State Department Renews Blackwater Contract For Another Year
Despite the fact that it’s being investigated for the conduct of its employees, specifically regarding the Nisour Square massacre in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, and tax violations, the US State Department has extended Blackwater USA’s contract in Iraq for another year.
If that’s not enough to enrage your average American, perhaps the fact that, according to a Congressional estimate, Blackwater has received some $1.25 billion dollars in federal contracts since 2000 is. That is, if the average American even hears about it.
Blackwater is, for all intents and purposes, the State Department’s de facto military arm in Iraq. Like all US personnel in Iraq, Blackwater employees enjoy legal immunity and cannot be held or tried by Iraqi authorities in conjunction with crimes perpetrated against Iraqis in their own country. Despite a host of first hand accounts provided by witnesses regarding the Nisour Square massacre that completely contradict Blackwater’s versions of events that day, the company has not seriously been held accountable for what occurred. In fact, Iraqi demands that the company be removed from the country altogether have been completely ignored.
The hypocrisy is overwhelming when one looks at past precedents regarding war crimes that the United States has itself prosecuted. In the five years that the United States has occupied Iraq, not one single instance of criminality has been legally treated as a war crime. Murder, rape, and abuse – yes. But none of them have ever been termed war crimes, including what transpired at Abu Ghraib. That’s what happens when you have the luxury of investigating your own and deny the nation in which such crimes are committed any legal recourse whatsoever.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I happen to be writing a paper on Blackwater but I seem to have missed this story. Thanks!
April 5th, 2008 at 10:53 am
They ain’t small either, they could field a battalion if need be. That’s unnerving.
April 5th, 2008 at 10:56 am
It’s particularly disturbing that Blackwater’s disinterested godparent is the Justice Department. Not to mention that the Department’s failure to act has been used as an excuse for continual nonaction. The rationale is bewildering. Had the Justice Department done its job,the State Department would not have been able to grant immunity.
After Nisour, I remember reading that a primary reason cited as to why the MEJA (or even the War Crimes Act) was not applicable in the situation was that Blackwater is a “partisan paramilitary force”. I think the decasyllabic term just sounded friendlier than calling them mercenaries.
Well, I suppose the term ‘mercenary’ doesn’t fit either. That suggests a non-partisan affiliation, and that money is the sole motivator for the organization. Since Blackwater’s parent organization is the Prince Group, the mercenary title is inaccurate.
So much for http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-4102.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I was hoping you’d write about this. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a serious blue-on-blue involving them and legitimate forces - assuming you can call Blackwater contractors “blue”. It’s unfortunate that that’s what it would take to get anyone to notice; no one seems to care much about civilian deaths, nor the numerous run-ins between contractors and the Marines/Army.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I should and probably will look into this more on my own, but Blackwater is something of a first, isn’t it? By first I mean a private military force openly serving the American government. Mercenary and for hire militaries have a long and uh, proud… tradition in military history, but not in American history or as important units in 20th century combat, as far as I know. However, please feel free to correct my ignorance if I’m incorrect.
April 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I can’t for the life of me understand why Blackwater’s contract has been extended. My initial reaction was that it was another sign of how little the American government cares about Iraqi involvement in the future of Iraq. But the fact that they are still there despite apparent opposition from legitimate American forces is beyond me.
April 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
“I can’t for the life of me understand why Blackwater’s contract has been extended.”
Not subject to international laws. Though neither are the regulars but you get what I mean.
April 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Not to mention the fact that the void they would leave behind would have to be filled by other PMCs (who probably don’t have the same resources in manpower or logistics, and which doesn’t solve the moral problem anyway) and/or US forces, which would be perceived as a “surge” of troops in response to a declining situation. PMCs keep the number of “US troops” artificially low.
April 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
As an American citizen, I was rather pissed when I read about this. I mean, I almost wasn’t even surprised, to be honest. That, in itself, is how a lot of people in this country tend to be these days. It’s almost like, what’s next?
What a mess.
April 5th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I guess it looks like we’re witnessing the privatization of the war on terror (I’ll not capitalize it for it deserves no such dignity).
April 5th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Hear those explosions? those shots ringing out? those screams and cries of bereavement and fear? Those are the sounds of money changing hands. Once upon a time, wars were fought to be won; now, the war itself is the victory.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
My Congressperson went to Iraq about a month ago. When she got back I asked her how she got from the Airport to the Green Zone. Blackwater or Taxi. She is yet to return my email.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Yeah, but what we REALLY need to be worried about is what Obama’s pastor said 20 years ago. Come on Matt, get your priorities straight.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
[quote comment="49009"]My Congressperson went to Iraq about a month ago. When she got back I asked her how she got from the Airport to the Green Zone. Blackwater or Taxi. She is yet to return my email.[/quote]
Brilliant.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
[quote comment="49009"]My Congressperson went to Iraq about a month ago. When she got back I asked her how she got from the Airport to the Green Zone. Blackwater or Taxi. She is yet to return my email.[/quote]
Maybe it’s just me, but for the best protection, I’d go with the taxi driver.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
i don’t know what is worse, the fact that this doesn’t surprise me at all or the fact that your average american won’t even have a clue about it.
April 6th, 2008 at 4:50 am
[quote comment="48977"]I should and probably will look into this more on my own, but Blackwater is something of a first, isn’t it? By first I mean a private military force openly serving the American government. Mercenary and for hire militaries have a long and uh, proud… tradition in military history, but not in American history or as important units in 20th century combat, as far as I know. However, please feel free to correct my ignorance if I’m incorrect.[/quote]
As far as I know (which is not very much) you’re right. But keep in mind that the US has often funded foreign paramilitary groups when they want plausible deniability (eg. South American death squads 1960-present, Vietnam in the 60’s, Al Qaeda in the 80’s…).
April 6th, 2008 at 9:12 am
This is why the war budget is so outrageously high. We severely overpay civilian companies such as Black water and Hawthorn to do jobs normally done by soldiers. We pay a guy $60,000-$80,000 a year to clean porta johns…something that used to be handled by the lowest ranking guy who would have been paid roughly $15,000 a year. Air traffic controllers contracted to work for $100,000 a year or more when soldiers again do the same job for a fraction of the cost. It’s not just the mercs over there getting paid its pretty much every single thing you could think of from the cooks to the laundry service that we are paying out the nose for. All ,in my opinion, to keep our citizens as docile as possible by avoiding a draft at all costs. Because that might gum up the war machine. It is all pure evil genius.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:08 am
[quote comment="49053"]This is why the war budget is so outrageously high.[/quote]
If Joseph Stiglitz is right, the Iraq war has cost $3 trillion, or $10 000 for every man, woman, and child in the US. If we assume that about 500 000 Americans have served in Iraq, that makes $6 million each. Can you imagine any other government agency or private company with that much overhead per employee?
April 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
[quote comment="49035"][quote comment="48977"]As far as I know (which is not very much) you’re right. But keep in mind that the US has often funded foreign paramilitary groups when they want plausible deniability (eg. South American death squads 1960-present, Vietnam in the 60’s, Al Qaeda in the 80’s…).[/quote]
In modern times, the discussion of American-owned private military forces begins and ends with Claire Lee Chennault. He commanded the Flying Tigers in China in WWII, which, though it should never be mistaken as a company run primarily profit rather than an instrument in helping the war effort (significantly) at the time, was a quintessentially American military force which fell outside traditional chain-of-command, and was staffed by former US service members (they had to resign to join 1 AVG) who were paid much more than their contemporaries who served in the American forces proper. Sound familiar?
Incidentally, Chennault owned the air transport company that became known as “Air America” during the Vietnam War, a “service” that needs no introduction. Speaking of which, in that war it became much more common for civilian logistics support from various defense contractors to be in the field with soldiers, mainly to maintain weapons and machinery that soldiers and engineers were too poorly trained to maintain themselves (compounded by the fact that Vietnam, like most wars, was mostly a proving ground for new technologies that were still being developed). It wasn’t uncommon for civilian contractors to have civilian security forces (essentially mercenaries) with them, since, especially early in the war, there were no well-trained special operations groups that could provide that kind of defense itself. In fact, it was exactly those kinds of people who spread out into being mercenaries in various other Asian and African warzones over those decades.
April 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
That last part wasn’t supposed to be in quotes.. it was supposed to be my response.
April 6th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
but isn’t senseless-bloodlust with a twist of power-tripping-corruption-politics a completely valid excuse to do…whatever?
(note: heavy sarcasm)
Blackwater is the bully, the world it’s playground. It’s taking all the lunch money it wants and getting in fist fights just to see people bleed. In this case, die.
I am tired of people not having the right to live their lives anymore and tired of meathead-muscle-slime using lines like, “Hit fast, kick ass” as mottos like in the infamous WTO - Seattle protest.
What good is the law if it doesn’t apply to everyone under its jurisdiction, including those who enforce it?
Disgusting.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I worked for Raytheon for years, traveling all over to maintain and inspect, Hawks, Sparrows, Sidewinders and Patriots. Missile System Crewmen came and went, but we stayed to upgrade, train etc. Sure, I got paid more, but I took the same risks. I got badly injured by a Freedom Fighter who blew up prematurely . Now, am I a “Mercenary” who got what he deserved? Or a civilian employee who worked for a Company Good enough at what they do (Missile Defense) to get lucrative contracts?
Not everybody who is a “Contractor” is evil.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Does the word “evil” apply in this context? If you are a civilian performing your duties with full knowledge of the risks associated then you got what you could have expected. But, currently what we see is the enormous abuse of power by companies and some of their employees that are awarded these “lucrative contracts”. We also have to question how the contracts are awarded - is it truly due to the training and the quality of service? And finally, the issue of being above the law is just abhorrent. There is only one way to avoid continuous crimes in a military situation (especially rape) - once a case is reported, immediate punishment follows, there are no lengthy examinations and no promises of military inquiries, the worse the crime the swifter the punishment, otherwise chaos rules… At the beginning the army has to deal with its own wrong doings but it needs to quickly give the power over to the people of the country. It is much much too late.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
[quote comment="49218"]I worked for Raytheon for years, traveling all over to maintain and inspect, Hawks, Sparrows, Sidewinders and Patriots. Missile System Crewmen came and went, but we stayed to upgrade, train etc. Sure, I got paid more, but I took the same risks. I got badly injured by a Freedom Fighter who blew up prematurely . Now, am I a “Mercenary” who got what he deserved? Or a civilian employee who worked for a Company Good enough at what they do (Missile Defense) to get lucrative contracts?
Not everybody who is a “Contractor” is evil.[/quote]
I’m not sure if you’re responding to what I said, Matt, or someone else entirely, but regardless, I feel like making a few things clear that I didn’t get across the first time. I wasn’t implying that civilian defense contractors (especially logistics) at the time (or now) were/are mercenaries. I was implying that because of a gap in protection capabilities seen especially during the earlier stages in Vietnam, and the lucrative offers made to people who were proven to be able to protect high-value civilians who had to work in-theater without having to work through the normal chain of command, created an opportunity for a certain type of person to capitalize on a war effort. When I used the word “mercenary”, I was specifically referring those who, after serving in the war often in a special warfare/VIP protection capability, literally made themselves guns for hire in wars in the endless civil wars across Africa/Southeast Asia.
I should also add that my last post wasn’t meant to pin blame on Chennault for entrenching for-profit contracted armed forces as a legitimate method of warfare. More what I meant to say - but didn’t get across - is that he originally used the creation of an organization outside of military command structure to simply be more effective toward the same goal for the same reasons.
I probably missed a few dozen other things that need clearing up, but that’s all I feel like typing tonight.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
some interesting info on the “budget”can be found at
http://www.publicintegrity.org/WOWII/