View Full Version : Blackwater used grenades on unarmed Iraqis
Blackwater Worldwide security guards opened machine gun fire on innocent, surrendering Iraqis and launched a grenade into a girls' school during a gruesome Baghdad shooting last year, prosecutors said Monday in announcing manslaughter charges against five guards.
A sixth guard involved in the attack cut a plea deal with prosecutors, turned on his former colleagues, and admitting killing at least one Iraqi in the 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Seventeen Iraqis were killed in the assault.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/blackwater_prosecution
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
The Reaper
12-08-2008, 15:24
IMHO, conventional troops, poorly trained, and poorly led.
TR
IMHO, conventional troops, poorly trained, and poorly led.
TR
Agree. My fears are the MSMs and Congress-critter's tendency to use these situations for their personal 'soapbox smokescreens' as it goes to trial.
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Not defending Blackwater, but I seriously doubt any of us were there that day. Don't believe all you read in the papers....
How many articles have been written, how many accusations have been made, how many US Congressmen have called US troops murderers, how many President elects have accused US forces of "air-raiding" villages/killing innocent women and children, how many US congressmen have likened our troops to Nazi's or compared them to terrorists in the night???? Blackwater is an easy media/insurgent target and I think it's best to reserve judgement until an investigation/court proceedings are completed.
Team Sergeant
12-09-2008, 07:58
Not defending Blackwater, but I seriously doubt any of us were there that day. Don't believe all you read in the papers....
Then you would be wrong. One on here was on that very detail.
Team Sergeant
IMHO, conventional troops, poorly trained, and poorly led.
TR
Agree with TR
The guards are a former Marine from West Valley City, Utah; a former Marine from Knoxville, Tenn.; a former Marine from Rochester, N.H.; a former Army sergeant from Sparta, Tenn.; and an Army veteran from Keller, Texas.
IMHO, Blackwater's contracts got so large, they started dropping their standards to fill those contracts. I know I wasn't there, but I'm sorry, no "shake and bake" course on PSD will make you proficent at the job if you have no prior experience. And I doubt their ROE was to shoot up the entire area if you can't indentify where the shooting is coming from.
Dozer523
12-09-2008, 10:53
How many articles have been written?
How many accusations have been made?
How many US Congressmen have called US troops murderers?
How many President elects have accused US forces of "air-raiding" villages/killing innocent women and children?
How many US Congressmen have likened our troops to Nazi's or compared them to terrorists in the night????
I don't know. I might have missed it, so . . . You tell me. Especially, the parts about congressmen and President-Elects. Hyperbole? Dramatic effect? doesn't really belong here, no matter how good it sounds, if it's not true.
As for Blackwater (having witnessed some of their antics in Afghanistan) I look forward to the investigation/court proceedings. $0.02
Roguish Lawyer
12-09-2008, 11:23
Here is the proffer from the guy who pleaded out:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1208081blackwater1.html
Roguish Lawyer
12-09-2008, 11:28
Statement to the press from defense counsel:
http://www.raven23.com/uploads/Press_Statement_12-8-08.pdf
I don't know. I might have missed it, so . . . You tell me. Especially, the parts about congressmen and President-Elects. Hyperbole? Dramatic effect? doesn't really belong here, no matter how good it sounds, if it's not true.
As for Blackwater (having witnessed some of their antics in Afghanistan) I look forward to the investigation/court proceedings. $0.02
Dozer you did miss it (them). It's not hyperbole and it's not for dramatic effect though I wish it were. I currently do not have the time to post the specific links to the specific quotes so here is a quick run down of the public officials literally stating and or implying our soldiers are/have committed war crimes----without having a shred proof or just believing whatever the media reports. I am surprised you missed it or maybe you just forgot.
* Sen. John Kerry compared our troops to terrorist's while conducting cordon and searches in Iraq.
* Congresman John Murtha accussed US Maries of cold blooded murder in Haditha
* Pres Elect BHO stated US forces were air-raiding villages and killing innocent civilians in Afghananistan.
* Sen Dick Durbin compared our soldiers to Nazi soldiers. (Regarding GITMO?)
Most of the quotes can no doubt be found on this site.
Dozer523
12-09-2008, 15:17
Dozer you did miss it (them). I am surprised you missed it or maybe you just forgot.
Most of the quotes can no doubt be found on this site.
Ouch! I stand corrected. I did miss it, it is worse then I thought.
As for "It's not hyperbole and it's not for dramatic effect though I wish it were." Sincere apologies to you. (FOG-ism?)
longrange1947
12-09-2008, 18:20
For the job they had they were absolutely and positively under-trained if trained at all. A one or two week course does not prepare a vanilla field soldier, not already trained in force protection or personal security, to do that job. The closest trained one was the FAST troop and I have worked with them and they do not have that type of training.
I will step on some toes here and say, that most SF, Rangers, SEALs etc are not trained for that role. It is not something you just acquire through the years. I thought I was pretty up on it until I had to do it in the ME. These were young untrained guys with guns and grenades.
As far as not being there, you are right, I was not. As far as knowing what should have happened, yes, I have been there.
Is it their fault? No, not entirely, but I am sure they padded the resume enough to give Blackwater an excuse to hire them and give Blackwater cover.
My 2 cents. Waiting incoming from the people sure they are trained to do that job. :munchin :D
Team Sergeant
12-10-2008, 08:09
Is it their fault? No, not entirely, but I am sure they padded the resume enough to give Blackwater an excuse to hire them and give Blackwater cover.
blackwater will/did hire anyone they could, don't you remember the El Sals (I think) they hired? If you can breath blackwater will hire you.
What I want to see is blackwater defending their "made-up" training (in a court of law) they sell to their "contractor" consultants and then send them off.
Hey erik prince, where did you learn "defensive force" in the Navy SEALS, you two-bit moron.
Team Sergeant
Sad story - I sincerely hope for the member here that was on the detail that day that this is a lot of bushwa. If not, he's in a lot of trouble.
As stated, not defending Blackwater, they shot up one of our teams on route Irish one day - Guess the frantic waving of flags and panels was "greek" to them. I just don't trust the press at all - bunch of treasonous fifth-columnists.
Team Sergeant
12-10-2008, 16:16
Sad story - I sincerely hope for the member here that was on the detail that day that this is a lot of bushwa. If not, he's in a lot of trouble.
As stated, not defending Blackwater, they shot up one of our teams on route Irish one day - Guess the frantic waving of flags and panels was "greek" to them. I just don't trust the press at all - bunch of treasonous fifth-columnists.
Not everyone on the detail "opened fire".
We've discussed this shooting ad nauseum in another thread.
Personally I'd like to see erik prince go to jail over this shooting. My guess is blackwater and erik prince will once again sue the "victims" families and win.
TS
Didn't know they hired El Sals. They did hire Colombians though. They still have some of them at a few places to include Afghanistan. I can't speak for the Colombians that were trained at Moyock, but the ones trained in Bogota attended a very good course minus the 240 and 249.
blackwater will/did hire anyone they could, don't you remember the El Sals (I think) they hired? If you can breath blackwater will hire you.
What I want to see is blackwater defending their "made-up" training (in a court of law) they sell to their "contractor" consultants and then send them off.
Hey erik prince, where did you learn "defensive force" in the Navy SEALS, you two-bit moron.
Team Sergeant
Dozer523
12-16-2008, 09:11
Wall Street Journal
December 16, 2008
Pg. 23
How Blackwater Serves America
Think of our staff as soldiers who re-enlist.
By Erik D. Prince
Since United States military operations in Iraq began in 2003, I have visited Iraq at least 15 times. But unlike politicians who visit, the question for me has never been why the U.S. got into Iraq. Instead, as the CEO of Blackwater, the urgent question was how the company I head could perform the duties asked of us by the U.S. State Department.
Last week the Department of Justice announced charges against six Blackwater security guards for a shooting incident in Baghdad in September 2007. But before the histories are written, it is crucial to understand the often mischaracterized role of security contractors in this unique war.
In Iraq, State Department civilians and U.S. soldiers have been operating in the same location in an active war zone. While the troops have been facing insurgents, the State Department civilians have been working to rebuild institutions and infrastructure. Blackwater's role in this war evolved from this unprecedented dynamic. The government saw a need for highly experienced, highly trained Americans to protect our civilians abroad, and so it selected Blackwater.
Every individual who has worked for Blackwater in Iraq has previously served in the U.S. military or as a police officer. Many were highly decorated. And from the beginning, these individuals have been bound by detailed contracts that ensure intensive government direction and control.
The U.S. government sets comprehensive standards for the selection and training of security guards. Blackwater's competitively awarded contract contains dozens of pages detailing requirements for each position and specifying hour-by-hour training for each individual. This is all before they set foot in Iraq.
I have seen firsthand how the security environment has vacillated considerably since 2003, when I would ride around Baghdad in thin-skinned vehicles rather than the military armored personnel carriers that soon became necessary amid the growing threat of roadside attacks. While still extraordinarily dangerous, the situation in Iraq has improved significantly since the time of the September 2007 shooting incident in Nisour Square.
According to a Department of Defense report to Congress, from mid-June to mid-July 2007 -- the time frame that preceded the September 2007 shooting incident -- Baghdad experienced an average of 43 attacks per day, more than double the attacks in any other province. During the week before the Nisour Square incident, one of Blackwater's helicopters was shot down, a separate team came under fire from armed insurgents, and a third team survived a roadside bomb. Even amidst such an aggressive and ubiquitous enemy, Blackwater's incident reports during that time period show that personnel discharged their weapons less than one half of one percent of the time.
Then and now, Blackwater personnel encounter myriad potential or actual hostile acts on a daily basis. Enemies attack with rocket- propelled grenades, sniper fire and car bombs. Responding to these attacks often requires split-second decisions, and so Blackwater's contracts include detailed rules for the use of force. Our teams operate under a government-prescribed process that involves a series of visual and audible signals to distinguish between approaching civilian motorists and insurgents attempting to get close enough to a convoy to ignite a car bomb.
The U.S. government currently has criminal jurisdiction over Blackwater and any other contractor accused of wrongdoing. In announcing indictments this week, Jeffrey A. Taylor, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia said, "It bears emphasis that today's indictment is very narrow in its allegations. Six individual Blackwater guards have been charged with unjustified shootings on September 16, 2007, not the entire Blackwater organization in Baghdad. There were 19 Blackwater guards on the Raven 23 team that day at Nisour Square. Most acted professionally, responsibly, and honorably. Indeed this indictment should not be read as an accusation against any of those brave men and women who risk their lives as Blackwater security contractors."
One of these brave people is Derrick Wright. In April 2007, a rocket tore through the Baghdad living quarters where Blackwater personnel were sleeping. Fortunately, no one was killed. But many were seriously injured, including Mr. Wright, a West Point graduate, Army Ranger and father of three. He suffered grave injuries when a portion of his skull was shattered in the attack.
Stabilized in the Green Zone, Mr. Wright was airlifted to a hospital in Europe where his prognosis was bleak. When Mr. Wright's wife arrived, she found her husband coming out of brain surgery and described him as a man who "had one foot in this world and one out." He has since shown remarkable progress after extensive physical therapy, a cranioplasty to repair damage to his skull, and many other procedures.
Derrick Wright and the other team members injured that day were not in Iraq to fight the war. Just like every Blackwater professional who makes the trip to Iraq, they were putting their lives at risk each day to protect U.S. Department of State officials and other civilians working in the country. Yet somehow that role and the part they play in this war have been grossly misunderstood.
While some of our critics seize upon inaccurate labels, I doubt they have ever known one of our contractors personally or been protected by them. Our teams are not cooking meals or moving supplies. They are taking bullets. They are military veterans who have chosen to serve their country once again. Very few people know someone who would voluntarily go into a war zone to protect a person he has never met. I know 1,000 of them, and I am proud that they are part of our team.
Mr. Prince, a former Navy SEAL, is founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide.
Team Sergeant
12-16-2008, 10:01
Wall Street Journal
December 16, 2008
Pg. 23
How Blackwater Serves America
Think of our staff as soldiers who re-enlist.
By Erik D. Prince
The government saw a need for highly experienced, highly trained Americans to protect our civilians abroad, and so it selected Blackwater.
Every individual who has worked for Blackwater in Iraq has previously served in the U.S. military or as a police officer. Many were highly decorated. And from the beginning, these individuals have been bound by detailed contracts that ensure intensive government direction and control.
Mr. Prince, a former Navy SEAL, is founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide.
Seems erik prince cannot keep his stories straight......
I'd be willing to bet my life that erik's above quote is nothing more than a bold faced lie.
Navy SEAL huh, how much time did erik have serving in the Navy SEALS? What about a year and a half?
The Department of Justice needs to bring charges against blackwater for training, equipping, and placing these "untrained" individuals in harms way.
If I were one of these guys I'd be suing blackwater for gross negligence in not providing the proper training needed for the situations they were about to face.
Team Sergeant
Soliders of Fortune
[edit]"Coalition of the Billing"
"There are no reliable figures on the number of guards from Colombia or other countries," Sonni Efron wrote July 30, 2005, in the Los Angeles Times. "Fijians, Ukrainians, South Africans, Nepalese and Serbs reportedly are on the job in Iraq."[43]
Peter W. Singer of the Brookings Institution, "author of a book on the private military industry, said veterans of Latin American conflicts, including Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Nicaraguans, also had turned up. 'What we've done in Iraq is assemble a true 'coalition of the billing',' Singer said, playing off President Bush's description of the U.S.-led alliance of nations with a troop presence in Iraq as a 'coalition of the willing'," Efron wrote.[43]
[edit]Chilean "former commandos"
Blackwater and other U.S.-based private military contractors do not only recruit Americans; according to Jonathan Franklin, former commandos from Chile are an increasing presence among private military troops in Iraq. Gary Jackson, president of Blackwater, told the British newspaper The Guardian that former Chilean commandos, "many of who had trained under the military government of Augusto Pinochet," will be sent to Iraq for a year and a half, to guard oil wells from saboteurs. "We scour the ends of the earth to find professionals - the Chilean commandos are very, very professional and they fit within the Blackwater system," said Jackson. And the private military melting pot doesn't stop there: "Squads of Bosnians, Filipinos and Americans with special forces experience have been hired for tasks ranging from airport security to protecting Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority."[44]
[edit]Colombian "seasoned counter insurgency troops"
The Colombian news magazine Semana and the Financial Times of London reported in September 2006 that "35 Colombians—mostly seasoned counter insurgency troops—alleged in a letter to Blackwater that recruiters had promised them salaries of $4,000 a month," Bill Sizemore wrote in The Virginian-Pilot. "They said it was only when they were given their contracts barely hours before leaving Bogota that they learned they would be paid $34 a day, or about $1,000 a month."[45]
"American contractors can earn $10,000 a month or more working for Blackwater and its competitors in Iraq," Sizemore wrote.[45]
In July 2005, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) was concerned "that U.S. government contractors [were] hiring thousands of impoverished former military personnel, with no public scrutiny, little accountability and large hidden costs to taxpayers," Sonni Efron wrote in the Los Angeles Times.[43]
"The United States has spent more than $4 billion since 2000 on Plan Colombia, a counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics program that includes training and support for the Colombian police and military. Last month, Congress moved toward approval of an additional $734.5 million in aid to the Andean region in 2006, most of it for Colombia. 'We're training foreign nationals - who then take that training and market it to private companies, who pay them three or four times as much as we're paying soldiers,' Schakowsky said. 'American taxpayers are paying for the training of those Colombian soldiers,' she said. 'When they leave to take more lucrative jobs, perhaps with an American military contractor, they take that training with them. So then we're paying to train that person's replacement. And then we're paying the bill to the private military contractors'," Efron wrote.[43]
[edit]Filipino "mercenaries"
"Many Filipinos apply for any type of work just to work abroad and earn money", with an estimated "tenth of the country's 84 million population ... out of the country and working legally and illegally abroad", Claro Cortes reported June 11, 2006, in Gulf News.[46]
"Authorities at the former US Naval Base in Subic have denied reports that an American company is using the facility to hire Filipino mercenaries for Iraq", Cortes wrote. Several Manila newspapers reported that Blackwater USA "was using the former US naval base to recruit Filipino mercenaries to fight in Iraq" and "even featured pictures of Filipino-looking men wearing combat fatigues during what appears to be guard duty in an alleged Middle East community."[46]
"The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the US for hiring Filipino mercenaries to fight its wars in Iraq and other countries," Manila's Sun Star reported June 12, 2006.[47] "New People's Army (NPA) spokesman Gregorio 'Ka Roger' Rosal said hiring Filipino civilians to provide support services for the US' war in Iraq and other countries is bad enough and should be discouraged, but 'hiring Filipino soldiers of fortune to fight in US wars of aggression and terror against other countries is even worse and deserves nothing but condemnation.'
"Rosal said the establishment of Blackwater's recruitment center in the Philippines stemmed from the mounting casualties of US military personnel that have triggered severe criticism, massive protests and plunging ratings for US President George W. Bush.
"He said the US has also turned to Third World countries to be able to cut costs as hired Filipino mercenaries are paid only US$60,000-US$80,000 a year, half of what it pays American mercenaries with equivalent qualifications and assignments," the Sun Star reported.[47]
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Blackwater_USA
Dozer523
12-16-2008, 12:15
Personally I'd like to see erik prince go to jail over this shooting. TS
And TS opens his mike
"Gunner, HEAT, Prince, Two five meters, twelve o'clock"
"Identified"
"Gun UP!"
"Fire"
"On the Way"
"Target, Cease Fire. Driver, Move out."
Team Sergeant
12-16-2008, 12:37
I see it this way, mother Army spends millions to properly train, equip and lead men into battle.
So does erik prince & blackwater.
Mother Army spends millions vetting American soldiers and discharging those that do not meet mother Army standards. See erik, mother Army knows some will not perform well under pressure.
Mother Army has done so well with her training programs not one of the million or so soldiers deployed/redeployed to Iraq or Astan has fired a machinegun into a crowd of unarmed civilians shooting fleeing women and children in the back.
Blackwater trained contractors have…..
Mother Army does not have a profit motive, but erik prince and blackwater does, hence the article in the "Wall Street Journal"............ instead of the Washington Post? Money money money.
I rest my case.
Along with those indicted blackwater & erik prince should also be indicted and stand right up there with those that did the killing.
And BTW, where are the dozens of blackwater employed generals and admirals standing up for those poorly trained blackwater contractors? You know the “trained” Professionals now employed by erik and making a few hundred thousand a year? Are they also going to stand by those “blackwater trained” contractors or as erik would say, “They used defensive force”, where are you blackwater generals and admirals, what say you? Is shooting into an unarmed crowd of women and children part of blackwater training or is erik prince making up his own training & terms, “Defensive Force”.
“Defensive Force”, must be a blackwater term, cause it ani’t an Army term. It’s not a term you will find in the Army Field Manuals.
Time to throw six more contractors (former blackwater employees) under the bus erik.
Good for you erik prince, at least you and your family will have a very Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas erik, I hope you sleep well.
Team Sergeant
(Oh and erik, I did twenty years as a soldier, three in the 82nd Airborne Division, Infantry and the remaining seventeen as a Special Forces soldier. And you spent what a year and a half as a Navy SEAL, good for you erik!)
And TS opens his mike
"Gunner, HEAT, Prince, Two five meters, twelve o'clock"
"Identified"
"Gun UP!"
"Fire"
"On the Way"
"Target, Cease Fire. Driver, Move out."
That was one outstanding crew fire command!
I'd prefer CANISTER on that sucker, though. :D
'While some of our critics seize upon inaccurate labels, I doubt they have ever known one of our contractors personally or been protected by them. Our teams are not cooking meals or moving supplies. They are taking bullets. They are military veterans who have chosen to serve their country once again. Very few people know someone who would voluntarily go into a war zone to protect a person he has never met. I know 1,000 of them, and I am proud that they are part of our team.'
How long has it been since Mr. Prince was in Iraq if he doesn't realize those people "moving supplies" aren't beng attacked and shot at? I guess I will tell all my friends that are leading convoys over there that have experienced being shot at that it all must be in their heads. Eric Prince says it isn't happening, so therefore it must not be.
Dozer523
12-16-2008, 15:09
That was one outstanding crew fire command!
I'd prefer CANISTER on that sucker, though. :D
Thanks! I was in the 3ID (Marne) part of an Infantry Bn with an attached Armor Company. And my Platoon was attached to the Armor Team. I paid attention. That was some fun!:D (Seeing eye grunts):p
Yeah. . . canister. I was gonna say fleshettes . . . fletteshets . . . but my spelling couldn't even come close enough for spelcheck to help.:eek:
See below . . . OF COURSE! Richard can spell it!
I was gonna say fleshettes . . . fletteshets . . . but my spelling couldn't even come close enough for spelcheck to help.:eek:
Flechette. :lifter
Richard
Source: <<LINK (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_blackwater/print)>>
IG report says Blackwater may lose license in Iraq
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer 16 mins ago
WASHINGTON – An internal State Department report says Blackwater Worldwide may lose its license to work in Iraq and recommends that the agency prepare alternative means to protect its diplomats there.
The 42-page draft report by the State Department's Inspector General says the department faces "numerous challenges" in dealing with the security situation in Iraq, including the prospect that Blackwater may be barred from the country. The department would have turn to other security arrangements to replace Blackwater, officials said.
It is not clear how the State Department would replace Blackwater. It relies heavily on private contractors to protect its diplomats in Iraq, as its own security service does not have the manpower or equipment to do so. The report suggests that one way to fill the void would be for the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service to beef up its presence in Iraq.
"The department faces the real possibility that one of its primary Worldwide Personal Protective Services contractors in Iraq — Blackwater (Worldwide) — will not receive a license to continue operating in Iraq," says the recently completely report.
The report is labeled "sensitive but unclassified."
An official familiar with the report said initially that it would recommend that department not renew Blackwater's contract when it expires next year. But that specific language is not included in the document, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The official said later that such a recommendation would not be made until after an investigation of last September's incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis is complete. Five guards have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from that incident. The company was not implicated.
A decision on how U.S. diplomats in Iraq will be protected will be left to the Obama administration, which will be in place when Blackwater's contract comes up for renewal in the spring.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered a review of the department's use of private security firms after the Nisoor Square incident. The Inspector General's report is an analysis of how recommendations in that review have been implemented and includes several key findings, including that the department plan for the possibility that it may no longer be able to rely on private contractors like Blackwater.
A decision to terminate the North Carolina-based company there will be difficult for incoming Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to make because no other private security contractor has its range of resources, particularly its fleet of helicopters and planes.
The State Department had no immediate comment on the report.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrell declined to comment, saying the company has not yet seen the report. The company has said in the past, though, that it plans to largely get out of the security contracting business to concentrate on training and other projects.
Blackwater has won more than $1 billion in government contracts under the Bush administration, a large portion of which has been for work in Iraq, where among its duties is protecting diplomats based at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
State Department officials have praised Blackwater's work in Iraq, noting that no personnel under the company's protection has been killed. However, after Nisoor Square incident, the firm came under heavy criticism for the actions of its employees, which were immune from Iraqi law under legal protections dating from the U.S.-led occupation of the country.
Immediately after that incident, the State Department stepped up its supervision of Blackwater employees in Iraq, including posting a Diplomatic Security agent in every convoy the company escorts and installing video cameras in its vehicles.
And, the immunity enjoyed by Blackwater employees and other private security guards who protect civilians in Iraq will soon come to an end under a new U.S.-Iraqi security pact that will take effect on Jan. 1.
U.S. investigators have linked Blackwater guards to 70 shooting incidents involving civilians before Nisoor Square and only two since then.
___
Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects throughout that report doesn't recommend that Blackwater be dropped, as official initially said, but that department find new security arrangements. Moving on general news and financial services.)
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/erik-prince-lia.html
Blackwater CEO Lights Pants on Fire in WSJ Op-Ed
By Noah Shachtman
Blackwater CEO Erik Prince's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal is so full of spin, sugar-coating, and quarter-truths, I could spend all day debunking it. But I've got better things to do. So here's just one of Prince's many fishy assertions:
Every individual who has worked for Blackwater in Iraq has previously served in the U.S. military or as a police officer.
Not quite. Meet Shannon Campbell, who was a Blackwater employee in Baghdad. "Contrary to most independent contractors, who logically transition into the security industry after having careers in the military of law enforcement, Shannon just read a news article about mercenary outfits... and decided he'd found his calling," Robert Young Pelton writes in Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror. "He ran up credit card debt and worked day jobs, such as managing his father-in-law's flower shops and funeral parlor, to pay for martial arts classes and bodyguard and weapons training, until he had racked up enough experience to break into the industry." So, clearly, not "every" Baghdad Blackwaterite is ex-cop or ex-military.
OK, OK, I can't resist. One more from Prince's opus:
Even amidst such an aggressive and ubiquitous enemy, Blackwater's incident reports during that time period show that personnel discharged their weapons less than one half of one percent of the time.
It's a statistic Prince has used before, before the House Oversight Committe. It's also completely meaningless."The State Department and the military technically required comapnies to report each time they discharged a weapon, but whether they did so was up to them. Two security company officials estimated that just 15 percent of all shooting incidents were actually reported," writes Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Fainaru in his new book, Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq. "One former Blackwater operator told me that his team averaged four of five shootings a week, nearly four times the rate Prince quoted for the entire company" before Congress. One fib in an article full of 'em.
And before I go: Prince quoted a prosecutor in his piece, who said, "Six individual Blackwater guards have been charged with unjustified shootings on September 16, 2007, not the entire Blackwater organization in Baghdad." Which is most certainly true. But one of the reasons that more contractors in that organization haven't been charged is that the State Department has worked so hard "to play down incidents in which company operatives killed innocent Iraqis, according to Blackwater and State Department documents obtained by a congressional committee."
McClatchy's Warren Strobel writes, "When a drunken Blackwater contractor killed a bodyguard of Iraq's vice president last Christmas Eve, the State Department helped spirit the contractor out of the country within 36 hours."
When a Blackwater contract employee killed an Iraqi in Hillah in June 2005, the State Department asked the firm to pay $5,000 in compensation. "(W)e are all better off getting this case — and any similar cases — behind us quickly," a department official wrote...
On Sept. 24, 2006, a Blackwater detail driving on the wrong side of the road caused a red Opal driven by an Iraqi to skid into a Blackwater vehicle, hit a telephone pole and burst into flames. Blackwater personnel collected people and equipment from their disabled vehicle and left without aiding those in the Iraqi vehicle, described as being "in a ball of flames," according to a company report.
On Nov. 28, 2005, a Blackwater motorcade making a round-trip journey to Iraq's Oil Ministry collided with 18 different vehicles, according to another company document. Team members' written accounts of the incident were found by the company to be "invalid, inaccurate and, at best, dishonest reporting."
Sounds like a company habit.
Team Sergeant
12-17-2008, 16:06
Source: <<LINK (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_blackwater/print)>>
IG report says Blackwater may lose license in Iraq
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer 16 mins ago
WASHINGTON – An internal State Department report says Blackwater Worldwide may lose its license to work in Iraq and recommends that the agency prepare alternative means to protect its diplomats there.
That's what happens when you train your employees to shoot unarmed women and children in the back.....
blackwater should have been removed 24 hours after the shooting......
All you blackwater employees have no fear, erik prince will be doing just fine for the rest of his life, he's only made about 300-400 million in profit.
The rest of you blackwater employees better be looking for new employment or you're going to be looking for a ride home from Iraq real soon.
Team Sergeant