D’ya think this would work for the Republican Party?

When a corporation’s image becomes sufficiently tarnished that the mere mention of its name incites reactions of revulsion, the corporate masters have a choice to make.  They can either reform their company, remove the offending personnel, and resolve publicly to do better in the future, or they can do what Blackwater USA did a few days ago.

They can rebrand themselves.

Instead of being known as “Blackwater”, since God knows that name has been forever connected with massacres, abuse, and general lawlessness, the mercenary company that isn’t a mercenary company shall henceforth be known as…

Xe.

Whatever the fuck that means.

According to a recent press release, the recently rebranded mercenary company will

“…will continue to provide personnel protective services for high-threat environments when needed by the U.S. government,” Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees, “but its primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world, including the flagship campus in North Carolina.”

The company runs what is believed to be the world’s largest privately owned firearms training facility. Its headquarters is in the northeastern North Carolina town of Moyock, and it has smaller sites in Illinois and San Diego.

Aside from its Iraq work, the company also guards U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan. However, some members of Congress — including Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — have called for the company to be fired.

Blackwater’s chief executive, Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL, founded the company in 1997 in a remote, swampy area of the state. It operated in relative obscurity until the Fallujah massacre in 2004. Images of the ambush were flashed around the world after a mob dragged the bodies of the contractors through the streets and hung two charred corpses from a bridge.

The incident set off a battle that left 36 U.S. military members and 600 Iraqi civilians dead. A congressional inquiry found that the for-profit company used unarmored vehicles to save money and cut essential personnel from the mission.”

Read the full report here.

Again, it’s not so much what they do, as the fact that the existence of such a company is tolerated at all.  Erik Pri(n)ce should be treated like any other war criminal and profiteer.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Blackwater, the mercenary company responsible for dozens of civilian deaths in Iraq, the gang of thugs that rampaged through New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, is back in the news.

It seems they’ve formed an “intelligence unit”, apparently called “Total Intelligence Solutions.”  Read on:

Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, is worried about the giant mercenary firm’s latest foray into private intelligence. “They’re marketing their services to not only foreign governments, but to Fortune 500 corporations,” he recently told an interviewer.

The forthcoming paperback edition of Scahill’s book on Blackwater, which appeared in hardcover in February 2007, will include 100 pages of new material, including a discussion of last September’s shooting spree in Baghdad by Blackwater operatives — which killed 17 Iraqi civilians but for which nobody has ever been charged.

“This is a company that has been accused of murdering Iraqi civilians,” Scahill pointed out, “of shooting the bodyguard to the Iraqi vice-president, of causing blowback attacks on United States troops, of hurting the morale of the United States military — that has cost United States taxpayers over a billion dollars for its operations in Iraq.”

However, Scahill’s greatest concern at present appears to be Blackwater’s venture into the private intelligence business.

“Blackwater started a private intelligence company,” he explained, “a private CIA essentially, called Total Intelligence Solutions. And the man running Total Intelligence Solutions is J. Cofer Black. He’s a thirty-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency. He also was the guy who ran the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program, the government-sanctioned kidnap-and-torture program.”

“His thirty-year CIA career, his network of contacts, his knowledge that was gained through his work in the most sensitive areas of the United States government is now on the open market for hire,” Scahill said sadly.

“This isn’t a liberal or conservative thing,” concluded Scahill. “You have a lot of traditional conservatives who are outraged at what they see as the degradation of the United States armed forces. … This has everything to do with the future of war-making and global stability.”

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Back in Black!

Remember Blackwater USA, the band of mercenaries, thugs and murderers that have been rampaging across Iraq since the declaration of “Mission Accomplished”?  The group of trigger-happy ‘roid ragin’ killers that shot up an intersection in Baghdad last September and killed 17 innocent bystanders?

Well, they’re back…

Iraq Contractor in Shooting Case Makes Comeback

How could this happen?  I think the third paragraph says it all (emphasis mine):

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

This will not improve our reputation with the international community.

Well, we knew it all along

The FBI has determined in an investigation into the September shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians that Blackwater mercenaries were, in fact, unjustified in using deadly force.

Gee, what a shock.

Of course, the chance that any of the blackshirts involved in the massacre will ever be prosecuted for it is slim to none.  But we can always hope.

Fedayeen Bush offered Black Deal

The New York Times reported recently that officials from the State Department offered immunity deals to Blackwater not-mercenaries involved in the recent massacre in Iraq exchange for testifying. Trouble is, the officials didn’t have the authority to do so. Here’s the full report:

Immunity Deals Offered to Blackwater Guards

Wow. These people are fucking unbelievable. I wonder if the DoD would have offered a similar deal if real soldiers had been involved in the murders. Not likely – lawful combatants are held accountable for their actions.

Of course, that’s not the end of it. Apparently, according to the State Department, these sorts of deals are “routine” and should not impede the Justice Department’s investigation. Yeah, right. If you believe that, I have some land to sell you…

There is some good news, however.  Later reports hinted that the military may assume oversight of the security convoys previously unsupervised by the State Department, and in other news, the Iraqi president has begun pushing legislation that will make Blackwater and other security firms subject to Iraqi law.

It’s about time.  These thugs and brigands have been operating with virtual impunity and no competent oversight for far too long.

Of course, the military will have its hands full keeping tabs on this lot.  They already can’t maintain decent oversight of the 130,000-plus contractors currently operating in Iraq, working on reconstruction and resupply efforts.  Corruption, graft and cost overruns are rampant over there, as is always the case with civilian contractors and military operations.  Especially vis-a-vis a certain company whose former CEO is now our V.P.

But this is still a step in the right direction.  Of course, as far as I’m concerned, these “Private Military Corporations” have no business operating at all.  Iraq and the United States would both be better off if the money wasted on their contracts was confiscated and reapplied to the military budget.  Then we might be able to boost personnel strenght and give our real troops some relief for a change.

Supporters claim the PMCs and private security firms are needed over there because they free up the troops to do more military stuff.  I say if our military forces hadn’t already been decimated by the Rumsfeld-Bush-Cheney Axis of Incompetence we wouldn’t be having this discussion today.

 

Lipstick on a Pig

As reported in today’s New York Times, the renegade mercenary organization calling itself Blackwater USA is attempting to revamp its tarnished image by making itself appear more “corporate”.

The lipstick includes remaking its company logo by removing the rather obvious allusion to sniper scopes:

Old, “macho” logo

Newer, “friendlier” Logo

and altering their corporate name to “Blackwater International” instead of “Blackwater USA”.

What? I thought they weren’t mercenaries. Are they now openly admitting they’re willing to send their so-called “contractors” to fight in other countries’ conflicts?

They can change whatever the fuck they want. It won’t remove the stain and stench of corruption and murder that they’ve spread so indelibly across the length and breadth of Iraq.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this army of thugs is a disgrace. It’s time to end this war, cancel their contracts, and break up their assets. If we can’t fight this war without resorting to mercenaries, we have no business fighting it at all.

In a related note, Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has accused Blackwater of tax evasion.

What a shock. A war profiteer evading taxes. What will they think of next? Torturing inmates at secret overseas prisons? Oh, that’s right… CACI already did that.

Mercenary leader splits hairs to defend his mercenaries

According to Blackwater CEO Erik Pri(n)ce (Newsweek.com), the word “mercenary” is an inflammatory and slanderous term used by critics to malign his company and its employees. Whatever. I looked up the word on Wikipedia, and found (according to Article 47 of the Laws of War) that:

2. A mercenary is any person who:

(a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and

(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

Erik Prince, not a mercenary leader

So basically, the only thing separating Blackwater from what we would consider “traditional” mercenary units is that they are, as he said, Americans working for the American government. So we can eliminate criterion (d). We’ll also leave aside questions of their motivation (for now). As to the other criteria, they have been (a) serving abroad in combat operations, (b) taking part in the hostilities, (c) doing so to make money and lots of it, (e) are not members of any uniformed armed forces, and (f) see above.

So apart from (d), they are, indeed, mercenaries.

Of course, my definition is a lot cleaner and simpler. A mercenary is an individual or unit who:

1. Is civilian in nature; i.e., not associated with any country’s military service,
2. Is carrying weapons and engaged in combat operations in a theater of operations,
3. Is getting paid to do it.

The bit about “material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces” is academic. I mean, why else would you risk your life if you didn’t have to or had not taken an oath to do so?

Exactly. You’d be nuts. Or a thrill-seeking asshole.

So, if he really wants to prove his employees are not mercenaries, he really only has to do one thing. He needs to put them on the same pay scale as every other legitimate soldier, sailor, airman and marine in Iraq today. I think a starting salary equivalent to E-5 ought to do it.

We’ll see how many of his so-called “contractors” stay on when their daily pay drops from $500 to $1500 per day to barely more than $100.

Oh, and he can make them subject to U.S. and Iraqi law, while he’s at it.

No matter how many hairs Pri(n)ce wants to split, his thugs are still mercenaries and he’s still a mercenary leader. Blackwater is an embarassment and a disgrace.

Blackwater Blackshirts leave another Black Mark on U.S.

Never trust a paramilitary organization with “Black” in its name.

Just ask anyone who grew up in Germany in the 1930s.

For further proof that something must be done about these disgraceful, unprincipled, mercenary thugs, we turn now to the latest article in Newsweek:

Blackwater is Soaked

When a republic ceases to rely on its own armies, and begins to hire mercenaries to do soldiers’ work, it’s the beginning of the end.

Mercenaries were one factor in the fall of the Roman empire.

King George III hired Hessian mercenaries to fight against the Colonials in the American Revolution. It didn’t work out so well for him, either.

Machiavelli warned against hiring mercenaries in The Prince.

Mercenaries cause far more harm than good for the country that hires them. Beholden to no laws, they behave as though they are gods on the battlefield and kings off it. Loyal to no cause but money, they quickly and willingly betray the very nation they were hired to defend.

And in this case, respecting of no authority, Blackwater thugs actually physically threatened American troops. In doing so they have made clear their true loyalty. Blackwater may have been founded by a so-called “born again Christian” but by now it’s clear they serve no master but Satan.

This is treason. It is nothing less than a total betrayal of everything this country once stood for. Blackwater must be destroyed, its armies disbanded, and its leaders brought up on charges, and the sooner the better.

Our survival as a nation may depend on it.

What do you think?

I’m curious.  I’ve been referring to the Blackwater Mercenary Army (excuse me, I suppose it’s “Blackwater USA”) as the “Fedayeen Bush” for a while now, but it just occurred to me that it may not be entirely appropriate.  So I’d like to open the floor for discussion.

Let me know which name you prefer for this band of degenerate lowlifes:

1. Fedayeen Bush
2. Bush’s Brownshirts

Please, I invite your comments.  And if you have any other suggestions, I’m interested.

Mercenary leader defends his band of thugs

As expected, Erik Prince, leader of the mercenary army known as “Blackwater USA”, spoke out to defend the actions of his employees in the incident that led to the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians. The New York Times reports:

“We have 1,000 guys out in the field,” he said. “People make mistakes; they do stupid things sometimes.” But he added that the company dismissed or disciplined those who broke its rules and that many of the episodes that led to Iraqi deaths came to light only because Blackwater personnel reported them to the State Department.

Those who “broke its rules?” What about those who broke the law? What about real accountability? Why is Blackwater still not subject to the rule of Iraqi law, American law, or the UCMJ?

It gets better. He went on to insist that Blackwater is not a mercenary army:

He forcefully rejected the characterization of Blackwater from some members of the committee as a mercenary army. He said that contractors had served with the United States military since Revolutionary times and that mercenaries were soldiers who fought with foreign armies for money.

“They call us mercenaries,” he said. “But we’re Americans working for America protecting Americans.”

Really? Let’s look at the facts:

1. They’re civilians.
2. They carry weapons in a war zone.
3. They’re doing jobs traditionally reserved for military organizations, including combat operations.
4. They’re getting paid to do it.

How are they not a mercenary army?

And then there’s the substance of his argument, which boils down to 1) we’re not mercenaries we’re “contractors”, and 2)  even if we were, it’s okay because America has used mercenaries in the past.

It’s all bullshit.

These thugs have been riding the gravy train of Bush’s Blunder for far too long. It’s time to fire them and disband the entire operation.

Mr. Prince and his band of miscreants are mercenaries and he’s a war profiteer. He should be brought up on charges, tried by one of Bush’s secret “Military Tribunals” and sent to Guantanamo Bay for an “indefinite period of time.”

Mercenaries have no place in modern American military operations.