And that's the whole point. These guys aren't accountable and don't want to be accountable.

That's why we should have gone after bin Laden in a police action rather than declaring "war on terror." As for the Iraq war--I agree that all the NeoCon warmongers and profiteers who had been drooling over Iraq's oil reserves need to be prosecuted and put in jail.

source
Keep in mind that Condy Rice was a Chevrong exec before taking her first cabinet position.

Oh, and I like the way you spell "perpetraitors."

Frankly, I'm torn over the use of contractors, even having been one for a time. I would, however, like there to be a great deal more oversight and accountability. Where I was, the contractor company ran the show, not the State Department, and it made me ill seeing some of the crap that went down. Which is why I didn't renew my contract.

Which is why you still have a soul.

I back Blackwater.

These guys are professionals, not kids bribed out of the trailer park/project/field with an enlistment bonus. They are fully aware of what a free fire zone is and is not. They are fully aware of what it is like to be shot at and have been under fire before. Many many people who do not know what it's like to shot at, who do not know what it's like to live anywhere other than safely in front of their PC, or even what it's like to be an armed professional, are weighing in here.

Americans a world away in Iraq, Americans being paid just like every other American in-country, killed several innocent Iraqis while protecting other Americans. Something the uniform military has done many, many, many times. This is an attrocious tragedy but part of the greater morass that is war. What upsets me is that a great number of people have rushed to believe the Iraqi authorities over their fellow Americans. Why would anyone believe an infantile police force judged to be corrupt to the point of requiring disbandment by a panel of Police Chiefs from around the world, the same police force who can't/won't prevent it's populance from killing each other for praying the wrong way?

I have a hard time believing dirty cops who confuse religious bloodlust for personal integrity over men who protect diplomats.

They say they were fired upon first. I believe them.

Welcome to the ad hominem fallacy writ large.

Didn't like everything you said, but I like the way you said it.

Damn straight!

Helluva good point, but cheap shot at Conservative.

Some of us have had an opinion on Blackwater for years now, based on the reporting of Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now! and The Nation. He's even got a book out on the subject, and I certainly did not approve of Blackwater's deployment in post-Katrina New Orleans. I don't like the idea of jack-booted paramilitaries operating in my country (or anybody else's.)

Just because you were unaware of Blackwater's suckiness until al Maliki started making noise doesn't mean the rest of us haven't been paying attention all along. The Iraqi government has only just grown the backbone to corroborate what has been widely known for years.

Whoever said I had one of those to begin with?

But point taken.

I

Well, then that settles it! We don't need to waste time investigating.

somehow i'm not feeling that great about Blackwater representing america (that is, me, my friends, my enemies etc); I'm getting the feeling someone, right now, is getting the wrong idea about Americans all behaving like this piece of shit and taking it out on me and my family. Imo that's pretty shitty wages for a sergeant; I make more than that just sitting on my butt answering phones. >.<
Imo it's kind of ironic that the embassy going up in Baghdad isn't up to par with american standards; lemme think... Oh I know! maybe because they're hiring natives to build it? Or perhaps hiring American locals to build it; does anyone know what the building codes are over there? LOL Admittedly it is a lot cheaper than sending over US builders and contractors since they'd all have to get work permits every single time they go over there, and they'd be getting hate from the locals since they're taking up valuable work, not to mention that American builders charge more, especially since it's for the US government. Yes, a good builder is expensive, but a bad builder is way more expensive.

edit: it's really easy to assume that the BW was telling the truth about getting fired upon first because a lot of people in this country have a cartoonish image of dark-skinned maniacs shooting at everything that moves pop up in their mind when someone brings up "guns and Iraqi's". Isn't it possible that they made a mistake? Not to say that they're human or anything, but shitty things like friendly-fire happen and nobody likes to talk about it because these guys are supposed to know their shit and mistakes aren't supposed to happen. [i.e. someone accidentally fires their weapon, on either side (or perhaps some rogue kid decided to take a shot at one of them), the BW's think they're being fired upon and open fire at everyone scattering the scene because as all law enforcement know, the innocent don't run.]

Actually, they are using slaves. They are taking people from other countries, telling they will be working is, say, Kuwait. Then when they get on the plane, they take away their passports and tell them their real destination. At the worksite they charge them for room and board, food, supplies, which equals - guess - yes! Their salary!

Slaves who have no experience as construction workers. Some are teachers, cab drivers, etc.

So, the quality of work comes from zero oversight and workers who have no knowledge of building.

I wrote an article about it a while ago. Search embassy. Or asshole. I ususally put the word asshole in my story titles. That should bring up every one.