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Veloxmortis

Veloxmortis

USA
February 2006

SEP 19, 2007 05:40 PM

While I was in Iraq, I saw black water as a problem. We almost engaged them in a fight-fight once when they thought they were going to try to run us (American Army Soldiers) off the road because they were in a hurry.

I have no love for someone who has no self control. We got into plenty of ambush situations and never shot up the civilians.

Doesn't hurt my feelings to see them getting kicked out.

Maybe this will finally lead to us leaving and not caring about the wrong side of the world anymore.

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

SEP 20, 2007 10:45 AM

CNN interviews victims of the shootout involving Blackwater:

Get Flash player

r00kers

r00kers

Nederland, CO
February 2003

SEP 21, 2007 07:04 AM

Whoops, not so much. Blackwater is back in business in Iraq.

"Mercenaries are usless, disunited, unfaithful
They have nothing more to keep them in a battle
Other than a meager wage
Which is just about enough to make them wanna kill for you
But never enough to make them wanna die for ya"
John Cale Mercenaries (Ready For War)

DrStinkypants

DrStinkypants

Saint Paul, MN
October 2002

SEP 21, 2007 07:25 AM

Yup. Maliki says "it may prove difficult for the Iraqi government to follow through on threats to expel Blackwater".

Not surprised in the least

RandomNerd

RandomNerd

I'm lost
January 2005

SEP 21, 2007 08:19 AM

Machiavelli warns that princes must never depend on mercenaries.

If only we had such enlightened leadership today!

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

SEP 21, 2007 06:12 PM

Zarth said:

r00kers said:
I would posit that the employment of mercenary forces is the direct result of the waging of a politically 'iffy' war with an all volunteer army. Bringing back the draft to support this mess would be a non-starter and the all volunteer army would not be able to support a multi-year occupation like this, especially given the rising unpopularity of the occupation.
Perhaps the overall lesson is that it is really unwise to railroad/trick a nation into war. Unless it goes swimmingly, then nation will not offer up its young people very willingly. We still have to pay for this mess, including the merc's salaries.


I think there are some elements of that at play, certainly.

But what I also at least suspect is that the increasing privatization of the military is the result of having taken exactly the wrong lessons from our failures in Vietnam.

In the aftermath of that debacle, we abandoned the draft, seeking to isolate the military and civilian populations from each other (and to insulate the civilian population from any sense of the sacrifices of war), and we deliberately abandoned "nation-building" in favor of ever-increasing specialization in combat operations and activities directly associated with combat.

These, I think, were shortsighted fixes. Nationbuilding is the face of war, now - battle, in the traditional sense, is largely (albeit not entirely) a thing of the past, like duelling. And the Army is now unstoppable in battle - as it always was, even in Vietnam - but can't do nationbuilding at all.



One of the reasons it can't do nationbuilding is that it doesn't have to justify its existence at home. The USA looks astonishingly militarised, to (at least) most of Europe.

Apart from that, I agree; though frankly, being unstoppable in Vietnam should have been trivial.

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

SEP 21, 2007 06:43 PM

And then al-Maliki caves to US pressure:

BBC.co.uk:

The US security firm Blackwater has resumed limited operations in the Iraqi capital Baghdad four days after a deadly shootout involving the company.
The company provides security to all US state department employees in Iraq.

It had been ordered by the Iraqi government to halt operations while a joint US-Iraqi inquiry was held.

A US embassy spokeswoman said the decision to allow Blackwater to resume work had been taken in consultation with the Iraqi government.

The spokeswoman, Mirembe Nantongo, said Blackwater operations would be limited to essential missions only outside Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone.



So. The investigation is ongoing. Blackwater operating practices are still under question.

But that doesn't stop friends from helping out friends.

Chainlink

Chainlink

Key West, FL
August 2005

SEP 22, 2007 12:21 PM


It looks like their troubles back here in the States are heating up with some weapons smuggling charges.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the federal investigation.

Court records showed Kenneth Wayne Cashwell and William Ellsworth Grumiaux pleaded guilty earlier in the year to possessing, receiving and concealing between May 2003 and August 2005 stolen firearms which had been "shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."





source

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

SEP 22, 2007 01:37 PM

oyaji said:

chainlink said:

It looks like their troubles back here in the States are heating up with some weapons smuggling charges.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the federal investigation.

Court records showed Kenneth Wayne Cashwell and William Ellsworth Grumiaux pleaded guilty earlier in the year to possessing, receiving and concealing between May 2003 and August 2005 stolen firearms which had been "shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."





source



Does this have anything to do with Blackwater's activities in Iraq, though?



On the surface, there doesn't appear to be any relation.

_kungfoo_

_kungfoo_

Los Angeles, CA
April 2005

SEP 22, 2007 01:49 PM

oyaji said:

KUNGFOO said:

oyaji said:

chainlink said:

It looks like their troubles back here in the States are heating up with some weapons smuggling charges.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the federal investigation.

Court records showed Kenneth Wayne Cashwell and William Ellsworth Grumiaux pleaded guilty earlier in the year to possessing, receiving and concealing between May 2003 and August 2005 stolen firearms which had been "shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."





source



Does this have anything to do with Blackwater's activities in Iraq, though?



On the surface, there doesn't appear to be any relation.



And does it have anything to do with Blackwater other than the fact, which may be a coincidence, that the two people charged are Blackwater employees?



Under investigation.

Chainlink

Chainlink

Key West, FL
August 2005

SEP 22, 2007 04:09 PM

oyaji said:

chainlink said:

It looks like their troubles back here in the States are heating up with some weapons smuggling charges.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported that two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the federal investigation.

Court records showed Kenneth Wayne Cashwell and William Ellsworth Grumiaux pleaded guilty earlier in the year to possessing, receiving and concealing between May 2003 and August 2005 stolen firearms which had been "shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."





source



Does this have anything to do with Blackwater's activities in Iraq, though?



No not really. Just related to Blackwater. The article does say appear to say that a US Senator is accusing them of smuggling weapons, night-vision scopes, armor, gun kits and other military goods to Iraq without the required permits and that a federal investigation is being opened.

It seems the gentlemen mentioned at the bottom of your article that according to Blackwater are "negotiating sentencing in Raleigh with federal prosecutors." are the same guys mentioned in the article I read as " agreed to cooperate with authorities and testify about any crimes they knew of in plea deals filed last November"

I'm sure it's nothing.

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