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Help! Blackwater Is Sad!

THURSDAY OCTOBER 25 2007 9:00 AM

Submitted by FearTheReaper. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Blackwater, Iraq, Erik Prince

America is birthing a new Oliver North right now. It is a painful process because first we have to find a guy who is totally fucking over the country and then we have to elevate him to the level of right wing hero. The new North is Blackwater CEO Erik Prince and he is one hell of a douche bag.

Prince has been making the rounds on television lately because Blackwater has been murdering people in Iraq and they cannot be prosecuted under current laws. See, Blackwater says it falls under US military laws that give it immunity from prosecution. And coincidentally, the company says it is not a branch of the US military, so it does not have to obey the military's rules of conduct. To they can roam the land killing anybody without consequence. It�s a murder party! Yay!

Recently Blackwater murdered 17 Iraqi civilians without cause. There is no evidence that Blackwater guards were fired on by Iraqis, but a lot of evidence that Blackwater shot at innocents who had no weapons.

A bit of a hiccup by Prince when Wolf said there was no evidence of Iraqi shell casings. Uh, uh uh...

The US military unit on the scene says that Blackwater fired on Iraqis as they ran from the square. Both eyewitness accounts and an Iraqi investigation -- reliant on videotape, interviews and other unspecified investigative methods -- have discounted the idea that Iraqis fired on Blackwater.

There were two teams of Blackwater guards in the area, both containing multiple vehicles. They could have easily fired on each other and then started killing civilians. Either way, they appear to be a group of mercenaries who massacred civilians.

So what to do if you are about to lose a massive military contract? PR push! Send out the emails! Turn that frown upside down! So far Prince has had interviews with The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, CNN�s "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," CBS� "60 Minutes" and PBS� "Charlie Rose." Today the company sent out an email.

From: Blackwater Worldwide
Date: October 24, 2007 12:42:04 PM EDT
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: A Request for Your Support Reply-To: btw@blackwaterusa.com

A Request for Your Support

The Blackwater family is comprised of dedicated and active service providers that work vigorously to support the American nation. In this tumultuous political climate, Blackwater Worldwide has taken center stage, our services and ethics aggressively challenged with misinformation and fabrications. Letters, e-mails and calls to your elected Congressional representatives can and will create a positive impact by influencing the manner in which they gather and present information.

While we can�t ask that each supporter do everything, Blackwater asks that everyone does something. Contact your lawmakers and tell them to stand by the truth. Correspondence should be polite and professional. We don�t support generating negative messages. Tell the Blackwater story and encourage your representatives to seek the truth instead of reading negative propaganda and drawing the wrong conclusions.

Suggested themes:

- Cost efficiency of Blackwater � saving the US taxpayer millions of dollars so that the US Government doesn�t have to take troops from their missions or send more into harms way

- Professional population of service veterans and mature law enforcement personnel

- Sacrifice in lives lost by Blackwater saving US diplomats without one single protectee harmed

If you see a lawmaker speaking good things about Blackwater, contact their offices and let them know that they have your support. Find and contact your federal, state, and local officials by visiting www.congress.org.

Expanding our communications effort starts with you. Pass the word � pass the truth.

Jesus, boo fucking hoo.

Using Blackwater murderers is far more expensive in terms of actual money and the cost of horrible publicity with Iraqis.

It costs the U.S. government a lot more to hire contract employees as security guards in Iraq than to use American troops.

An unmarried sergeant given Iraq pay and relief from U.S. taxes makes about $83 to $85 a day, given time in service. A married sergeant with children makes about double that, $170 a day.

The average Blackwater guard makes $600, which is a tad bit more. And it�s great for our guys because they can see a bunch of assholes driving around killing people and ramming vehicles, while making shit loads more money. I believe that is what is not known as �morale building.�

Today, the Iraqi government hit back.

The private security industry is trying to make sense of the announcement today from Baghdad that the Iraqi government is revoking a CPA-era edict, known as Order 17, immunizing contractors from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Some believe that the State Department will succeed in an anticipated attempt to prevent Americans from appearing before an Iraqi judge, while warning that if a full revocation succeeds, American companies or individual contractors might simply up and leave Iraq rather than potentially face charges in an immature justice system.

That actually sounds great. Get ready for a draft, kids! The US has no business bringing mercenaries into this occupation. It is a recipe for disaster and they seem to have a bit of a problem with restraint. The private businesses are a large reason why we are in a huge hole. They are operating with no oversight, fucking over everything they touch without the threat of repercussions. Our government is giving shitloads of money to corrupt businesses that do shoddy work. Just take a look at our fucked up embassy in Baghdad.

The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes sought by State Department officials, according to U.S. officials and a department document provided to Congress.

It's all part of the same problem. Private business allowed to run about and do what ever the fuck they want. At this point, the best thing that could happen to America�s misadventure in Iraq would be for the Blackwater guards to be charged in an Iraqi court for killing the civilians. But expect the right wing to circle the wagons and do what they can to help out Prince and his murderers. Then Prince will be elevated to hero status and given a radio show.

109 Comments

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... 8

herbancowboy

San Francisco, CA

June 2004

OCT 25, 2007 09:19 PM

grrowler said:
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?

This has been part of the problem from the start. Back in 2004, unemployment was at 70% in Iraq. Instead of putting those people to work rebuilding their own country, American contractors imported slave labor from India, the Phillipines, Indonesia, etc. (as FTR mentions). So what do you expect people who have no job, no water, no electricity, no food or medicine, plenty of time and lots of guns to do? Play Boggle, of course!

BTW, "natives" is considered a derogatory epithet in educated circles.

Clidna

Emo, ON

January 2005

OCT 25, 2007 10:07 PM

grrowler said:
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.]

Or, ie., someone accidentally drops a bomb after being told not to... friendly fire without provocation happens more often than people like to admit.

grrowler

Sarasota, FL

October 2007

OCT 26, 2007 07:49 AM

herbancowboy said:

grrowler said:
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?

and I'm a native of America, big fucking deal; sounds like those circles you speak of need to be shot down a peg or two; Does "Indigenous peoples" sound better? Politically correct this-or-that doesn't change the meaning of the word. :/

It's sad of course, but Americans don't have to follow the laws of the US if they're in another country (thank God or else I'll never get to eat hash brownies if I visit Germany one day)
Actually as FtR mentioned, they do get food, a roof and supplies, and I'm guessing they also chose to have that job opportunity; whether it's fair is another story; maybe you could go over there and offer them a hand.

Zarth

Seattle, WA

December 2004

OCT 26, 2007 08:10 AM

grrowler said:

herbancowboy said:
BTW, "natives" is considered a derogatory epithet in educated circles.

Actually, it does. "Native," as a word used by colonial powers, was only slightly less derogatory than "wog" or "nigger." It's your callow arrogance and insensitivity that doesn't change the meanings of words - especially when you use them as contemptuously as you used the word "native" there - not "political correctness."

Uncognitive

Brooklyn, NY

May 2003

OCT 26, 2007 08:42 AM

grrowler said:
It's sad of course, but Americans don't have to follow the laws of the US if they're in another country (thank God or else I'll never get to eat hash brownies if I visit Germany one day)

I think you mean Holland, since I believe hashish is still illegal in Germany.

Also, U.S. soldiers do have to follow the laws of the U.S. (specifically the Uniform Code Of Military Justice) even if they're in another country, which includes mercenaries who take Department of Defense contracts, like Blackwater.

The issue here is the big "fuck off" the whole incident is to the Iraqi government. Iraq is supposed to be a sovereign nation, but Blackwater and the U.S. are saying "you can't tell Americans what to do" in response to the rather reasonable claim that American private contractors that murder Iraqi civilians should face criminal charges in an Iraqi court, just like if I were to travel to Germany and murder a coffeshop owner after he refused to serve me hash brownies I'd be subject to criminal prosecution by German officials according to German law.

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

OCT 26, 2007 09:13 AM

grrowler said:
Actually as FtR mentioned, they do get food, a roof and supplies, and I'm guessing they also chose to have that job opportunity; whether it's fair is another story; maybe you could go over there and offer them a hand.

Did, uh, you just write that being treated as slaves is a "job opportunity?" Seriously?

Do you think the blacks we took from Africa for over a century looked at each other through their shackled legs on the boats and said, "Hey, it'll be good on our resume?" Is that the line of reasoning you are using.

They are being used as SLAVE LABOR. Getting food and board is what you give your dog or a horse. Get it?

Otoki

SUICIDEGIRL

Minnesota, USA

OCT 26, 2007 09:26 AM

FearTheReaper said:

I would like to draw a nice connection to comfort women in WWII for Japanese troops. Many of these women chose to go into what they were TOLD was waitressing, factory work, etc. Only upon arrival did they realize they were to be forced into prostitution. The Japanese government used trickery and lies to get women to accept this "job opportunity". This situation is no different, (besides the real job description).

grrowler

Sarasota, FL

October 2007

OCT 26, 2007 10:52 AM

FearTheReaper said:

Being treated like one and being one are completely different matters; If they're getting PAID, they're not slaves. If they went voluntarily, then what? If they are slaves (not getting paid, only being provided food and shelter), why didn't they get slaves within Iraq? You don't think the UN would put a stop to any such action put forth by Americans?!

P.S. when did your dog last put in 8 hrs of work?