky. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Posted by armysgt1 at 12:31 PM : Sep 21, 2007
+ report abuse
What is WRONG with you people??? Here we are over 4 years after "mission accomplished" and YOU are calling people who wish to get back to going after the man who ACTUALLY attacked us as some sort of Un American. You can''t accept the FACT that the PEOPLE... YOU DO REMEMBER THEM DON''T YOU? Please tell me you have not gone so far as to agree to a DICTATOR? Anyway the PEOPLE of this nation want to end Bush''s War... anyone that can''t accept the reality that the American People do NOT buy your vision, you''ll be much better off. Sieg Heil Bush!
MCVet
Indeed patriot MCVet. Blackwater, and corrupted elements of our military and police, do not represent the majority of our military or police today, or throughout our history.
But even though they are the minority, at this time they hold much power, and our nation is teetering on the edge of fascism.
However, I did see hope in DC. Not only were there 100,000 citizens young and old, from all walks of life, marching for freedom, but I also ran into two Army Generals while lobbying in the Senate building and was able to have a short conversation with them.
They both agreed with me, and told me that many in the military were attempting to restore our Constitution. Unfortunately, they were only two star Generals, and as they spoke I noticed that even they felt they could only whisper. It was a very surreal experience.
And by the way, the 60+ year old woman I mentioned earlier who had her shoulder ripped out of its socket by the DC police was, amazingly, with us in the Senate and House lobbying with her arm in a sling, just three days after suffering such a painful and traumatic injury.
My heart swelled with pride for America at the mere sight of such courage and selfless sacrifice. I hope that when my time comes I can be as brave. It was, without exaggeration, truly astounding.
ST
"A life, delivered in the service of liberty, endures forever."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
I have been to Iraq twice and am going back. I have seen differences in the country and it''s going forward--no matter what you and the liberal media and pacifists say. We have those contractors in the country because the military isn;t big enough ot do the job--that''s because most Americans are too impatient to wait for results and would never support increasing the size of the military because they don''t have the stomach for war. Most Americans will waive a flag on July 4th while they stuff another hamburger down their throat--but will never stand in front of the flag to take the oath of enliostment. That''s because the military is "icky" and the business and profession of "losers and animals" (your words). SO WHAT? I''ll tote a gun and stand watch.
Now MCVET, go get my poncho, my copy of Nietsche and Marx, and let''s go to the Gueverra festival on the capitol mall...I hear they have hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. At the end we can all sit around and hold candles and pretend the world is perfect and that Saddam and Ho Chi Minh were actually good guys and just a little misunderstood.
Sparky? Fascist? Loser? Mental midget?
These insults only begin to describe a fascist Southern loving traitor such as yourself. You Southern Fascists have not fought a legitimate war for America since WWII. Id guess you read yourself to sleep each night reading publications from Hitler, Mussolini, and Andrew Jackson.
Lieutenant Rieckhoff and his 38-man infantry platoon spent 10 months in one of the most volatile areas of Baghdad, trying to maintain order, protect civilians, track down insurgents, and protect themselves from snipers and roadside bombers. It quickly became clear that the American mission in Iraq had vague strategy, flawed tactics, and overchallenged, underequipped soldiers. Rieckhoff made it back alive, determined to tell the truth about what was happening and demand accountability from elected officials.
Iraq has been a rich man''s war and a poor man''s fight, with the Iraqi people barely visible in the American media. Moreover, Rieckhoff''s experiences showed him that censorship and bias abound even in these days of "on-the-spot" reporting, distorting what anyone following the war through the general media can learn. A most commendable eyewitness report on Iraq.
Paul Rieckhoff writes with rare authenticity and passion not just of the war abroad but of even tougher battles faced by him and other veterans now returning home. Every American who professes to %u2018Support our Troops'' should read Chasing Ghosts.
.
The DickNBush Gestapo is back in business. Seems there is no limit in DickNBush world to the number of people who are "above the law".
.
I stand watch, I stand my post, I put myself in harms way, I stand for something! It''s repulsive to you tp believe that I actually like to be in an organization that kills other people...that''s OK, I''m repulsed by your naivity and lack of sack. Go join, do your three years, then tell me what you think.
This is real life where there are real bad guys trying to kill you lurking everywhere. Although I don''t know any Blackwater people typically they have more training than the average military personnel. Their job is "Force Protection" and the rules of engagement are different. They are not just shooting willy-nilly but have specific training when to shoot. If they don''t shoot when the situation calls for it, they are not doing their job.
The fact that they killed a child does not mean they were''t doing their job.
Children have been used previously as suicide bombers in Iraq. Two children were put in a car and allowed to blow up in a car suicide bombing.
see:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070320203409.spj83omw&show_article=1
Anybody that believes the terrorist won''t use anything possible such as a baby, pregnant woman, girl, donky or bicycle to kill people still believes in the toothfairy.
The Blackwater people are just doing their jobs. If the military weren''t so hampered down by Military Lawyers riding their backs there would be a lot fewer US Military dead.
Re: "The U.S. Embassy resumed limited convoy movements with Blackwater USA protection in Baghdad, four days after all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials was suspended in response to Iraqi outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the American security firm."
It appears that the fact that the terrorists-for-rent from Blackwater, killed these civilians is beyond dispute, rather than simply "alleged". Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that these murders were unprovoked.
The fact that these mercenaries are back on the streets of Iraq, only adds to the mounting evidence that the installed "government" of Iraq is neither legitimate nor sovereign.
SearingTruth,
Nice job on the demonstration!
Thank you!
I have to go now. The DC Week of Action ends today and I need to get some final data so I can update my blog with all the inspiring events that occurred this week, and start planning for our next events.
ST
"A Glimpse of Dawn
Good evening my fellow Americans.
I stand before you today in the midst of our most dark night.
A night which shrouds all we have known and sacrificed in a darkness so pervasive that some say our battle for liberty, never yet joined, has already been lost.
To those good Americans whose lives have been scarred by injustice, whose conscience has been stunned by betrayal, and whose souls bear the wounds of unspeakable inhumanity, I say take hope.
Great hope.
For I stand before you today not to lament the loss of our freedom, not to decry the disgrace of our nation, and not to surrender to the forces that would lay all we have loved desolate and barren.
No. I stand today instead to revel in, and plan for, our great nation%u2019s revival. A revival that will not only restore our traditional freedoms and liberties, but also allow us to embark on the long journey towards regaining the trust, respect, and admiration of our global neighbors.
A revival that will once again display to the world that Americans are one of the most just, humane, and visionary people ever to grace this good Earth.
And a revival that will ultimately offer to our world the greatest hope it has ever known."
Excerpt from A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
next item... why do we rely on private contractors to provide security? in previous wars we called them unlawful mercenaries or maybe unlawful enemy combatants. do we need to rely in them now because our military is broken or at least bruised?
item #3 .... in this civil war our troops are in a no-win situation with large bull''s-eyes on their backs. many are on their fourth or fifth deployment, suicide rates are sky-high, divorce rates are also soaring as are there home foreclosures and their bills in collections. not to mention lack of health care when they return stateside .
This administration uses the military as a Photo backdrop but does not listen to the pleadings of the common soldier. This administration appallingly has blurred the line between political civilian control and military control by using General Petraeus as a mouthpiece for its cherry picked talking points about the surge.
END COMBAT MISSIONS IN IRAQ. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS BRING THEM HOME NOW AND FULLY FUND THEIR HEALTH-CARE.
First of all, just becuase you live up north doesn''t mean you can bash ALL southerners like that. Second, Blackwater employees people from ALL over the country. It''s pretty pathetic how so many people are believing all this bad news on blackwater lately, 98% of what you see in the press is coming from Iraq. When you go to bash Blackwater, don''t forget about how many Americans the Iraqis have killed, and how many American lives Blackwater has helped save, then re-think what ever simple minded comment it is that you have.
Just as we use private contractors to run prisons in the US, we use them to treat people in countries we occupy like inmates. Iraqis have no rights, no recourse.
And the owners of Blackwater are big "Christians"? Yeah, Christ is coming back. He''s gonna show up at one of these cold, judgemental churches and be called a "r**head", n*gg**, qu***, or be left on a rooftop in New Orleans, or shot driving in Baghdad. They''re gonna crucify Him again.
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