http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:50:50 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641510 Dave Nalle, According to this, our contractors don't answer to the military command. " Last week Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war combat veteran who directs Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, sketched for me the apocalypse to come. Should Baghdad implode, our contractors, not having to answer to the military chain of command, can simply "drop their guns and go home." Vulnerable American troops could be deserted by those "who deliver their bullets and beans." " 641510@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:50:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641431 Blackwater is good at what they do that's for sure. One diplomat is quoted as saying: "all the progress we made while meeting with our Iraqi counterparts, seemed to have gone in the ditch along with all the cars that Blackwater personnel ran off the road on the way back to the airport". Franco: Quoting Prince as a reliable witness about his own mens performance is like Cheney quoting the New York Times to claim that Iraq was trying to acquire Yellowcake from Niger. Gimme a break! How's about the US Troops that actual arrived after Blackwater carnage, they claim the found no weapons, eye-witnesses reported no gun-fire and it seems that the attackers must have been rushing at the Blackwater Warriors with their cars in reverse, which would explain why their rear-windows were shot out. Continue to peddle..... 641431@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:17:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641423 "Rumsfeld increased the combat pay bonus BY $75 a mont, from $150 to $225." Only after an uproar from military families. First he tried cutting combat bonus to save $150million/yr. 641423@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:58:15 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641362 <i>Good thing Rumsfeld cut back combat pay for US soldiers from $150/month to $75 so we can pay the Blackwater bill.</i> No, Bliffle. Rumsfeld increased the combat pay bonus BY $75 a mont, from $150 to $225. That's added on to normal service pay and any other special pay. And that's in addition to the $250 family separation bonus they are paid if they are deployed outside of their home base area and have a family. The Bush administration has done more to increase military pay and benefits than any previous administration. One of the first things he did when taking office was to institute an immediate 5% pay raise for all military personnel, followed by an additional 2% per year since then. Dave 641362@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:10:14 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641345 Good thing Rumsfeld cut back combat pay for US soldiers from $150/month to $75 so we can pay the Blackwater bill. Eric Prince was interviewed by Charlie Rose and he emphasized that he sees Blackwater as a training operation, not as supplying mercenaries. So, I bet he pulls his guards out and goes back to supplying 'advisors'. 641345@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:23:06 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641122 <i>Anyway, didn't Prince declare he was pulling all Blackwater guards out of Iraq?</i> I would think that would put him in breech of contract. <i>And didn't the congressional investigators find that Blackwater initiated 80% of the gunfire exchanges they investigated?</i> I didn't see a hard number on that in the report, but the report did disingenuously claim they initiated more reports than the next largest two contractors combined, while omitting the fact that Blackwater has far more men in Iraq than those two contractors combined. <i>Then, somewhere, I read that the contract average per Blackwater employee was about $445,000, which, allowing a $100k salary and 100% overhead, allows for a handsome profit for Mr. Prince.</i> And you believe that profit is evil? I actually think the profit is lower than you suggest because the overhead is likely well over $100K. Dave 641122@blogcritics.org Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:16:25 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-641092 Anyway, didn't Prince declare he was pulling all Blackwater guards out of Iraq? And didn't the congressional investigators find that Blackwater initiated 80% of the gunfire exchanges they investigated? Then, somewhere, I read that the contract average per Blackwater employee was about $445,000, which, allowing a $100k salary and 100% overhead, allows for a handsome profit for Mr. Prince. 641092@blogcritics.org Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:19:23 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640937 I think the Amenian business is about the most transparent attempt to exert clumsy leverage I've ever seen. And the situation is made worse with the Turkish election. But I have to say that something needs to be done to bring the Turks in line. Chances are we're going to see a more or less autonomous Kurdish state - hell, we already have one. And a war between the Turks and the Kurds would be about the most disastrous thing that could happen right now. Dave 640937@blogcritics.org Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:29:42 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640918 I agree Dave. Ya know, there is something going on in Congress right now that is really weird. They can't halt funding of the war. So if they can ham string Blackwater and the like, it will leave the US military short handed? Add to this, the Congress's action against Turkey which IMO could be a backdoor into slow bleeding the war if Turkey cuts off our access roots through for supplying our troops. I understand 40% of what the troops need to maintain troop levels passes through or over Turkey. Now granted, the 1915 Armenian issue needs to be address, but why right NOW? Do you think things are that crazy up on the hill 640918@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:05:54 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640897 Blackwater needs to do some more PR work to educate the US public. When people think of Mercenaries they think of the ex-foreign-legion types who were fighting in Angola and Rhodesia in the 70s. That's hardly what we're dealing with in Blackwater. It employes mostly US veterans and maintains a very high level of training and discipline. They've got their own impressive trainign facilities in South Carolina and they equip their men better than the US military does. Their Grizzly APC is much safer than a Humvee, for example. Dave 640897@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:31:01 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640879 "There was definitely incoming small arms fire from insurgents" in the September 16 incident in Baghdad, founder and CEO Erik Prince told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition." There was no "deliberate violence," committed by Blackwater employees, he added. Prince on Sunday told CNN, "In the incident reports I've seen, at least three of our armored vehicles were hit by small arms fire, incoming, and one of them damaged, which actually delayed their departure from the traffic circle while they tried to rig a tow. "So there was definitely incoming small-arms fire from insurgents." He added, "I guarantee our guys weren't shooting at each other." "In Baghdad, the most dangerous city in the world, to say that it was a callous, rampant, evil action, you know, when the guys get it right 99 out of 100 times and don't have to use any force or any violence at all, I think they are doing very well," he said. Prince called the lawsuit "politically motivated" for "media attention," and rejected the depictions of his company. We'll see what the FBI report comes up with, but I'm confident that the kind of people we have out there are proven military professionals," Prince said. <A HREF="http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/10/14/blackwater.prince/index.html">CNN</A> 640879@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:14:26 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640649 MR, Blackwater has been involved in 1800 missions in Iraq and there are about 5 where anyone they were guarding or any civilian was killed or injured. I challenge you to find any other group active there with that good a record. You certainly can't claim as good a record for your Salafi buddies. They use civilians as human shields, after all. Dave 640649@blogcritics.org Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:49:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640397 No, they're not part of the troop surge numbers. They've been there since before the surge. As for their chain of command, they do have one. They are answerable to their employers who in this case are the Department of State, who are answerable to Congress who are answerable to the people of the US. As for shooting unarmed civilians, how do you know that to be the case? Are they guilty until proven innocent? They claim to have been fired on first. And you can get a good idea what their motivations and interests are by reading their website and their other statements, but I'm sure actually knowing what they think is of no interest to you. dave 640397@blogcritics.org Fri, 12 Oct 2007 20:15:38 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640388 "Blackwater goes beyond just being mercenaries, to have the best interests of the US at heart - far more so than the internationalists and socialists like Adam Ash and Naomi Wolf. They also do a pretty damned good job of what they're hired for." Nalle How would you know what they have in their hearts or even what our best interests are? Speaking of Whirling Dervish..... Pretty good at shooting at unarmed civilians? What is their chain of command? Are these hired security guards part of the troop surge numbers? 640388@blogcritics.org Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:28:55 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640385 Nalle, I'm sure some of them were only wounded or maimed, as I doubt even the fine security guards employed by Blackwater are perfect shots. After all it's not that easy to hit a moving target, especially those that are running away from you. ....and besides since you are admittedly half-brain dead anyway, even you know that the Muslims think all the driveway pavers we've hired are whirling dervishes. 640385@blogcritics.org Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:17:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640189 <i>Martin Lav I bet it matters to the Muslims his employees are shooting. </i> So you're actually saying that dead people care about the religion of the person who killed them? That really makes no sense at all. Are they less dead if they're killed by an animist or a Buddhist? Do their souls get sucked out if a Voodoo Houngan kills them with a magic knife? Dave 640189@blogcritics.org Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:22:13 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640131 #90 &mdash; handyguy I acknowledge your point, it is rational and I agreed with it. My arument has never been on that issue. My argument has been on Andam Ash's "accusations" that are a world apart from "disagreements" Adam Ash recklessly cast aside the rational assertion supporting the right to make "disagreement" and he replaced that with the irrational right to make "incriminating accusations of murder". If you can not discuss the distinction between one and the other, and why there is danger in that difference, then you and I can get now were. 640131@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:01:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640083 Well kids, as of an hour ago, it looks like they will get their day in court... Iraqi families sue Blackwater in US 1 hour ago WASHINGTON (AFP) &mdash; A US rights group announced Thursday it was filing a lawsuit against private security contractor Blackwater on behalf of a survivor and the families of three victims of a deadly September 16 shootout in Baghdad. The suit in a Washington federal court accuses Blackwater of murder and war crimes and seeks unspecified damages, the Center for Constitutional Rights said. 640083@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:09:34 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640081 <i>The raven speaks moonlight into the gloomy night of life.</i> --- borrowing from Jean Paul Richter Mmmm ... the joy. Do go on. 640081@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:04:43 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640080 <i>I am all for criminalizing Christians. Never met one that wasn't a murderous hypocrite.</i> Wow, maybe you should think that through a little more. I can understand them all being hypocrites, but <i>murderous</i>? I think you're being a little rash in saying something like that. 640080@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:48:09 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640073 I am all for criminalizing Christians. Never met one that wasn't a murderous hypocrite. 640073@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:31:07 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640060 #89 &mdash; October 11, 2007 @ 11:51AM &mdash; troll <i>"there's nothing un-American about presuming that Prince is a toad"</i> I repeat, I never said, nor even implied there was. It is not my argument. The argument has to do with Adam Ash's opinion piece that intentionally tries to criminalize Christians and free enterprise with the evil of murder and guile by associations within a Blackwater murder witch-hunt. This is totally unrelated to presuming that Price is a toad. He may very well be, but this is not relevant to my contention no matter how hard to try and make it seem that way. If you choose not to recognize the clear intentional criminaliztion being asserted in Adam Ash's article <b>Privatizing Murder, Or Blackwater: The Perfect Combo Of Christianity, Capitalism And Killing</b> as trying to incriminate Christians and entrepreneurs as killers, then you will continue to miss the argument. If you purposely intend to miss it, that is you right, but if that is the case, go blow your denial up someone else's ass. Your done here. <i>"re 'presumption of innocence' and original sin - church dogma presumes that folks are guilty from the get go...hence the need for the Church and structured expiation"</i> True, but in America we have a separation of Church and State to protect you troll from being forced to believe in the structured expiation of the Church. The Church exists to punch the ticket on original sin, as the State, by its own laws, and the laws of the Church, can not do that. Just in the same way the Church can not over ride the law's of the State, the State can not override the laws of the Church in this regard. For the same reasons the Jewish priests, using Pilot, tried and failed. 640060@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:52:23 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640054 I bet it matters to the Muslims his employees are shooting. 640054@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:45:33 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640050 I actually agree with both of you. If Prince shares his father's religious views I think it's quite unappealing, but at the same time I also think that since he's being hired to provide military auxiliaries rather than teach high school or write textbooks it's largely irrelvant. Would it matter to you if the guy you hired to pave your driveway was a snake-handling jesus freak or a whirling dervish? Dave 640050@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:36:14 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/06/104347.php#comment-640010 I am disagreeing with Dobson's politics, not his religion, Franco. And if Erik Prince shares his father's support for Focus on the Family et al, those are political beliefs, not religious beliefs. In any case, I can criticize Dobson [and if appropriate, Prince] without stepping on his religious freedom. Dobson certainly does more than his share of excoriating others. I would think Dave would agree with me rather than you on this one, given his disdain for religious-political nut cases. 640010@blogcritics.org Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:20:58 EDT