Blackwater Facts

Blackwater Retires Brand, Re-Names Its Units

2009-02-17T12:16:00.008-05:00

Constant crushing negativism and new business directions have prompted the set of companies collectively known as Blackwater to retire the controversial brand that its critics hated and its supporters loved.

The paradigm-busting set of enterprises founded and built by Navy SEAL and entrepreneur Erik Prince is now a collection of disparate names.

"We've taken the company to a place where it is no longer accurately described as Blackwater," company spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell tells the Washington Post. "The idea is to define the company as what it is today and not what it used to be."

Blackwater Worldwide, best known for its diplomatic security services in Iraq and Afghanistan, and famous within the Pentagon and national security community for other defense and related services, has been re-named Xe.

Blackwater Target Systems is now GSD Manufacturing. Blackwater Airships will become Guardian Flight Systems. And so on.

The famous Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, which started it all to provide first-rate, efficient training for the US military and law enforcement, is now the US Training Center.

The company website, www.blackwaterusa.com, now leads to a scaled down version of its former self to feature the US Training Center.

Blackwater has undergone a gradual change in its brand. In 2007 it expanded its focus from Blackwater USA to Blackwater Worldwide, embracing a new, less edgy, New York-designed corporate logo. The rebranding was planned before the deadly Nisoor Square shootout in September of that year, but was implemented soon afterward. The new change seems to reflect the reality that the controversy has tarnished the companies' overall image and presented a misleading public image that Blackwater's main business line was intended to be diplomatic security. The company at its core is a training and logistics business, with security being a side line.

Re-Branded Blackwater Follows Successful Airline Approach

2009-02-14T11:05:00.001-05:00

The set of companies we know popularly as Blackwater is completely changed. The trademark that signified rugged professionalism to its supporters and recklessness to its detractors has been retired.

Welcome to Xe.

That's pronounced "Zee."

Not as cool as Blackwater, but with none of the baggage that have cost the family-like company so much grief.

Kind of like Valujet, the revolutionary low-cost airline whose fortunes nosedived when one of its jetliners crashed into the Florida Everglades. Everyone aboard perished. Many in the industry hated Valujet, the upstart who dared challenge the creaky and expensive status quo.

Those who said that cheap, safe, reliable air travel would be impossible - that high-end, high-cost titans like Pan Am, TWA, Northwest and Delta would dominate the industry forever - called Valujet a menace to public safety. The Everglades crash proved it, with critics alleging that low-cost operations came at the price of safety. Valujet's fortunes sank into the swamp.

But the business model was sound. All signficant airlines occasionally suffer catastrophic accidents. Valujet's safety record was fine. But the company couldn't survive on its tarnished brand. So it re-named itself Airtran and spawned a whole new business model that helped put many of the high-cost behemoths out to pasture. Pan Am and TWA are no more. Northwest is being absorbed by Delta.

Enter Airtran's new world that includes other profitable upstarts like Jetblue and Southwest.

Dying airlines like United, with its high costs, lame service and customer-hostile attitudes had to take notice and change if they wanted to survive.

So we'll miss Blackwater. But we'll keep its memory alive on this blog - defending the honor of the people who built the company and made it the success it became, challenging the malicious detractors, and discussing the issues. And we'll watch as Blackwater's re-named components (see post above) continue to innovate, continue to revolutionize and - as with any innovator - to make mistakes and learn from them, becoming better with each tough experience.

If They'd Only Investigated Themselves as Much as They Investigate Blackwater. . .

2009-02-04T10:13:00.006-05:00

If the new administration had investigated its own appointees as well as its partisans have been investigating Blackwater, perhaps our new president would have avoided some of the big tax-cheat scandals in his cabinet picks.

Amy Ridenour of the National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington takes note:

Remember the ultra-mini Blackwater tax scandal of 2007? In it, liberal Senators Barack Obama, John Kerry and Dick Durbin kicked up a fuss because Blackwater treated security guards it employed in Iraq as independent contractors (making them responsible for paying their own taxes) rather than as employees whose income and payroll taxes were deducted from their paychecks.
Obama and Durbin sent a letter to Bush Administration Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson complaining that misclassification of employees as independent contractors contributes to the 'tax gap' (that is, the difference between the amount of taxes legally owned to the federal government versus the amount collected), and seeking a full investigation into Blackwater.
Fast forward 15 months. After sticking behind a Treasury Secretary nominee with 'tax gap' problems of his own, Barack Obama is pushing for an HHS Secretary, Tom Daschle, who somehow managed to leave $83,333 in consulting income off his 2007 tax return, deducted $14,963 in non-existent charitable contributions from his 2007 tax return, and accepted $73,031 worth of car and driver services in 2005, $89,129 worth in 2006 and $93,096 worth in 2007 without it occurring to him over three solid years that these benefits are taxable income.
And then there's the unresolved question of possible tax liability for luxury travel paid for by others. Of the Daschle nomination, John Kerry is saying 'there is a completely understandable, absolutely acceptable and rational explanation for what happened here.' (Blackwater had a stronger case than does Daschle, but never mind.)
For his part, Dick Durbin is assuring the country, 'If all you knew about Tom Daschle was that he used to be a Senator, and he made a mistake and had to pay over $100,000 in back taxes, you have a right to be skeptical, even cynical. But if you know Tom Daschle, you know better.' Where is the concern for the 'tax gap' now?>

The bottom line, of course, is that our leaders should not tolerate tax cheats. At the same time, the public should no tolerate politicians who use the tax laws as political weapons against people and companies they don't like. Blackwater's practice of hiring contractors is entirely lawful and ethical, but certain politicians wanted to beat up the company anyway. Those same politicians' excuses for Daschle and other obvious tax cheats shows how insincere they are. They have destroyed any credibility they might have had in criticizing Blackwater, and hopefully we've heard the last of them on this subject.

Obama Administration Stands by DoD Ruling that Protects Blackwater Men

2009-02-03T11:57:00.005-05:00

The Department of Defense is standing by a 2007 letter that guts federal prosecutors' case against five former Blackwater diplomatic security guards.

Prosecutors have built their case against the Raven 23 team members on the thinnest of legal principles, with forensic evidence so weak that they can't even say who allegedly killed whom in the September 2007 shootout at Nisoor Square in Baghdad.

One of those legal tenets is the idea that the Blackwater guards, who are hired by the State Department and not by the Defense Department, are actually operating in support of a DoD mission and therefore are liable under federal laws governing DoD.

Now, the Associated Press is reporting that the Obama administration is standing by a 2007 letter by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, who wrote that the Blackwater contractors "were not engaged in employment in support of the DoD mission" and that consequently the Justice Department lacked jurisdiction to try the men.

Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib tells AP that DoD's view is unchanged.

Congress had written the law to apply only to contractors in support of DoD missions, not State Department missions. When Blackwater became a politically partisan issue, lawmakers critical of the Bush Administration tried to bend the meaning of the law to make it apply to the State Department security contractors. Prosecutors, under pressure to appease the Iraqi government to try the men, used that same flawed logic.

According to AP, "Defense contractors can be prosecuted in US courts for crimes committed overseas, but because of a legal loophole, contractors for other agencies can face charges only if their work assignments supported the Defense Department. Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, works for the State Department. Five of its guards face manslaughter charges for a 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqis."

The defense team has provided evidence showing that their convoy was fired upon, and not even the prosecutors are attempting to prove who killed whom. Other reports say that a number of the Iraqi dead did not undergo autopsies prior to burial.

Brian Ross Stumbles On His Own Sensationalism

2009-02-02T10:09:00.006-05:00

Remember when you could sort of trust ABC investigative journalist Brian Ross to give you an informative story?

I'm starting to forget those times, too, thanks to Ross's weird distortions of Blackwater coverage. He's increasingly placing himself further out on the fringe. Take a look at his latest story on the company. It was a news story that everyone's been expecting for a year - the Iraqi Ministry of Interior refused to issue Blackwater a licence to keep operating in Iraq, and without that the State Department can't allow the company to continue protecting diplomats when the annual contract runs out in May.

Most news organizations - even the New York Times which ran a Reuters piece - portrayed the development as a pretty straight news story. Even Cuba's creaky propaganda agency Prensa Latina did.

But Brian Ross had to give it an inaccurate and inflammatory spin. Blackwater, he writes breathlessly, was "fired." The State Department "fired" the company, he claims. ABC "News" even made a sensationalist little piece of artwork to accompany Ross's piece, which we ripped off for today's graphic to show what we think of him and his journalism.

Ross is obviously so out of touch that he either has some intern on his "investigative team" trolling the net to catch what the bottom-feeders are saying and turn it into a story under Ross's byline, or he's just become another TV crank. Either way, the guy's days as a credible journalist are gone. He's simply not a professional any more. He ought to get the boot.

Anti-Blackwater Commentary Laced with Hate Speech

2009-01-31T13:15:00.008-05:00

Wow - the online commentary about Blackwater today is really over the top! The latest news is really bringing out the left-wing nut jobs, who lace their commentary with bigotry and hate speech. One would expect more mainstream critics of the company to distance themselves, but so far they haven't.

At issue today is the report of the State Department's decision not to renew Blackwater's security contract in Iraq, citing the Iraqi government's refusal to reissue a license. We'll take a look at some of that coverage later, but what prompts this post is the reader commentary accompanying yesterday's Washington Post article.

Here are some selections from the reader comments. Some of these links might disappear from the Washington Post website once people start complaining about them for their offensive content, so I'm posting them so we can remember the critics' hate speech. Many of Blackwater's loudest detractors are hateful people:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "has shown herself to be nothing more than a shrewish mouthpiece for her AIPAC paymasters while running the State Dept!! Her Zionist attitudes render moot any kind of impartial resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and they speak volumes about the unconditional US support of Israel. . . ." (Posted by SMMajid_1 January 30, 2009 7:35 PM)

"We have experienced what it is like to live under evangelical, ultra-right-wing plutocrats. They do what they please. They do it in secret. They flout the laws. They gum up the works so they won't be questioned let alone prosecuted. In the end, like a certain German chancellor, they leave the country in ruin and leave office." (Posted by: BlueTwo1 January 30, 2009 11:34 PM)

Assorted swipes and slams on Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, written by people under the false impression that the owner of Blackwater is an evangelical and showing an ugly bigotry against Christian believers.

Standish recommends that Blackwater supporters post positive comments on online news stories, but cautions that those comments be brief, factual, respectful and polite.

Pap Smear

2009-01-28T10:38:00.004-05:00

Here's the video of trial lawyer Mike Papantonio's self-described "Pap Attack" on Blackwater. He's seen narrating the piece that ran in the Pensacola News Journal, which we dissected in the following post.

Out of Control Buffoonery - Trial Lawyer Embarrasses Himself with Ill-Informed Hit Piece

2009-01-23T03:34:00.024-05:00

Imagine - a trial lawyer is calling someone a "phenomenally rich multimillionaire inheritance baby."

That's what Florida trial lawyer Mike Papantonio (pictured) calls former Navy SEAL and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

But Papantonio's hit job is way off the mark, showing a staggering level of ignorance of American history, law, and of the subject of his attack. The trial lawyer's clumsily-worded, error-filled screed appeared in the Pensacola News Journal. I'm almost embarrassed for him. The piece looks it was written by someone who's had too much to drink.

Papantonio is a radio talk show host on Air America and is founder of GoLeft.tv.

Standish has found at least nine major, glaring errors in Papantonio's attack piece.

1. Papantonio has his legal definitions wrong. He repeatedly refers to Prince and Blackwater as "mercenary." As a lawyer, Papantonio should know better. The international legal definition of mercenary, as defined by the Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, to which the US is a party, is as follows in Protocol I, Article 47.2:

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.

Blackwater contractors do security guard, logistics work, training and related jobs abroad on contract for the US government or under US government license. They are not "specially recruited" to "fight in an armed conflict" or to take "direct part" in hostilities. Their main motivation is to serve their country again, not "essentially the desire for private gain;" as we'll see below, Blackwater contractors are well paid financially, but they pay high taxes and receive none of the non-taxable benefits that military personnel receive, so in the end, the compensation is comparable to those on active duty. All Blackwater personnel guarding the State Department are nationals and residents of the US, a party to the conflict (support staff are multinational). So they do not meet the Geneva Conventions' six standards to be considered mercenary.

Consequently, Papantonio is slandering American veterans who return from their private lives to serve their country again in wartime. The story of helicopter pilot Art Laguna, who gave his life in defense of a trapped US diplomat in Iraq two years ago, shows the caliber of the military vets who join Blackwater: Unusually dedicated people. The Defense Department gave Art Laguna the Legion of Merit posthumously last year, citing his "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements." Click here for the story.

2. Papantonio says that Erik Prince's (deceased) father funded a "neo-con[servative] revolution." Again, the trial lawyer is wrong, misusing a word intended as a pejorative. Edgar Prince funded Reagan-line social conservatives, including leaders of evangelical Christian causes. Those folks are very different from neo-conservatives, a movement founded by Norman Podhoretz, who characterized neo-cons as liberals "mugged by reality." Neo-cons and social conservatives have seldom been comfortable with one another on major issues; neo-cons tend to be hawkish on defense issues but more liberal on social matters. Many prominent neo-cons turned their backs on their Marxist backgrounds, which is why so many on the left particularly hate them. Neo-conservative movement ideology centered around Podhoretz and other Jewish intellectuals with Commentary magazine - a totally different kind of movement than what Edgar Prince supported, which was based on Protestant Christianity. (Erik Prince is not an evangelical but a Catholic, so his views are not the same as those of his late father.) But "neo-con" is now an unpopular epithet, used both as a means of discrediting the recently-departed Bush Administration's first-term defense team that included some prominent neo-cons. It's also a code word for "Jew" among some closet anti-semites.

3. Papantonio is wrong when he states, "today, the Prince family's private army numbers about 25,000 strong." That's an outrageous estimate. It's not even on the most oddball, foil-hat conspiracy websites. Papantonio must be making it up. It looks like he is referring to the number of private security guards in Iraq, which is estimated at about 25,000, but most of those are Iraqi nationals working for other (mainly Iraqi) security companies.

Blackwater makes up only about 1,000 of the private security guards in Iraq, perhaps even fewer. If one adds the press reports and State Department testimony of Blackwater personnel abroad, and the company's own statements, one finds that the actual number of Blackwater personnel at about 700 in the US and between 1,000 and 3,000 contractors abroad. All Blackwater contractors abroad are either in the direct employ of the United States government, or operating with US allies under explicit US government permission and license. Many of these people are trainers and logisticians, not guards.

4. Papantonio is wrong when he claims, "Soldiers enlisted in the U.S. military get paid about $70 a day to put themselves in harm's way, while Mr. Prince's private soldier gets about $1,500 a day for facing the same risks." This is nonsense, an allegation that was debunked during a congressional hearing nearly a year-and-a-half ago, and by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in August 2008. Blackwater guards make only a fraction of that, and they have to pay their own expenses, from food, housing and healthcare to self-employment taxes and other items that soldiers receive as part of their non-taxable benefits. A 2007 Serviam magazine study found that the compensation is roughly the same. Blackwater has published its own comparison figures.

The CBO discussed cost comparisons less exaggerated than the figures Papantonio uses, and discounted the data. "Those figures are not appropriate for comparing the cost-effectiveness of contracting the security function or performing it using military personnel," according to the CBO. "The figures of $1,222 a day represents the contractor's billing rate, not the amount paid to the contractor's employees. The billing rate is greater than an employee's pay because it includes the contractor's indirect costs, overhead, and profit." CBO says a better comparison would be to estimate the total cost to the government. "CBO performed such an analysis, comparing the costs of a private security contractor with those of a military alternative. That analysis indicates that the costs of the private contractor did not differ greatly from the costs of having a comparable military unit performing similar functions."

5. Papantonio is wrong when he says that Blackwater guys are unaccountable to American law. He claims, "to this day, the lawyers for the Prince-family soldiers are still arguing that these mercenaries can't be prosecuted under traditional criminal and civil U.S. statutes." This claim is false. Indeed, some prominent legal scholars say that Congress never bothered to keep the laws up-to-date, creating a "legal vacuum" and accountability problems. Keeping federal laws up-to-date are up to Congress, not Blackwater, to solve. Blackwater operates under the laws in existence - some of which are either imprecise or contradictory - and it has urged that the laws be updated so that the company's work can be more specifically defined.

6. Papantonio is wrong when he implies that Blackwater is in danger of becoming an "independent, unchecked power in America." The company is tightly regulated under a host of state and federal laws. Its operations are regulated by the Justice Department, Defense Department, Treasury Department, Commerce Department and State Department. It is subject to the same gun-control and export laws that govern everyone else. Where laws haven't kept up with the outsourcing trend, they have been amended, and Blackwater has been urging Congress to continue updating the law. Congress even passed a law that Prince personally advocated in testimony before Congressman Henry Waxman's oversight panel on October 2, 2007.

7. Papantonio is wrong when he says that the US won World War II without the use of "American mercenaries." Perhaps he's never heard of the famous American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the Flying Tigers, led by Claire Chennault - a private air force of American aviators who fought the Japanese in Burma, China and Australia. Most people are familiar with the AVG's famous P-40 fighter plane with its distinctive shark-mouth paint job (pictured). Other "American mercenaries," as the trial lawyer would define them, were the armed civilian crews of the Liberty Ships who ferried supplies across the Atlantic to make D-Day possible. The US relied heavily on private contractors to support the military during World War II. In 1941, prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress passed the Defense Base Act (DBA) to provide insurance for civilian contract workers on US military bases, an Act that Congress has expanded over the years as the contracting sector has grown.

8. Papantonio is wrong when he says that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would have opposed private military companies to do outsourcing military work in the service of the United States. As soon as he became Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington outsourced a naval force, without consent of the Continental Congress, leasing private ships and hiring private sea captains as what he called "privateers." Military historian James L. Nelson documents this in his new book, George Washington's Secret Navy. (See how Nelson's account takes the legs out from under another Blackwater critic, Bill Sizemore of the Virginian-Pilot.)

Washington as general and Jefferson as a member of the Second Continental Congress personally supported the legalization and regulation of private military companies to make war on British shipping, in March, 1776. Washington commanded ships that worked in partnership with privateers, and during the war he even held an ownership stake in a private warship. As president, Thomas Jefferson made extensive use of private warships to compensate for US naval weakness in defense of American trading interests against the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean. Robert H. Patton's book Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution is a great introduction to the subject in the 1770s and early 1780s. Privateering is one of the few businesses specifically authorized in the US Constitution, under the "letters of marque and reprisal" clause in Article I, Section 8. Papantonio is a trial lawyer who doesn't even know the Constitution.

9. Papantonio makes the preposterous claim that "Blackwater has reached a level of overgrown and unchecked power that makes it capable of overpowering the military of many of the world's governments." The company can do nothing abroad without the legal authorization of the State Department, Commerce Department, Defense Department and Justice Department. Its powers are not unchecked at all. Blackwater is liable under state and federal gun control laws, military export laws, labor and safety laws, and a host of regulations that fall under those laws.

"Blackwater spokesmen tell us that their mercenaries operate under a pledge of strict loyalty and patriotism," Papantonio says. "But take time to follow the story about this mercenary group, and you will wonder who or what entity actually benefits from that loyalty pledge." '

Papantonio's attack on Blackwater is one of the most ignorant this blogger has ever seen. Phony and sloppy allegations like his are what have given many well-intentioned people a false impression of the company and its role. The more people know about Blackwater, the more they appreciate what it does. So it was no surprise when last summer, a US Senator receiving Blackwater protection in Afghanistan said in comments picked up by US News & World Report, "Blackwater is getting a bad rap." That senator is now the new president of the United States.

Sizemore Gets Facts Wrong Again: Wartime Outsourcing Is as Old as the Nation

2009-01-23T00:59:00.009-05:00

A dogged Blackwater critic in the media gets his facts wrong again - this time while reviewing a book about private military contractors. Bill Sizemore writes for the Virginian-Pilot, the main newspaper in the heavily military Norfolk, Virginia, area, and not far from Blackwater's headquarters in Moyock, North Carolina. Here's how Sizemore begins his article:

"WHATEVER ELSE the Iraq War may be remembered for, it has already achieved one unique distinction: It is America’s first outsourced war."

Sizemore is wrong. He doesn't know his American history. The nation's "first outsourced war" was its first war - the Revolutionary War. And the first American leader to do the outsourcing, according to military historian James L. Nelson, was General George Washington, as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

Nelson documents this amply in his new book, George Washington's Secret Navy (McGraw-Hill, 2008).

Others at the community and colonial levels took private sector initiatives to wage naval warfare, but Washington was the first leader chosen by the thirteen colonies who did so.

The first American naval enagement, on June 11-12, 1775, what Nelson calls "the first sea fight of the war," was carried out by private citizens in Machias, Maine, led by local businessman Jeremiah O'Brien. O'Brien captured the British warship HMS Margaretta. Some historians call the engagement the Battle of Machias. He outfitted a captured commercial vessel with the guns captured from the Margaretta, renamed the vessel Machias Liberty, and continued to raid British shipping as a privateer - with full authorization of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress(pp. 33-35). The US Navy has remembered O'Brien by naming five ships after him. The World War II Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien remains afloat as a museum in San Francisco, California.

On June 12, 1775, the Rhode Island General Assembly resolved to build a small armed fleet, and it outsourced the job. The assembly resolved to "charter two suitable vessels, for the use of the colony, and fit out the same in the best manner to protect the trade of this colony."

Providence merchant John Brown leased his sloop, the Katy, as the first government-commanded warship of the American Revolution. Named as commander was a local former privateersman, Captain Abraham Whipple.

Rhode Island Deputy Governor Nicholas Cooke instructed Whipple that he was "employed by the Government for the Protection of the Trade of this Colony . . . to kill, Slay and Destroy, by all fitting Ways enterprizes and Means, whosoever, all and such Person and Persons, as Shall attempt or enterprize the Destruction, Invasion Detriment or Annoyance of the Inhabitants of this Colony." The main target: The frigate HMS Rose (pp. 58-59).

As the Commander-in-Chief of the new Continental Army, General George Washington sought to borrow one of Rhode Island's privately owned warships to be sent on a mission to capture British gunpowder stored in Bermuda, "for a price," according to Nelson (p. 59). Washington also employed the Katy as his first intelligence ship, instructing that Katy patrol the waters to intercept a British mail packet bound for New York (p. 60).

With little fighting to do on land, Washington brought the fight to the sea, to intercept British ships supplying Redcoat forces blockaded in Boston. Washington completely outsourced his navy. "Finding we had no great prospect of coming to close Quarters with the Ministerial Troops in Boston, I fitted out at the Continental Expence, several Privateers," Washington wrote in December, 1775 (p. 79).

Washington's first warship, Hannah, was a Marblehead schooner leased from a private businessman, John Glover. Says Nelson: "For the perfectly reasonable rate of 78 dollars a month, Glover was leasing his schooner to the army of the United Colonies and allowing her to be sent into harm's way. . . . Washington, at the cost of a dollar per ton per month, finally had a navy" (pp. 83-84). A second vessel, the schooner Two Brothers, was leased from businessman Thomas Stevens (p. 120). The schooner Triton, owned by merchant Daniel Adams, went to sea as the Harrison (p. 121). Another was the Endeavour, owned by Sion Martindale and renamed Washington (pp. 153-154).

Washington outsourced the boats that sent Col. Benedict Arnold on his bold Kennebec mission to invade Canada through Maine (p. 99).

On October 13, 1775 - the day recognized as the founding of the United States Navy - the Continental Congress resolved to fit out warships, giving specifications that matched the Katy. In other words, George Washington had outsourced a navy as a stopgap until the Continental Congress would create what would become the United States Navy.

Katy would be renamed Providence as a Continental Navy warship, and ultimately placed under the command of John Paul Jones (p. 131). The Continental Congress funded the outsourcing of other private vessels as early US warships, including the schooner Speedwell, commissioned Hancock; Eliza, commissioned Franklin (p. 152); the Lee (p. 177); and Hawk, commissioned Warren after Dr. Joseph Warren, the slain hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill (p. 169).

All the sailors were hired hands, fishermen and other seafarers-turned-contract soldiers and outsourced as sailors. Washington didn't like sailors very well, once referring to them as "our Rascally privateers-men" (p. 201). Even though Washington personally leased the schooners Lee and Warren, and ordered the hiring of their crews on contract, "many people, including on occasion George Washington himself, referred to them as privateers," according to Nelson (p. 211).

To expand the revolution's ability to attack enemy fleets, the Massachusetts House of Representatives enacted the "Act for Authorizing Privateers and Creating Courts of Admiralty," which Nelson says "would set off a wave of privateering" (p. 211).

"Privateering fever," Nelson writes, "swept Massachusetts once that colony's General Court authorized citizens to fit out private men-of-war. Five privateers were commissioned during December [1775] in Salem, Gloucester and Newburyport. The speed with which these privately owned and operated vessels put to sea, when contrasted with the time and effort Washington expended to put a like number into service, spoke to the huge potential profit to be made from privateering" (p. 236).

In Boston, which Washington held under siege, British General William Howe wrote that Washington's privately-owned warships "will hurt us more effectually than any thing they can do by Land during our Stay at this Place" (p. 248).

Meanwhile, the Continental Congress Naval Committee resolved to outsource the construction of more warships. It did so by authorizing the direct purchase of four merchantmen in Philadelphia, and converting them into armed vessels. The Black Prince became the 32-gun Alfred; the Sally became the 28-gun Columbus. Both were ship-rigged. Two brigs joined the fleet: another Sally, remaned Cabot with 14 guns; and Defiance, renamed Andrew Doria. At this time, Rhode Island's 10-gun sloop Katy became the Continental Navy's Providence (p. 263).

Sometimes, privateers and Continental Navy ships worked together, according to Nelson (pp. 292-293, 293). The Continental Congress authorized privateering in March, 1776 (p. 316).

George Washington preferred outsourcing a navy to actually building one at government expense. Writes Nelson, "he felt - correctly as it turned out - that the frigates authorized by Congress represented a colossal waste of money and effort" (p. 317). "It was only with great difficulty that the thirteen frigates Congress ordered in March 1776 were constructed, and their contribution to the war effort amounted to almost nothing" (p. 318).

Outsourcing is a tradition we inherited from the British. As Nelson notes, "During the French and Indian War, the British Department of Treasury had developed a system by which London firms were contractged to supply the troops in America, and those firms in turn subcontracted to colonial firms. When that war ended, the system had continued as a means to supply the peacetime garrisons that remained on the American continent." (page 7)

That's a far cry from what Sizemore writes in the newspaper. Sizemore wants to make outsourcing look like something new and dangerous. George Washington would probably disagree with him.

Radio Transcript 'Tells a Different Story' About Nisoor Incident

2009-01-11T16:02:00.000-05:00

Radio transcript of the September 16, 2007 shootout at Nisoor Square "tells a different story" about the incident than federal prosecutors are alleging.

Foster's Daily Democrat, the hometown New Hampshire newspaper of Evan Liberty, a former Marine and one of five former Blackwater guards being put on trial, has studied the transcript, photographs and other evidence and concluded that the facts show something very different from what prosecutors claim.

Nobody involved with the prosecution - including the turret gunner in the convoy who copped a plea - has said that the Blackwater security convoy came under fire when guards reportedly opened up in defense of the American diplomat being protected.

"There is no mention of the team coming under fire or the vehicle being disabled in court documents based on the accounts by Ridgeway and the Iraqi witnesses," according to the newspaper.

State Department Inspector General Praises Perfect Security Record

2009-01-09T19:50:00.000-05:00

In an investigation of the outsourcing of diplomatic security in Iraq and Afghanistan, the State Department's Inspector General praised the private security companies' perfect records, and says the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which hires them, has done great in that regard.

The IG pointed out quite a few problems with the government's management and oversight of the contractors - understandable, given the huge scope of the problem that was tackled in a short time and under wartime conditions - but concluded with high praise for the services that Blackwater and two other companies provided.

The Washington Post reports that the IG found that "State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security had been 'highly effective in ensuring the safety" of diplomatic personnel in Iraq. There have been no casualties among U.S. diplomatic and civilian officials protected by contractors under the bureau's supervision.'"

The IG found several areas that government managers needed to fix.

'NOT GUILTY'

2009-01-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

The five former Raven 23 team members of the Blackwater security convoy involved at Nisoor Square all plead before a federal judge that they are not guilty for having committed crimes.

The government has no idea who shot whom, but is nevertheless charging the five with "14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter," and - for good measure - a special charge of using a firearm in the commission of a crime.

"We want to make it clear to everyone these men committed no crime. They were defending themselves on a battlefield in a war zone when this occurred," said their defense lawyer, David Schertler, in comments covered by CNN.

Federal prosecutors wanted to ram the oddly prepared case through the courts as fast as possible, but the defense says it needs as much time to prepare to address the charges as the government took to make them.

"The United States government had a year and a half to investigate the case, and we did not. So we need a year to catch up," the defense says, according to CNN.

Federal Judge Grants Raven 23 Guards Time to Build Defenses

2009-01-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

Federal prosecutors want to push through their poorly-constructed case against five former Blackwater security guards accused of illegally shooting civilians at Nisoor Square in Baghdad last year, but a federal judge has given the defendants more time to prepare their defense.

The judge said he wanted the case to proceed as quickly as possible, and would not tolerate unreasonable delays, but he said that the trial would not begin until 2010. US prosecutors wanted the trial to begin in the fall of 2009, to coincide with the second anniversary of the September 2007 incident.

In Case You Missed the News

2009-01-06T01:08:00.002-05:00

The war in Iraq is essentially over. Some of us already knew that, but the Washington Post made it official in Media Land, in an unusual front-page story published on January 2.

Most people probably missed it because of the holidays. So here's what the story said, and we want to dwell on this a bit because it would never have happened without the brave guys from Blackwater, who kept our embassy people 100 percent safe.

"The war, in a sense, is over," the Post said in a center-of-the-front-page headline. No surrendering enemies, or captured fuehrer bunker, or any of those things that we like to see to bring us closure after a war. Here's how the article, by Anthony Shadid in Baghdad, began:

"Maybe it was the only shot heard for days in a neighborhood once ordered by the cadence of gunfire. Perhaps it was the smiles at checkpoints and the shouts of Iraqi policemen navigating the always snarled traffic. 'God's mercy on your parents,' they beseeched. 'God's blessings on you.' Maybe it was the music box still playing 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' at a kiosk overflowing with Christmas tree decorations and heart-shaped red pillows.

"For anyone returning to Baghdad after spending time here during the darkest days two years ago, when it was paralyzed by sectarian hatred and overrun by gunmen sowing despair, the conclusion seemed inescapable.

"'The war has ended,' said Heidar al-Abboudi, a street merchant.

"The war in Iraq is indeed over, at least the conflict as it was understood during its first five years: insurgency, communal cleansing, gangland turf battles and an anarchic, often futile quest to survive."

Iraq is fragile, and bombings continue around the country, but the war is essentially over. Blackwater played a big part in the victory.

Raven 23 Defense Fund

2008-12-23T10:15:00.006-05:00

Want to help the three Marines and two soldiers being unjustly prosecuted for doing their job protecting an American diplomat for Blackwater?

The Raven 23 Defense Fund is accepting donations online. Christmas is a great time to make a contribution to help these guys out. Click here to go to the site and make a contribution by credit card or Paypal.

Independent Source Verifies Blackwater Team Was Under Fire at Nisoor Square

2008-12-22T11:25:00.007-05:00

An independent source within the State Department's Tactical Operations Center in Baghdad has verified the account of Blackwater's Raven 23 unit, saying he was present at the Center when the radio calls came in that the convoy was under enemy fire at Nisoor Square.

The existence of such a source blows another huge hole in the US government's case against three former Marines and two former soldiers who served in the Raven 23 team on September 16, 2007. Prosecutors allege that the men deliberately and illegally killed innocent Iraqis without provocation. Apparently the defense is convinced that it has plenty of information to discredit the government's case, which some say is motivated by the Iraqi government's insistence on a prosecution in exchange for signing the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). If so, we'll probably see the hard evidence come to light as the defense makes its case.

The TOC is controlled by US State Department diplomatic security officials, not by Blackwater. Independent corroboration is likely to devastate the government's case, which rests on the idea that Raven 23 shot without provocation and therefore committed crimes.

Blackfive's Jim Hanson, co-host of the Blackfive show, tells G. Gordon Liddy what he learned from the source he developed within the TOC. Click here for the podcast. Hanson says on his blog that he knows the identity and the duty assignment of his source, who does not work for Blackwater.

He says in the interview, “the government’s case in this situation is highly leveraged on the idea that there was no incoming fire. That these gentlemen misperceived the situation and created a massacre."

Not so, Hanson says, with his source who was inside the TOC at the time. After reading the news accounts of the radio logs, the source called Hanson, who relates the following: “He heard these radio calls live. . . . he said they accurately reflect what was going on at the time. He heard these calls come in. As a matter of fact, the first call that he heard come in was, 'Contact, contact, contact.'"

"Contact" is shorthand for coming under enemy fire.

"And during that call he heard gunfire across the radio airwaves," Hanson continues, "It was obvious to him and to everyone else in that operations center that the folks who were calling in the radio seriously believed they were being attracked and were returning fire based on that. So it’s a tremendous blow to the government’s idea that this was some sort of cold-blooded massacre."

Hanson says he has about 30 photographs of the Raven 23 convoy after the incident, showing "several dozen bullet holes across the four vehicles that were involved in this convoy."

The source gave a vivid account of what he heard, real-time, over the radio in the TOC. "My source heard them describing Iraqi policemen in uniform and other folks in civilian clothes engaging them at this time."

Blackwater diplomatic security convoys had been attacked "at least five times in the previous week," according to Hanson. The nature of the radio calls on September 16, 2007, were consistent with the other calls when convoys came under attack. "They believed they were being ambushed by insurgents and were returning fire trying to exit the vehicles from the area."

Insider Account Reconstructs Nisoor Square Shootout

2008-12-22T10:47:00.001-05:00

A source in Baghdad close to Blackwater, the Pentagon, the State Department, FBI and Iraqi government during and after the Nisoor Square shootout has reconstructed the scene for Blackfive's Jim Hanson.

Using clinical language, Hanson posts the description as an exclusive on his blog. Blackwater's Raven 23 convoy entered Nisoor Square to stop traffic, when a white Kia sedan failed to stop and the gunner, Jeremy Ridgeway, opened fire. Apparently members of Raven 23 mistook the Kia driver as a suicide bomber. Excerpts follow:

"The convoy entered the square and stopped traffic. The white Kia approached and ignored signals to stop. It was engaged and as stated in his proffer Ridgeway began engaging the passenger. A nearby Iraqi IP responded to the passenger side and was likely trying to assist the passenger, but to the guards it appeared he was pushing the vehicle toward them as it was still moving forward. They oriented fire toward him and he returned fire at them. This led other IP in the area to join and support his fire."

Standard practice for Blackwater is to get its protectees out of a hot situation as quickly as possible. In this case it didn't happen - the Raven 23 command vehicle had been put out of commission by incoming fire. The armored vehicle needed to be towed away. Hanson continues:

"This caused them to remain in the area longer while engaged attempting to put tow chains on the vehicle. During this time the Blackwater personnel continued to fire at muzzle flashes they identified from multiple areas around the square. Once the vehicle was ready to go they exfiltrated the area."

It's understandable why Raven 23 so easily mistook the oncoming white Kia as a suicide bomber. Over the previous week, insurgents had ambushed Blackwater convoys almost daily; days before a Blackwater helicopter was shot down, with a rescue team coming under attack by dozens of insurgents. Based on the reconstruction from his source, Hanson describes what the previous week had been like for the Blackwater guards:

"To the guards this may have seemed like another ambush in what had been a week of sophisticated ambushes almost every day. Less than a week prior one of their helicopters had been shot down with an RPG and the DART team sent to extract it was ambushed by several dozen insurgents. A day later a convoy was hit by up to 50 insurgents causing a large gunfight as they sought to disengage. The same week one of their vehicles was hit by an EFP, fortunately it hit the engine block and didn’t kill anyone. But the over force from the explosion actually ejected a turret gunner into the street and they had to recover him while again under fire."

Hanson has loaded his blog with photos, documents and other information relating to this case. Check it out at http://www.blackfivemedia.net/.

Cuban Propaganda Agency Issues Phony Blackwater Report

2008-12-22T10:30:00.009-05:00

The Cuban government's Soviet-built propaganda agency, Prensa Latina, is running a false report that the US has announced that Blackwater will withdraw its security operations from Iraq.

"US Announces Blackwater Pullout of Iraq," Prensa Latina says in a headline today. Google News is giving it prominence, having pulled down most other reporting on Blackwater as questions continue about the objectivity of its search engine. Most of the recent positive reporting on Blackwater from the past few days no longer appears on Google News.

The Cuban article is difficult to read because its Mexico-based server is slow and the site requires readers to register.

A banner on the top right of the Prensa Latina page champions the cause of the "Miami Five," a group of Cuban infiltrators and saboteurs currently in federal US prison. Prensa Latina calls the five "anti-terrorists [who] battle for justice."

Prensa Latina is the Castro version of the old Soviet TASS "news" agency created during the Cold War. Why it's reporting a false story about Blackwater at this time remains to be seen, but we're putting down this marker to keep track.

(Note: For the record, The Nation magazine, which has sponsored Jeremy Scahill's writing on Blackwater, has been a strong sympathizer with the Castro regime for decades.)

AP Says New Evidence Discredits Federal Case Against Ex-Blackwater Guards

2008-12-21T12:41:00.005-05:00

Evidence is piling up that casts more and more doubt on federal prosecutors' case against five American military veterans who served as elite diplomatic security guards with Blackwater in Iraq.

We've already seen the reports that prosecutors would have to bend the law to make it fit the case. And the bullet damage to the armored command vehicle of Blackwater's Raven 23 team (click on picture for larger image).

And that, in what looks like a sloppy investigation, prosecutors are resting their case heavily on two discredited sources: The Iraqi Ministry of Interior and National Police, and an ex-Blackwater guard who admitted, in exchange for a lighter sentence, to killing civilians at Nisoor Square.

Now, even two of the company's biggest serious media critics - Matt Apuzzo and Lara Jakes Jordan of the Associated Press - admit that the government's case looks flimsier and flimsier. Here's what they reported on December 19:

"Radio logs from a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad cast doubt on U.S. government claims that Blackwater Worldwide security guards were unprovoked when they killed 14 Iraqi civilians."

"Because Blackwater guards were authorized to fire in self-defense, any evidence their convoy was attacked will make it harder for the Justice Department to prove they acted unlawfully."

"The logs add a new uncertainty to an already murky case."

While AP received a secondhand, anonymous report that at least one Blackwater guard "saw no gunfire," "others in the convoy told authorities they did see enemy gunfire. And Blackwater turned over to prosecutors pictures of vehicles pocked with bullet holes, which the company says proves the guards were shot at."

Prosecutors don't even purport to know who shot whom: "And though they can't say for sure exactly which guards shot which victims, all five guards are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter."

Federal prosecutors are now on the defensive and won't talk about the issue: "Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd declined to discuss the contents of the logs."

Radio Logs Prove Blackwater Convoy Was Under Fire at Nisoor Square

2008-12-21T11:25:00.008-05:00

Radio logs from Blackwater's Baghdad security teams show that the unit involved at the Nisoor Square shootout did indeed come under enemy fire.

Newsday reports, "Prosecutors said the men unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis. But the radio logs from the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting, turned over to prosecutors by Blackwater, suggest otherwise. The guards were authorized to fire in self-defense, so any evidence their convoy was attacked will make it harder for the Justice Department to prove they acted unlawfully."

The Salt Lake Tribune, covering the defense team in Salt Lake City, reports the story under the headline, "Blackwater Logs Depict Mortal Threat to Guards."

Below is a summary of the logs, as reported by the Associated Press. Raven 4 is a Blackwater convoy protecting an American diplomat near a car bombing. Raven 22 is a Blackwater unit that responds to assist Raven 4. Raven 23 was sent to secure Nisoor Square, a traffic circle, at which the deadly shootout occurred.

The following timeline from the September 16, 2007 Blackwater radio logs is from the Associated Press. The quotes are from the AP report:

11:59: Raven 4 reports a car bombing
12:00: Raven 22 leaves the Green Zone through Checkpoint 12 to back up Raven 4
12:10: Raven 22 and Raven 4 depart for Green Zone
12:11: Raven 23 reports securing Nisoor Square
12:12: "Raven 23 reports multiple insurgent small arms fire"
12:13: "Blackwater air support advised of small arms fire at Nisoor Square. Raven 23 reports Iraqi police shooting at convoy" [Note: The FBI would later credit the Iraqi police with helping build the federal prosecution of five Raven 23 team members.]
12:14: Raven 23 is ordered to proceed to Green Zone checkpoint 2
12:16: Raven 23 says that its command vehicle is disabled
12:18: Raven 23 attempts to tow its disabled command vehicle but says its members are still under attack
12:20: Raven 22 is "advised of Raven 23 shooting at Nisoor Square." Checkpoint 12 of the Green Zone is closed.
12:20: Raven 23 reports it is in traffic, "still taking sporadic small arms fire."

(Note: The facsimile of the radio log is brought to us through Blackfive.)

Federal Prosecutors Are Silent About Radio Logs

2008-12-21T11:22:00.001-05:00

Federal officials prosecuting five former Blackwater security guards had plenty to say to reporters when spinning public allegations of premeditated homicide - but they're silent about the radio logs that show the security teams under enemy fire at Nisoor Square.

A Justice Department official did tell the Associated Press that prosecutors are "fully aware" of the documents, but they'll wait to answer them in court.

"We cannot comment on evidence related to a pending case, but we are fully prepared to address in court arguments made by the defense concerning the documents you reference," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd tells AP.

This is the same Justice Department that had no problem scripting carefully worded accusations against the five military veterans of "unprovoked and illegal attacks on civilians." Now it won't comment on evidence that the attacks might have been provoked and therefore legal.

AP Details Nisoor Square Incident

2008-12-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

Coup Plot Allegations Focus on Corruption and Infiltration of Principal Blackwater Accuser

2008-12-20T14:21:00.001-05:00

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior is "reputedly dominated by Shi'ite militias and rife with corruption," CNN reports, citing confusing information an alleged plot within the ministry to overthrow the US-backed government.

An Iraqi military spokesman said, "The operation was based on information about some officers facilitating terrorist activities and helping outlaws and the remnants of the vanquished [Baath Party] regime," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Minister of Interior says the whole controversy is a politically motivated hoax to affect elections next month. An Iraqi judge threw out the case, citing lack of evidence. However, many remain concerned that the ministry, which controls the national police, remains a haven for Shi'ite terrorists and insurgents as well as criminal elements.

The matter is especially important to followers of Blackwater because the Ministry of Interior has been a primary source of some of the most sensational allegations against the company and its men over the Nisoor Square shootout.

An independent US commission of retired American generals and police chiefs recommended that the Ministry of Interior be closed down and reorganized due to its inherent dysfunctionality. US prosecutors have relied heavily on the Ministry of Interior and national police to build their case against five former Blackwater guards.

'Justice Department Began Presentation to American People with a Lie'

2008-12-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

"The Justice Department began their presentation to the American people with a lie" when prosecutors accused five former Blackwater guards of premeditated manslaughter in an unprovoked "massacre." So says the defense for one of the accused, former Army Sergeant Nick Slatten. AP has the story.

That's why the defense team released the Blackwater radio logs of September 16, 2007, concerning the Nisoor Square shootout.

Kerry's Words Suddenly Matter

2008-12-17T11:39:00.002-05:00

Senator John Kerry's doing a lot of new posturing against Blackwater, saying the State Department should not renew its contract to provide high-end personal protection services to US officials - including visiting senators and congressmen - in Iraq.

“The era of Blackwater must finally end. The incoming Obama administration can proceed with the knowledge that even the Bush administration acknowledges that outsourcing overseas security to private firms like Blackwater is a mistake,” Kerry says.

Kerry's words matter now, because the Massachusetts senator is replacing Vice President-Elect Joe Biden as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which authorizes the money for the State Department to pay Blackwater.

Accused Marine Seen as 'Patriotic, Respectful, Courageous, Self-Sacrificing, Kind and Caring'

2008-12-17T09:30:00.004-05:00

"Evan Liberty, a 26-year-old former Marine, is routinely described by friends and family here with the kind of all-American accolades reserved for hometown heroes. Patriotic, respectful, courageous, self-sacrificing, kind, and caring. That's Evan Liberty, they say."

So begins a Boston Globe story about the former Blackwater security guard from New Hampshire who faces federal charges for allegedly killing civilians at Baghdad's Nisoor Square.

The Boston Globe is considered the most liberal big-city newspaper in the country. It is owned by the New York Times.

Liberty's "defenders are reflexively adamant that the scrappy athlete and consummate outdoorsman could not possibly have gunned down innocent people while working for Blackwater Worldwide, the largest private security contractor in Iraq," according to the Globe.

The feds are basing much of their case against Liberty against a former colleague, a turret gunner who copped a plea and admitted to indiscriminately shooting civilians.

"These guys are some of the most highly trained people in the world," said Liberty's father, who told the Globe that his son joined Blackwater as a way to continue serving America after leaving the Marines: "It wasn't for the money. He saw this as a way to serve his country."

As a Marine, Liberty was part of the elite guard that protects US embassies abroad. He served at the US embassies in Cairo and Guatemala City, leaving the service "because another embassy posting was unavailable." He was well suited for diplomatic security. "As an alternative, he joined Blackwater," the Globe reports.

"The whole family is a good American family," Liberty's grandfather says. "Nobody knows what's around the trail. You keep going ahead, and turn the bend, and maybe you'll find out."

Los Angeles Times Endorses Blackwater-Backed Legislation

2008-12-16T10:02:00.013-05:00

Better late than never: The Los Angeles Times is more a year behind Blackwater CEO Erik Prince in endorsing private contractor accountability legislation. Even so, it's good that the Times editors are finally sharing Blackwater's views.

Testifying before Congress on October 2, 2007, Prince alerted lawmakers to pending legislation that would fill holes in the law and tighten ambiguities, thus taking away the gray areas that made accountability difficult in the private security contracting business for the US government abroad. He said he was "happy" with the proposed legislation, authored by Rep. David Price (D-NC) and endorsed it. The House later passed the bill.

BlackwaterFacts.com reported this on October 4, 2007.

Fourteen months later, the LA Times is finally on board. Here's what the editors say in a December 15, 2008 editorial:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that "there is a hole” in the law where prosecution of private contractors was concerned.

Rice may be right. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act allows for the prosecution of civilians who are "employed by or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States." A grand jury concluded that even though the Blackwater defendants worked for the State Department, they were supporting a military mission and are thus covered by the law. Certainly that interpretation is in the spirit of the law; whether it satisfies the law's letter must be decided by the courts. (The defendants also argue that they can't be prosecuted because they were offered immunity by the State Department.) Meanwhile, Congress should enact legislation passed last year by the House that would allow for the prosecution of U.S. contractors in foreign countries -- regardless of the agency for which they work -- if the foreign country doesn't choose to prosecute. If the "hole" mentioned by Rice exists, it should be plugged.

No doubt the LA Times editors are clueless about this, and think that they're sticking it to Blackwater. In reality, the company wants tight laws and rules for accountability and responsibility, so that it can operate without the legal ambiguity that has been so problematic.

Standish is writing to the LA Times editors to congratulate them and to ask them to recognize Blackwater for endorsing the legislation more than a year before they did.

Readers of this blog should do the same. Click here to see how, or write directly at: letters@latimes.com.

Federal Prosecutor Says Nisoor Incident Should Not Reflect Negatively on Blackwater

2008-12-16T09:32:00.003-05:00

The federal government's prosecution of five former Blackwater guards over the Nisoor Square incident should not reflect negatively on Blackwater or its contractors overall, a top federal prosecutor says.

Jeffrey A. Taylor (pictured), United States Attorney for the District of Columbia said, "It bears emphasis that today's indictment is very narrow in its allegations. Six individual Blackwater guards have been charged with unjustified shootings on September 16, 2007, not the entire Blackwater organization in Baghdad. There were 19 Blackwater guards on the Raven 23 team that day at Nisour Square. Most acted professionally, responsibly, and honorably. Indeed this indictment should not be read as an accusation against any of those brave men and women who risk their lives as Blackwater security contractors."

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince cites Taylor's comment in an op-ed he wrote for the Wall Street Journal.

Blackwater Chief Describes Mettle of His Security Men

2008-12-15T11:37:00.000-05:00

Few critics of Blackwater have ever spent time with the company's security professionals who are constantly being maligned.

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince personally knows more than a thousand of the military and police veterans he has hired and trained to run diplomatic security operations for the State Department in war zones. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Prince introduces the public to one of them with a compelling personal story:

One of these brave people is Derrick Wright. In April 2007, a rocket tore through the Baghdad living quarters where Blackwater personnel were sleeping. Fortunately, no one was killed. But many were seriously injured, including Mr. Wright, a West Point graduate, Army Ranger and father of three. He suffered grave injuries when a portion of his skull was shattered in the attack.

Stabilized in the Green Zone, Mr. Wright was airlifted to a hospital in Europe where his prognosis was bleak. When Mr. Wright's wife arrived, she found her husband coming out of brain surgery and described him as a man who "had one foot in this world and one out." He has since shown remarkable progress after extensive physical therapy, a cranioplasty to repair damage to his skull, and many other procedures.

Derrick Wright and the other team members injured that day were not in Iraq to fight the war. Just like every Blackwater professional who makes the trip to Iraq, they were putting their lives at risk each day to protect U.S. Department of State officials and other civilians working in the country. Yet somehow that role and the part they play in this war have been grossly misunderstood.

While some of our critics seize upon inaccurate labels, I doubt they have ever known one of our contractors personally or been protected by them. Our teams are not cooking meals or moving supplies. They are taking bullets. They are military veterans who have chosen to serve their country once again. Very few people know someone who would voluntarily go into a war zone to protect a person he has never met. I know 1,000 of them, and I am proud that they are part of our team.

'The most thoroughly vetted - and cleared - contractor in the war in Iraq'

2008-12-15T09:36:00.003-05:00

"In nominations for the most thoroughly vetted - and cleared - contractor in the war in Iraq, who would have guessed it would turn out to be Blackwater?

"But that’s exactly what happened last Monday (December 8)," Patrick McGuigan writes in Tulsa Today. "After more than a year of gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses around the world, a grand jury found no evidence to indict Blackwater and, instead, indicted five of the contractors who were working for the company on September 16 when a shooting incident occurred in Nisour Square.

The editor adds, "no other company has been subjected to anywhere near the level of media scrutiny, Congressional hounding, or prolonged investigation that Blackwater has weathered.

"So after all the public condemnations and damning headlines just how bad is Blackwater? It turns out that there’s not a shred of evidence that the company has done anything wrong at all. In this instance, a few of its contractors appear to have been caught in a bad situation in Baghdad and innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire – it’s terrible but it’s war; our troops have been involved in similar situations countless times. And just how evil is Blackwater? So evil that every single person they’ve protected is alive and well because of that protection."

"Looking at the facts," McGuigan says, "it’s hard to come up with a company that has been more thoroughly vetted. Maybe, just maybe, they deserve a little credit for doing a good job."

(Photo: General David Petraeus in Baghdad with a Blackwater diplomatic security team who saved the life of Poland's ambassador to Iraq.)

US Prosecutors Briefing Iraqis are Identified

2008-12-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

CNN has identified the three US federal prosecutors in Baghdad to advise relatives and survivors of the Nisoor Square shootout. They are: Assistant US Attorney Kenneth C. Kohl (pictured), Assistant US Attorney Jonathan M. Malis, and trial attorney Barry Jonas of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

An Iraqi official has said that one or more of the US officials would advise Iraqis how to use the American legal system to sue Blackwater for financial damages, even though a federal grand jury has found no reason to investigate the company for wrongdoing. The Justice Department has not publicly commented on the report, which appeared in the New York Times.

FBI Calls It 'Instrumental.' Gen. Jones Calls It 'Dysfunctional.'

2008-12-11T18:06:00.005-05:00

"The assistance provided by the Iraqi national police was instrumental to our success of our mission." That's what FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Joseph Persichini, Jr., tells reporters when unveiling the government's case against five former Blackwater men allegedly involved in the 2007 Nisoor Square shootout.

This is the same force that's so plagued with corruption and infiltrated by terrorists that it can scarcely function.

The same force under the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, which a panel of retired US generals and police chiefs said was so dysfunctional that it should be shut down and that the police should be "disbanded and reorganized." The panel, called the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, concluded,

"The Ministry of Interior is a ministry in name only. It is widely regarded as being dysfunctional and sectarian, and suffers from ineffective leadership. Such fundamental flaws present a serious obstacle to achieving the levels of readiness, capability, and effectiveness in police and border security forces that are essential for internal security and stability in Iraq."

One of the members of the panel was Gen. James Jones USMC (Ret.), whom President-Elect Barack Obama recently appointed to be his National Security Advisor.

The group's report was published and released in a highly publicized news conference just 10 days before the Nisoor incident.

And the FBI says the force that Gen. Jones said should be shut down was "instrumental" in helping build the case?

Click here for a PDF of the independent commission's report.

Prosecutor Sounds Like He Knows He's On Shaky Ground

2008-12-11T17:54:00.005-05:00

The chief federal prosecutor leading the charge against the five former Blackwater men sounded pretty un-confident during his December 8 news conference at which he outlined the case.

Assistant Attorney General Patrick Rowan (pictured) stumbled when a reporter asked how sure he was that the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) applies to the defendants. Here's the section from the full transcript:

QUESTION: If I could just follow up on your answer on MEJA, your contention is then that the State Department was in Iraq supporting the Department of Defense?

MR. ROWAN: Well, our contention is that, well first of all let me make it clear. Our evidence on this point is something we will present to the judge and the jury, and they will have the opportunity to determine whether or not we've provided sufficient evidence of this point. What we are saying is that the defendants who we've charged were supporting the mission of the Department of Defense and that's the charging language we use, that's the predicate for the use of MEJA in this case.

QUESTION: So any U.S. personnel in Iraq at the time were supporting the Department of Defense, is that the theory here?

MR. ROWAN: I wouldn't go so far as to say that's so. We believe -- and again I'm obviously avoiding getting into the evidence. But we believe the evidence in this case is sufficient to establish that these individuals were supporting the mission in the Department of Defense.

That doesn't sound like a very confident prosecutor. The prosecutors are building this case on a technicality, and a weak one, at that. Small wonder the defense team sounds so relaxed.

Legal Analyst: Government Might Not Have the Law On Its Side

2008-12-11T16:39:00.005-05:00

The federal case built against the five former Blackwater men rests on a thin reed that has no legal precedent. That's according to yet another legal analyst who has blown holes in the credibility of the Justice Department's prosecution.

The prosecutors' choice to rest the case heavily on the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) provides "special opportunities for the defense, and headaches for the prosecution," says Charles Putnam, co-director of the Justiceworks program at the University of New Hampshire.

"It is fair to say one of the things the defense attorneys will do is to hold the government's feet to the fire and make sure the law works the way it was supposed to work," Putnam says.

One of the accused, former Marine Evan Liberty, is from New Hampshire, and he's getting a lot of public support from the people who know him personally. Liberty's hometown newspaper, Foster's Daily Democrat, has run a series of supportive articles about him and the case.

Wife of Felon Wants to Drive Blackwater Out of Business

2008-12-11T16:20:00.005-05:00

The wife of a convicted felon is using the indictments of five ex-Blackwater men as an excuse to drive the company out of the security business.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), whose husband recently served a prison term for federal felony convictions, says she doesn't like Blackwater and wants to "get them out of this business."

Schakowsky has parrotted the conspiracy theory line of anti-Blackwater activist Jeremy Scahill for a couple of years. Now she says she intends to run for the Senate seat left vacant by President-Elect Barack Obama.

“The indictments will likely get rid of a few bad apples, but there will be no real consequences for Blackwater," Schakowsky tells The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress. "This company could continue to do business as usual — the solution is to get them out of this business."

Freak Show

2008-12-11T15:52:00.003-05:00

A lot of progressive nut cases are out there, trying to post comments on this blog, demanding that fellow Americans be killed.

And they're demanding the deaths in the name of "justice."

That's right - they say that the three former Marines and two former soldiers being prosecuted for the Nisoor Square incident should be executed, murdered, or turned over to the Iraqis to be lynched. Many of them don't even want a trial. Just death.

This one, anonymously posted on December 8, is representative of the junk coming in:

I hope all 5 of them rot in jail - or better yet get shipped back to Iraq to be killed. It sickens me to be an American when I learn about them.

How progressive! Sounds like the same crowd that's been drinking Jeremy Scahill's conspiracy Kool-Aid and voting for Jan Schakowsky.

Now - for everyone else: Go to the online editions of any newspaper or magazine that runs stories about the Blackwater case, and post your comments to those stories. Be sure to be civil and polite, leaving informed commentary and not just a rant. Rants don't help. Civility and facts do.

Prosecutors Use Admitted Killer to Twist Facts Against Blackwater Men

2008-12-10T15:19:00.003-05:00

The turret gunner who admitted to killing civilians at Nisoor Square has made a false statement cooked by prosecutors in their bid to make the facts fit their case.

Jeremy P. Ridgeway pleaded guilty to the killings and is now seeking leniency by turning state's evidence against his former Blackwater colleagues. In the first paragraph of his "Factual Proffer In Support of Guilty Plea," he makes a false statement:

"Defendant Ridgeway's employment as a Blackwater contractor related to supporting the mission of the Defense Department in Iraq."

The statement is false because, as the proffer specifies, Ridgeway and colleagues were contractors for the Department of State.

This is an important point. Federal prosecutors are relying on the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which applies only to civilian contractors for the Department of Defense. MEJA was later amended to include contractors who "support" the "mission" of DoD, which is why prosecutors made Ridgeway use that wording in his proffer.

The prosecution's case is weak. We reported a year ago that the Justice Department would "shoehorn the facts" to make its allegations stick.

Blackwater clearly and explicitly is supporting the State Department's mission, not the Pentagon's, in Iraq. Its Worldwide Personal Protective Services contract is with the State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security, not with the military. The contract is to protect US Embassy civilian personnel - including diplomats and US Agency for International Development people - and, according to reports, explicitly places Blackwater security personnel in Iraq under the operational control of the State Department.

Constitutionally, the State Department is the highest-ranking cabinet agency, and therefore outranks the Defense Department under the law. DoD supports the State Department, not vice-versa.

Hat tip to The Skeptical Bureaucrat for pointing this out.

Support Pours In for Accused Blackwater Men

2008-12-10T01:21:00.003-05:00

People from around the United States are voicing support for the former Blackwater security guards accused of manslaughter while protecting the life of an American diplomat in Iraq.

Important support can be seen in reader comments attached to online news stories. Readers of the Union Leader, New Hampshire's largest statewide daily, have submitted comments in support of native son Evan Liberty, who served as a Marine before working for Blackwater. They should inspire all of us to voice support across the Internet wherever we can.

Forget all the trash talk comments. What's fresh and new is all the new, supportive commentary, like this:

"I support Evan Liberty 100%. I was not there and neither were any of you ignorant people posting ridiculous comments here. I am a Marine and I KNOW that the circumstances under which this event occurred may very well be entirely different than what is being broadcast by the media. Semper Fi, Evan and family, stay strong." - Sarah C., Nashua, NH.
"If you change Mr. Liberty's name to mine that would be my son. He too works for Blackwater. Their stories are almost identical. These men are all highly trained members from the elite branches of the military. They all have served in war zones. They are not cowboys. They put their life on the line to protect anyone from the ruler of these countries to the entertainers who want to go there to say, 'I've been in a war zone to be with our troops.' They have never lost a client. If they are so bad why are they asked for by people that go visit there ? Even people that bad mouth them now.

"If you think Blackwater hires just anyone who wants to make money,why not go to thier site and try to apply for a job. You would have a better chance applying for a job as astronaut." - JZ, Texas
"Charging these guys is what I like to refer to as 'Feel good political policy' and these guys are the scapegoats for the government." - Mike, Manchester, NH.
"This is a war zone. Who can second guess their actions if you have not been in the same situation, same place, etc. Sounds like a lot of politics to me. When it's all said and done, I'll bet they're acquitted." - Bob Ahern, Derry, NH.
"Given the lethally chaotic situation in Iraq, at the time, I'm willing to give all involved the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure all reasonable people will do the same. I hope the country's hatred (in some cases maniacal) of Bush doesn't negatively effect their trials. Good luck and Godspeed. - Mike P., Manchester, NH.
"I wish your son and the rest of these men the best. They are veterans who served our country with great honor, and are now getting thrown to the wolves. What next - start punishing the troops who are deployed? I am sure thats what some anti-military people would say. People in this country have become so libralized that they have forgotten bad things happen during war." - D.S., Amherst, NH.
"I have known Evan Liberty since the fourth grade. We were in the same class all the way to high school and I knew him in high school also. He is a very good kid and he was an embassy guard before he went to Blackwater. Only the top ten percent of all marines are selected to carry that title. he was a standout. He is a great guy and always has been. If he fired his rifle he had too, and he is definitely not a cowboy. He is a hero and it makes me so angry to see America turn its back on him. Shame on this country and its government. How come no one is 'supporting our troops' now? It also makes me sick to see some of the comments left on this page. I bet all the negative ones are from idiots who have never fought for this country. Evan, you're a hero in my book." - Jeremiah, Rochester NH.

Texas Soldier Praised for Strong Work Ethic and Character

2008-12-10T00:11:00.000-05:00

He was raised from "humble beginnings" in Texas, an A and B student who showed a lot of athletic skill and self-discipline, a tough young man with a strong work ethic.

That's how friends and acquaintances describe Paul "PJ" Slough, the Army veteran among the five former Blackwater guards now being tried on manslaughter allegations while protecting the life of an American diplomat.

"Knowing P.J. the way we did, obviously we are going to be on his side," says his former teacher and football coach, Mike Norrell. "I know those men are trained . . . and I suspect they were in a hostile situation and one thing led to another," he tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I think they thought they were doing their jobs. That’s the kind of guy P.J. is, the one who will always do his job."

An ankle injury prevented Slough (pronounced "Slo") from being a paratrooper, but he joined the Army straight out of high school as an infantry soldier, served in Bosnia, was honorably discharged, then joined the Texas National Guard and served in Iraq before joining Blackwater.

The Star-Telegram cites an ABC News report that quoted Slough as recounting the start of the September 16, 2007 shootout at Nisoor Square: "'Fearing for my life and the lives of my teammates, I engaged the driver and stopped the threat,' he said in the statement.

"There were other shots too, he said — from a shack behind the car, from a red bus and from another red vehicle, as well as from a uniformed person pushing a vehicle toward the convoy and from a man in a blue shirt with an assault weapon, his statement said. 'I was engaged in order to stop the threat.'"

www.raven23.com

2008-12-09T10:54:00.004-05:00

Here's the new website for the five former Blackwater guys being prosecuted for allegedly killing Iraqi civilians while defending an American diplomat in Baghdad last year: www.raven23.com.

Raven 23 was the callsign of the Blackwater diplomatic security unit during the incident.

The defense team's court documents are among the information being loaded onto the site.

Standish has been getting some nice notes of support for the former guards, including people wanting to know how to help with legal defense. This blog isn't connected with the defense team, but we're passing along the website and will report from it as needed.

'The Charges Don't Make Sense'

2008-12-09T10:22:00.003-05:00

Friends and co-workers of Donald Ball, the former Marine and Blackwater security guard now standing trial for allegedly killing Iraqi civilians in September 2007, are shocked at the US government's charges and say they don't make sense.

Even the judge presiding over the case in Utah has ruled that Ball, a court baliff, may keep his .40 caliber Glock pistol, according to AP.

"The 26-year-old's co-workers at the Salt Lake City Justice Courts, where he works as a security officer, were dumbfounded by the charges of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter levied Monday. They say Ball is a man of unquestionable integrity who could not have intentionally killed an innocent person.

"'I'd have him on my side at any time,' said Angie Oldham, a security officer at the court who is also a classmate of Ball's at the police academy at Salt Lake Community College.

"Deputy Terry Thomas, who trained Ball for his duties at the court, called Ball 'an upstanding young man,'" the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"Thomas observed Ball on the job and saw him remain calm under stress, never raising his voice. The charges didn't make sense, Thomas said.

"'There's no way you take four or five guys, highly trained - they're not going to open fire unprovoked on a crowd of civilians,' said Thomas, who was one of the law enforcement responders at the Trolley Square shootings. 'It's sad to see guys like that who sacrificed their time, put their lives on the line every day to fight for the people of Iraq ... they get the shaft."

Ball enlisted in the Marines after 9/11 to "honor" the memory of his late father and to continue his family's generations-long tradition of serving in the military. Family members say he signed up with Blackwater to continue that service. According to the Tribune, he used the money to buy a home for his widowed mother.

Scholar: US Left 'Legal Vacuum' for Contractors

2008-12-09T10:07:00.004-05:00

The US government and Congress failed to update laws and regulations to govern the actions of private military contractors abroad, creating a "legal vacuum" that will make it extremely difficult to make its case against former Blackwater men accused of killing civilians while protecting an American diplomat.

"Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said it would be difficult for the government to win the case because of jurisdictional questions and the immunity issue," the Los Angeles Times reports.

"'Some of these problems result from the U.S. government's failure to create a clear, workable framework for private security contractors, so they operated in a legal vacuum,' Tobias said."

Curious Timing: Is US Using Prosecutions to Curry Favor with Iraqi Factions?

2008-12-09T08:43:00.000-05:00

Defense counsel for the three retired Marines and two former soldiers - the Blackwater guards being put on trial for the Nisoor Square incident - say that the US Justice Department is acting more like it wants to curry favor with certain Iraqi factions than to ensure justice.

"We are . . . very concerned about the political considerations that appear to have motivated this indictment," the defense team says in a court document posted on Raven23.com. "It is unusual to say the least for the DOJ to bring high profile criminal charges in a case with international political overtones during the transition of presidential administrations and Justice Department officials.

"However, in the past weeks and months the U.S. Government has been negotiating a Status of Force Agreement with the Iraqi Government that will govern the future of the U.S. military presence in Iraq and has been anxious to see it ratified by the Iraqi Parliament. During this same period the Department of Justice has been conducting its investigation and has also sent agents to Iraq to provide briefings on this case.

"The filing of these charges at this time gives every appearance that these young men are being prosecuted to curry favor with factions in the Iraqi government that have been hostile to the U.S. presence and highly critical of the conduct of U.S. forces. More simply put, the DOJ indictment at this delicate time creates an overwhelming appearance of political influence in an effort to win support in Iraq. This is intolerable."

Blackwater Man Joined Marines After 9/11 to 'Honor' his Father

2008-12-08T11:03:00.005-05:00

Donald Ball, one of the former Marines being charged with crimes allegedly committed while protecting an American diplomat in Baghdad under contract with Blackwater, joined the military after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"A decorated Marine, Donald Ball had completed three tours of duty in Iraq when he decided to return as a guard. He originally joined the U.S. Marines after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, [brother] Troy Ball said, to honor their father after his 1999 death of a heart attack," the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"'It was his way of making a difference in the world,' Troy Ball said, calling his brother a hard worker and Eagle Scout who had a great love for his country.

"After three tours of duty, Ball returned to Iraq as a Blackwater guard.

"'He was doing what he felt was right,' he said."

Ball is pictured above. Friends are turning out to show their support for him and his colleagues as they face arraignment.

'Locals Support Embattled Blackwater Guard'

2008-12-08T10:38:00.003-05:00

Support is pouring in from people who know the Blackwater security men accused of crimes while defending an American diplomat in Baghdad. One of the accused, former Marine Corporal Evan Liberty (pictured) of New Hampshire, is getting praise for his spirit of volunteerism, discipline and patriotism.

"I can't speak any higher of the guy," says Chris Buslovich, who enlisted in the Marines with Liberty eight years ago.

Buslovich tells Foster's Daily Democrat, the hometown newspaper of Liberty in New Hampshire, saying the Marine "wanted to do more" and underwent "grueling training" to be part of the Marines' elite security guard force to protect American embassies. According to Foster's Daily Democrat, "Liberty eventually did become a guard and served in security detachments for the US embassies in Egypt and Guatemala, where he earned numerous commendations."

In 2005, after leaving the Marines, Liberty signed up to train with Blackwater, a company that Buslovich calls the "Marine Corps of contractors."

"They're the best of the best," he says.

Are military vets who sign up with Blackwater driven by greed, as the critics allege? The paper reports that Buslovich says such a perception is wrong: "they risk their lives in dangerous places like Iraq to protect people they 'don't even know.'"

AP: 'All decorated military veterans who have served in some of the world's most dangerous places'

2008-12-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

A change of tone from the Associated Press duo covering the Blackwater Nisoor Square issue.

Matt Apuzzo and Lara Jakes Jordan report in what AP calls a "breaking news update":

"The five Blackwater Worldwide guards indicted for a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting are all decorated military veterans who have served in some of the world's most dangerous places."

Is Justice Department Advising Iraqis How to Sue Blackwater?

2008-12-08T09:27:00.001-05:00

Is a Justice Department bureaucrat in Iraq right now advising Iraqis how they can sue Blackwater?

That's what the New York Times is reporting. In a December 7 story headlined, "US Prosecutor Goes to Iraq to Work on Blackwater Case," the Times says that the Justice Department official will meet with families of those shot in the September 16, 2007 Nisoor Square incident and help them "make claims."

The source is an anonymous Iraqi official. The Times does not identify the US prosecutor.

The place of the meeting looks like someone purposely planned to inflame sentiments. According to the Times, the Justice Department bureaucrat will meet with families at "a large dining center in Iraq’s National Police Headquarters, just a stone’s throw from Nisour Square."

"'The prosecutor is coming on Saturday to tell people what is going to happen, and especially how to make claims,' said the official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak about the investigation. “He will speak in front of all of them. The families of the victims deserve to know what comes next.”

If the report is true, the unnamed bureaucrat will put the Justice Department in the awkward position of helping professional terrorist defense lawyers and lawyers for cop-killers, including a lawyer for an identified al Qaeda front group. The lawyers have banded together to sue Blackwater on behalf of Nisoor families.

Justice Department 'Reckless' in Assault on Blackwater Men

2008-12-08T09:14:00.001-05:00

"Lawyers for the five Blackwater guards indicted by the Justice Department in connection with a 2007 shooting in Baghdad accused the government of overstepping its authority and recklessly staining the reputations of five decorated veterans who had honorably served their country," the New York Times reports today.

"Justice officials have faced trouble with the case nearly from the start," adds the Wall Street Journal. "Investigators from the State Department, which had jurisdiction over the guards, gave the men immunity in exchange for providing statements immediately following the incident. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrived to take over the probe weeks later, having to reconstruct a crime scene on public streets, and tracking down witnesses. The men said they fired in response to shooting from insurgents; some Iraqi witnesses disputed that there was any firing other than that by the Blackwater guards."

"These battlefield incident prosecutions are notoriously difficult to win no matter what the forum," says former Navy lawyer Tara Lee.

"Plaintiff attorneys also plan to argue that the men's work for the State Department doesn't fall under the authority of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, the law originally written to cover Pentagon contractors and now being used to prosecute the men," according to the Journal.

Bureaucrats Out of Control? Decorated Veterans Indicted for Nisoor Square Incident

2008-12-07T01:10:00.012-05:00

Decorated combat veterans - including an Eagle Scout - are among the five Blackwater security guards indicted for allegations against them for their actions while defending a US diplomat from an ambush at Nisoor Square in Baghdad.

The indicted men include three Marines, a former US Army soldier from the 82nd Airborne, and a former Army infantry soldier. During their military service, all had been decorated for good conduct and other achievements. They served in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq before joining Blackwater.

They are, according to the Associated Press and Washington Post:

Donald Ball, 26, of Utah. Corporal, US Marines, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 2001-2005; a squad team leader with two tours in Iraq. Honor graduate, School of Infantry, Camp Pendleton, California. Among his honors: Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his leadership while coming under sniper fire; Certificate of Commendation for his combat service in Fallujah; Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and others. The US Embassy in Baghdad praised him for heroically sticking with his mission and not losing focus in the midst "numerous improvised explosive devices and small arm attacks." Ball was an Eagle Scout.

Dustin Heard, 27, of Tennessee. Corporal, US Marines, Security Force Battalion, First Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Team, 2000-2003. Secured oil platforms off Iraqi coast during invasion in 2003. Member, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2003-2004. Deployed to Afghanistan. Among his honors: Received three certificates of appreciation from the US Embassy in Baghdad for securing the Embassy and the "Ministry of Parliament," and for protecting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Evan Liberty, 26, of New Hampshire. Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2001-2002; Marine Security Detachment, US Embassy Cairo, 2002-2003; Marine Security Detachment, US Embassy Guatemala, 2003-2004. Among his honors: Meritorious Mast, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, White House Communications Agency Certificate.

Nick Slatten, 25, of Tennessee. Sergeant, US Army 82nd Airborne, 2002-2006, served in Iraq; graduate of Army Sniper School, with two combat tours in Iraq. Among his honors: Army Good Conduct Medal.

Paul Slough, 29, of Texas. US Army 3rd Infantry Division, 1999-2002, with tour in Bosnia; Texas National Guard, 2/142 Infantry, 2002-2006, with tour in Iraq. Among his honors: Army Commendation Medal and Army Good Conduct Medal.

Indictment by 'Bureaucrats' to 'Second-Guess Split-Second Decisions Made by Honorable Men'

2008-12-07T00:30:00.001-05:00

Headlines too hot for the bureaucrats? That's what the federal government's indictment of five decorated military veterans looks like. The vets were guarding a US diplomat on contract for Blackwater last year when they got into a firefight at Nisoor Square in Baghdad.

Seventeen Iraqi civilians died, and it has not been established who killed them. Blackwater provided evidence that its armored vehicles had been hit by gunfire; one was disabled from hostile shots during the September 16, 2007 incident.

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior publicly accused the Blackwater men of murder, even though it presented no evidence. Most reporting and commentary is based on the ministry's unsubstantiated allegations.

The military veterans can't speak for themselves, so their defense lawyers are fighting back on their behalf.

"The indictment is an effort by bureaucrats in Washington to second-guess split-second decisions made by honorable men during a firefight in the most dangerous neighborhood in the world," says Tom Connolly, who represents Nick Slatten, a former sergeant in the Army's 82nd Airborne who served two combat tours in Iraq prior to working for Blackwater to protect US diplomats.

"Once the jury understands the events of Sept. 16, they are not going to do what the Department of Justice is doing - which is second-guessing honorable men in a firefight," Connolly adds in a Washington Post report. "Even if they have jurisdiction, we will prevail when we meet them on the facts."

The US Attorney's office and the Justice Department won't comment. A year ago, a former US Attorney said the government would have to "shoehorn the facts" in order to make a case against the men.

A lawyer for Dustin Heard, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan and Iraq prior to joining Blackwater, says the men committed no crime but "were defending themselves and their comrades who were . . . receiving fire from Iraqis they believed to be enemy insurgents."

The US is prosecuting the veterans as individuals. Blackwater is not a defendant in the case, but has been standing by its men. (In cases of clear wrongdoing Blackwater has not hesitated to hand over its personnel to federal authorities and to assist prosecutors.)

More 'Unusual' Spin from the Associated Press

2008-12-05T01:24:00.007-05:00

The Associated Press is a mixed bag in terms of the objectivity of its writers, so one always has to be careful when reading AP stories.

The latest cause for caution is headlined, "US Mulls Unusual Tactic as Charges Loom," by the AP's Matt Apuzzo (pictured) and Lara Jakes Jordan.

Apuzzo and Jordan breathlessly report that some people in the Justice Department are considering use of the "Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988" as an inspired flash of brilliance in a long-shot effort to convict Blackwater security guards involved in the September 2007 incident at Nisoor Square in Baghdad.

It's another non-story that AP axe-grinders crank out to blow more smoke about Blackwater, leading people to think there's now some kind of drug connection. There's nothing "unusual" about the 1998 law, incorporated into the federal statute called 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

That law makes it a crime to use any gun in connection with a "violent crime." Of course, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was a Reagan-era law designed to crack down on drug traffickers. Now, some in the Justice Department want to twist the intent of the law so they can go after Blackwater.

The law in question provides legal beagles of the world a whole a la carte smorgasbord of extra charges to heap on an accused person in order to try to scare them into making a plea.

Abusing 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) in order to scare people of forcing a plea is nothing "unusual."

If Apuzzo and Jordan at AP had looked at the Nazario case (the Marine accused of killing Iraqis) that they trotted out in their very own article, they would have promptly seen that the charge was used there.

In fact, they could have checked out just about any federal court case involving allegations of “violent crime” and they’d have found The Anti-Drug Abuse Act charge at work.

Want a statistical measure of how “new” and “unusual” is this count? Well, in 1990 it was used 4,000 times. In 2000 it was used 5,000 times.

If our intrepid mudslingers weren’t up to going down to the courthouse and digging through legal cases (usually they're content to let trial lawyers and political hacks feed them with dirt), even though they wanted to spout off about them, they could have found out how "unusual" is use of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) by going to Wikipedia. An entry there describes 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) as “a frequently used section of the federal criminal code.”

But we can't expect those two AP reporters to be careful or objective. Apuzzo admitted that he was a "D" student in college before he decided to become a journalist. And if AP stuck to professional journalism standards, it would never hire someone like Jordan to cover contentious political issues because her husband is a career Washington political operative.

AP's Jordan Is Wife of Partisan Political Operative

2008-12-05T00:29:00.005-05:00

When you read Associated Press stories, pay close attention to the byline. Some AP reporters are pretty objective and try to get things right, even if we might not like the message. Others from AP sound a lot like partisan political hacks.

Washington correspondent Lara Jakes Jordan is one of them. Her reporting uniformly undermines almost anything to do with fighting terrorism, and she's been sloppy (to be polite about it) in her reporting on Blackwater.

Small wonder: Her husband, Jim Jordan, is an accomplished partisan political operative. Jim ran Senator John Kerry's political operations for five years, serving as manager of Kerry's presidential campaign.

Veteran newsman Joseph Farah commented on Lara Jakes Jordan's partisan political connection a few years back. He said, "When I got started a quarter century ago, there was an old newsroom saying that went like this: 'I don't care if you sleep with elephants as long as you don't cover the circus.'

"Mrs. Jordan violated that old newsroom ethic. She abdicated her right to cover the circus because she was sleeping with an elephant – or, in this case, a donkey."

Jordan, he wrote, is a "politically motivated reporter with a big ax to grind. . . . The largest news-gathering organization in the world, the Associated Press, owes the American people an apology for continuing to assign Lara Jakes Jordan to politically sensitive stories."

Makes you wonder whether she's part of the trial lawyers' highly partisan effort to discredit the company. A PR firm in Washington, Levick Strategic Communications, brags that it has planted "thousands" of stories in the press for its clients - clients that included captured enemy combatants in Guantanamo. Trial lawyers hired Levick to trash Blackwater. Jordan has been out front covering both the Gitmo detainee issue and Blackwater. It would be interesting to go back and check if Jordan has served as a mouthpiece for Levick's paid propaganda.

German Tanking in Afghanistan Underscores Need for Outsourcing

2008-12-04T17:51:00.008-05:00

A German parliamentary report makes us wonder why NATO doesn't just outsource its Afghanistan police training program to people who show professionalism and accountability.

The report, which is stirring a controversy in Germany and worldwide, fuels criticisms that the Bundeswehr's 3,500-man presence in Afghanistan isn't as useful as it might be. Most German troops are stationed in the relatively quiet north, with a main job of helping the locals fight illegal narcotics production and trafficking.

US troops are forbidden to drink alcohol in Afghanistan, but NATO's contribution includes the delivery of 260,000 gallons of beer and 18,000 gallons of wine last year for the German military contingent.

A German military report says that 40 percent of its soldiers between ages 18 and 29 are overweight, and 10 percent are "clinically obese." About 70 percent are said to be heavy smokers.

German troops are not supposed to drink more than two cans of beer a day, and even then, not while on duty, according to the Defense Ministry.

One German lawmaker suggests that Berlin provide its military with "an alternative to beer drinking, such as sports and cultural activities."

We have a different idea. How about if the German military helps fight the Taliban and al Qaeda, or at least does its job of training the Afghan police to root out illegal drug production? On second thought, the Bundeswehr has already been given the chance and has blown it. Let's outsource the job to private companies.

Sellout in Iraq

2008-12-03T00:24:00.003-05:00

It looks like the State Department has sold out its private security details by caving into Iraqi demands that US contractors lose their protection from the country's corrupt legal system.

The US military and police veterans who make up the Blackwater security presence for American diplomats in Iraq face deadly dangers every day. The accompanying ABC News photo shows a terrorist bomb going off near where Blackwater was guarding a State Department official in Iraq. And now look at what the State Department negotiated with the Iraqi government:

"'Iraq shall have the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over United States contractors and United States contractor employees,' Article 12, paragraph 1 of the agreement states. In Article 12, paragraph 8, the agreement adds, 'Where Iraq exercises jurisdiction pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, members of the United States Forces and of the civilian component shall be entitled to due process standards and protections consistent with those available under United States and Iraqi law.'

"The agreement," says the Washington Times in an editorial, "provides no guidance on a number of critical questions: What happens when the United States and Iraq disagree over a due process standard? Could Iraq prosecute Americans for past 'crimes'? This last question is particularly important because the Iraqi government's insistence on ending legal immunity for American contractors results in large part from the September 2007 Blackwater incident, during which security guards who came under fire in downtown Baghdad killed 17 Iraqis in a firefight. The Iraqi government's hurried decision to blame Blackwater despite the weight of evidence that its guards were ambushed does not bode well for American contractors in Iraq who try to protect themselves against future attacks.

"Washington's failure to insist on retaining jurisdiction over U.S. contractors could prove very harmful over the next few years."

'My Husband was a Blackwater Hero'

2008-12-01T22:30:00.009-05:00

Art Laguna was the father of four and grandfather of six, a veteran of thirty years with the US Army and National Guard who served in Bosnia and three times in Iraq.

One of the most skilled helicopter pilots in the sky, he was decorated for valor for saving lives at home.

In January 2007, Art Laguna and his crew were killed while flying a mercy mission to save the life of an American diplomat pinned down by enemy fire in Iraq. The Department of Defense posthumously awarded him the Legion of Merit earlier this year - a decoration for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements."

Yet when many people hear his story, they don't think of him as a hero at all.

His widow, Marybeth, writes in the Washington Post that she's pretty angry about it. In her words:

My anger, however, doesn't come from the direction you might expect. I'm not angry at Art for the risks he took in life, or at the war that took that precious life. Instead, I too often find myself operating at a slow boil, sometimes exasperated and sometimes irate at those who never knew my husband or his colleagues, yet who insist on tarnishing their memories each day.

Because when Art died, he wasn't working for the military. He was working for Blackwater.

Art considered his job with the private security firm that protects US diplomats in Iraq a continuation of his service to this country. He told me that he believed in the job and respected the mission. But somehow, this one word - Blackwater - gets in the way of a lucid, reasoned discussion.

Art first went to work for Blackwater in August 2006 and was on his second deployment with the company when he was killed. When I tell people these facts, they rarely express appreciation for his services. Instead, most suggest that he was crazy to go back. I've had people repeat the ridiculous urban legend that Blackwater instituted martial law in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and ask me whether Art had been a part of that. At a recent social event, someone asked me whether Blackwater was the same company that 'goes around shooting people.' I've heard the news media and even elected officials casually throw around words such as 'cowboy' and 'mercenary' to describe men and women who voluntarily go into harm's way to protect others. Those caricatures are wrong. They might describe someone's antiwar agenda, but they don't describe my husband or his colleagues.

Marybeth Laguna says her husband wanted to use his military skills to serve his country again. That's why he joined Blackwater in Iraq, flying the company's famed "Little Bird" helicopters for the State Department's security detail. As she puts it,

My husband and his fellow contractors answered a call. Art didn't do it for the money. He wanted to contribute in any way possible so that his kids and grandkids could continue to enjoy the American dream. He wanted to test himself and give back to his country using the training he'd received throughout his life.

Just like soldiers, security contractors based in Iraq face daily threats to their lives. Rather than demonizing these men and women, we should be thanking them for the essential service they provide. Whether they are working for Blackwater or directly for the US military, they are all risking their lives to work for the United States. And they deserve our respect.

And our gratitude.

Solution Offered to Prevent Deaths in Armored Vehicles

2008-12-01T03:45:00.003-05:00

The military's new armored vehicles might save personnel from insurgent ambushes and terrorist attacks, but will the drivers be trained well enough to save the passengers from accidents?

Blackwater is concerned and is offering a solution. The company built itself as a training provider, and now that the military has opted not to buy its new line of armored vehicles, Blackwater is using the personnel carriers to train drivers about to be deployed.

"Thousands of the MRAP vehicles are being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their hard shell and design protect occupants; the trucks sit high on a raised chassis and have V-shaped bottoms to shield their underbellies. But they have one drawback: the MRAP vehicles aren't as agile as Humvees," the Virginian-Pilot reports.

"The military has warned troops to be careful behind the wheel after five deaths where connected to vehicle rollovers. The military has also logged dozens of other accidents.
'Overseas, a lot of traffic accidents are happening because the guys aren't used to the characteristics of the vehicles,'" says Jim Sierawski, Blackwater Vice President for Training.

Happy PSC Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T12:53:00.005-05:00

As we pause to mark Thanksgiving, let's remember not only to thank our Creator for all our blessings, but also to thank all the private security contractors for risking their lives to keep us safe.

Let's recall, too, that it was a private security contractor who made the first Thanksgiving possible. Captain Myles Standish, a retired British military officer, was the PSC who protected the Pilgrims on their trip to establish the Plymouth colony in the New World.

Standish was not a Puritan or religious refugee, but a private security contractor. Christopher Jones, the skipper co-owner of the Mayflower, as well as his crew, were also contractors. Under government charter, the privately capitalized Plymouth Company leased the Mayflower and contracted the services of the crew to take the Pilgrims to America.

Standish's job was to run security for the Pilgrims, to lead reconnaissance missions, build a fortress, train the civilian men of the colony and organize them into a militia, and defend the colony against potential attack - not only from any hostile Indians, but from other European powers, including the Dutch, French and Spanish. The Mayflower's cargo included firearms, edged weapons, body armor and artillery.

For about 60 years, the British colonies that became Massachusetts were protected by privately funded militias. The US Army National Guard traces its roots to these militias.

Last year, Serviam magazine ran some interesting articles about the history of PSCs in America, including one about Myles Standish and the first Thanksgiving. The bloggers at Blackwaterfacts.com borrowed Standish's name to honor his work that led to the first permanent English settlement in America and laid the groundwork for our country.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

US has Thrown DoD Contractors 'Under the Bus,' IPOA says

2008-11-24T09:37:00.005-05:00

The United States government has thrown its contractors in Iraq "under the bus" by caving into Iraqi demands that they be subject to the country's dysfunctional and corrupt judicial system.

That's what the main trade association of security contractors, the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), is saying about the new arrangement.

The main companies involved - Blackwater, Fluor Corp., KBR and DynCorp, wouldn't tell Bloomberg News what they think of the arrangement.

But IPOA President Doug Brooks says flat-out: "This agreement throws DoD contractors under the bus." And State Department contractors as well, one presumes.

Iraq's judicial and corrections systems are "way below" global standards, says Brooks.

According to Bloomberg, "The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status- of-forces accord that eliminates contractors' immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. While the agreement applies to U.S. military operations, the State Department told its contractors today that Iraq will make them subject to the same rules.

"The provision is part of an agreement that would govern U.S. military operations in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council resolution expires on Dec. 31. About 28,000 of the 163,500 people employed as Pentagon contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens," and about 1,000 or so reportedly work for Blackwater as personal security detail professionals.

The deal is likely to increase financial and political costs for the incoming Obama administration. "This is going to create costs for contractors because every contractor will need additional insurance coverage'' to protect against the risk of prosecutions, a Virginia lawyer who has represented US private security contractors in Iraq tells Bloomberg. "There's an increased likelihood of civil litigation costs for companies in the U.S. every time an investigation is opened in Iraq.'"

The Pentagon doesn't seem worried. "I would imagine that no matter what the legal protections are for contractors" serving in Iraq, Iraq "will remain a profitable enough business that you will see a number of contractors willing to do this," a Pentagon spokesman says.

That means that DoD will have to build untold millions of dollars a year into its contractor budgeting to cover the costs of defense against prosecution, and the huge costs of litigation and any payouts awarded by courts.

UN Allows Arming of Private Civilian Ships

2008-11-23T12:00:00.007-05:00

International law continues to allow for privately owned civilian ships to travel the seas armed. This is not a new development. Even the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea preserves that right.

Not that private companies must put themselves at the mercy of the United Nations, but still, it's significant that armed self-defense is still OK with the UN.

So private merchant vessels at risk of piracy aren't navigating undefended because of any international ban. Industry practice is to "avoid" traveling armed, according to a Washington Post op-ed, simply because that's been the policy of most companies. Satus quo.

Given the ineffectiveness of the world's navies in stopping piracy, and the over-stretched US Navy that advocates private sector initiatives, it looks like Blackwater is on the cutting edge again.

US Contractors Soon Subject to Iraqi 'Justice'

2008-11-21T11:50:00.006-05:00

Has the US sold out the private companies who make it possible for American civilian government operations in Iraq? It sure looks that way. But all the facts aren't out yet, and private security companies are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The US and Iraqi governments reportedly have reached an agreement that would protect uniformed American military personnel from Iraqi prosecution except for serious crimes committed while not on duty, an arrangement similar to what the US has done in other countries.

But the State Department appears to have shot itself in the foot, at best, by not ensuring the same protections for the private contractors who do the job the military can't or won't do. Private security providers like Blackwater won't be shielded from Iraq's corrupt and dysfunctional "justice" system, according to news reports.

If the reports are true, it's going to be even harder for Blackwater to defend American diplomats in Iraq - because in some of the most highly publicized incidents since early 2004, Blackwater guards fell under attack from Iraqi military and police personnel. Uniformed Iraqi personnel lured four Blackwater guards into a deadly ambush in Fallujah in March 2004. Iraqi police reportedly shot at Blackwater security guards as they defended a US diplomat in September 2007, resulting in the deaths of 17 people at Nisoor Square.

The State Department isn't even saying whether or not the arrangement is ex post facto; it's unclear whether the US will allow Iraq to try contractors for actions allegedly committed prior to when the pact becomes official. The arrangement is to become effective on January 1, 2009.

"It has not yet been publicly resolved how and where the Blackwater guards will be tried and senior officials said they did not know whether the new pact would apply retroactively," the International Herald Tribune reports.

"US officials have said that under the deal, US military personnel would retain immunity from Iraqi law except in cases of serious crimes committed off base.

"But the pact explicitly says US Defense Department contractors will lose immunity, said the senior US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said contractors for the State Department and other agencies are expected to be treated the same way."

66 Companies Contact Blackwater as US Navy Says Private Sector Must Fight Pirates

2008-11-20T14:03:00.003-05:00

At least 66 shipping and merchant companies have contacted Blackwater for help in protecting vessels from Islamist pirates off the coast of Somalia.

The US Navy says it's overburdened, and that private companies must ensure their own security. "The coalition does not have enough resources to provide 24-hour protection for the vast number of merchant vessels in the region," says the US Fifth Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney. "The shipping companies must take measures to defend their vessels and their crews."

Blackwater spokesman Anne Tyrell says that the company will offer seaborne and helicopter escort services but will not place private security guards aboard the tankers, freighters, and other ships. The firm's 180-foot helicopter carrier, McArthur (pictured), is reported to be in the area.

"Shipowners are irked by the suggestion they should be protecting themselves," the Toronto Globe and Mail reports. '[What] we are talking about is the fundamental obligation of nations to provide safe passage for world trade,' said Peter Hinchliffe, marine director for the London-based International Chamber of Shipping."

Waxman to Leave Committee Whose Powers He Abused

2008-11-20T11:54:00.005-05:00

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has upset the House seniority system to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee, a move that will require him to step down as chairman of the investigative committee whose powers he abused while helping his trial lawyer friends harass Blackwater.

Longtime loyal Waxman staffer Philip Schiliro (pictured at right) is moving up Pennsylvania Avenue, where President-Elect Barack Obama has named him chief of White House congressional relations. Schiliro is leaving as the ultra-partisan staff director of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, from which he ran the anti-Blackwater hearings in partnership with trial lawyers as they sued the company.

Within two weeks of trial lawyer Daniel Callahan writing to Waxman requesting partisan attacks on Blackwater, Schiliro told the Washington Post that he planned to focus the committee investigations on Iraq, contracting, and the response to Hurricane Katrina - coincidentally the exact issues that had generated controversy for Blackwater. The Post noted at the time that when run by the Republicans under the chairmanship of Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the Committee had a "relatively bipartisan tone." Schiliro turned it into an ultra-partisan attack machine.

Correcting Sloppy Journalism

2008-11-14T21:08:00.004-05:00

Blackwater issued a statement today to correct news reports that contain what the company says are misleading and even false allegations of improper or illegal export of weapons to Iraq.

By any journalistic standard, the reporting is sloppy. Culprits include: Press-TV of Iran; the normally reliable Warren Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers; the ever-defensive, cross-armed Brian Ross (pictured) and Jason Ryan of ABC News; a mixed bag of writers at the Associated Press, and Zachary Roth of TPM Muckraker.

The reports "cite only anonymous government sources, anonymous former employees, and former employees who fired by Blackwater for stealing weapons from the company," according to a Blackwater press release.

"While the company cannot comment on all of the inaccuracies because of its ongoing cooperation with investigators, there are some key factual errors to which it would like to respond," Blackwater says. "The following points address some of the more egregious errors contained in recent reporting:

Blackwater has never shipped an automatic weapon to Iraq. A recent report that Blackwater has "shipped hundreds of automatic weapons to Iraq without the necessary permits" and "some of the weapons are believed to have ended up on the country's black market" is false. Blackwater has never shipped so much as one automatic weapon to Iraq.

Blackwater held approved export licenses to ship more than the 798 total guns it shipped to Iraq. A recent media report claiming that '... the State Department found that Blackwater shipped 900 weapons to Iraq without the paperwork required by arms export control regulations,' could not be true because the total number of firearms Blackwater has shipped to Iraq is less than 900. Blackwater obtained export licenses in excess of the number of weapons actually sent to Iraq - and the U.S. government authorized the export of each of these weapons. The investigations referenced by the media do not allege that the company failed to obtain licenses or failed to ensure the government was aware of its actions; rather, the investigations concern Blackwater's not properly annotating the licenses, not timely submitting required reports, and not retaining required records.

While Blackwater does not ship them, the limited number of automatic weapons that are in Blackwater's custody in Iraq were all exported by the U.S. government or by the manufacturer under U.S. government license. They are all fully accounted for, regularly inventoried, and required to be turned in to the U.S. government at the end of the associated contracts.

Blackwater has never hidden anything inside a bag of dog food - not a gun, not a radio, nor anything else. A recent news story cited 'former employees' who claim that Blackwater hid weapons 'in large sacks of dog food.' This sensational claim is false. The company has, however, packed shipping pallets with valuable and pilferable items, including weapons, interior to [surrounded by] bags of dog food or other low-theft items. This common practice is done to prevent corrupt foreign customs agents and shipping workers from stealing the valuables. U.S. export statutes require licensing of controlled materials but do not dictate their placement within packaging.

Blackwater follows all rules governing the type of firearms that can be carried by contractors in Iraq, to include contractual provisions, those outlined by the U.S. government, and those outlined by Iraq's Ministry of Interior. A recent report claiming that the company illegally shipped 'assault weapons' that it is prohibited from using in Iraq is blatantly false. All firearms shipped to Iraq by Blackwater were given proper U.S. government licenses. The firearms owned by Blackwater in Iraq are limited to handguns and civilian-variant carbines. It does not own or possess any 'M-4 assault weapons' in Iraq. All firearms used for diplomatic protection are government-issued.

A story highlighting that an inspector 'discovered an unlicensed two-way radio hidden in a dog food sack' is both sensationalistic and false because the radio in question did not require a license and was never hidden inside a dog food sack. Blackwater applied for a license for the radio prior to shipment and obtained a written determination issued by the Commerce department that the radio did not require any license. Although the valuable and pilferable radio was packaged among other items - including dog food - in a 13-pallet shipment, it was not 'hidden in a dog food sack.' The commercial waybill and shipping invoice for the shipment both clearly reflected that the radio was in the shipment. We acknowledge that we have made numerous mistakes in complex and demanding area of export compliance over the years. However, the majority of those violations have been failures of paperwork and timeliness while supporting the United States and its allies, not nefarious smuggling or aid to enemies. This is in no way meant to diminish the seriousness of U.S. export control laws, but rather to clearly state: Blackwater has not committed any of the sensational violations that have been reported recently."

Founded to Save Lives

2008-11-11T11:54:00.004-05:00

Touring Blackwater's sprawling headquarters in North Carolina, Washington Times columnist John McCaslin captures the paradox between the company's image and the reality of its existence. He quotes from a Blackwater official:

"'Blackwater is defined in the press, and by extension the public, by two events that resulted in the loss of human life. The first, Fallujah, resulted in the loss of four Blackwater lives. The second, on 16 September 2007, resulted in the loss of 17 Iraqi lives.

"'The irony here is that it is a company that was founded and exists to save lives. Everything done is in the interest of safety: training troops to defend themselves; building armored personnel carriers to keep troops alive in battle; building airships for surveillance to detect the bad guys; teaching cops how to effectively and safely rescue a hostage; helping people in executive-protection roles avoid an ambush in a vehicle; building an aviation division capable of performing rescue missions in war zones and natural disasters. The list goes on.

"'My point is that the press quantifies the loss of life, but fails to account for the sparing of life because of Blackwater. In Katrina alone, 128 people were pulled to safety before a contract was ever awarded. In more than 20,000 diplomatic missions, no one protected by Blackwater has ever even been seriously injured.'"

(Pictured: Three American missionaries joyfully celebrate their Blackwater rescue from Islamist extremists in Kenya.)

Posturing Bureaucrats Might Undermine Obama

2008-11-10T01:45:00.008-05:00

Is there something to it, or is it just a case of bureaucrats posturing before an incoming new presidential administration? If it's bureaucratic posturing, it might inadvertently undermine President-Elect Barack Obama, whose aides say they won't rule out relying on Blackwater. After seeing Blackwater up-close in Afghanistan, Obama said he thinks the company is getting a "bad rap."

GovernmentExecutive.com is reporting that "the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which is responsible for export controls on some arms, is moving to hit [Blackwater] with what could be millions of dollars in fines," allegedly for shipping weapons to U.S. government-sanctioned police training facilities in Iraq and Jordan.

Apparently the paperwork wasn't in order. "Sources said the foul-up may have been unintentional but left the company unable to properly account for the weapons."

The State Department isn't talking for the record, though the company "has partly acknowledged" inquiries, according to the report.

"Ongoing reviews by the departments of Justice, State and Commerce have highlighted the need for a significant and systems-wide initiative," Blackwater General Counsel Andrew Howell said in an Oct. 9 statement. Citing problems with "export compliance," the firm that day announced a new export compliance committee and vice president of export compliance job.

Spokeswoman Anne Tyrell said Blackwater has "not been informed of an intent to impose a fine," but noted the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls' "resolution of export matters with other significant defense contractors" usually results in fines. "The potential fine depends on the regulatory scheme at issue and the facts of the case," she said.

The company set up an export control panel last month.

Officials would be wise not to read too deeply into many Democrats' longstanding criticisms of the company. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) say they're OK with Blackwater competing for federal contracts, as long as there's sufficient oversight and accountability. President-Elect Barack Obama has similarly tempered his criticism. Even so, a top Obama aide said earlier this year that the senator would not rule out continuing to retain Blackwater's services. And last July, when he saw Blackwater security professionals up-close during his trip to Afghanistan, Obama admitted that the company was getting unfairly treated.

"Blackwater is getting a bad rap," Obama said. (The photo, on Obama's website, shows the presidential candidate with troops and security during the July trip to Afghanistan.)

Crippling Blackwater with unreasonable fines just might end up hamstringing the new president at a time when he will need everything the company can offer.

Army Opts for Traditional JLTV Suppliers

2008-11-05T13:19:00.006-05:00

The US Army has opted to go with traditional suppliers and not buy the Raytheon-Blackwater Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV).

The decision has prompted the company to lay off manufacturing workers and shutter its truck-building division. "We have stopped building all trucks," says spokesman Anne Tyrrell.

Blackwater's business model had promised a very flexible production process for the military.

"Blackwater is situated to do rapid prototyping and low rate production," according to a review of the JLTV in Tactical-Life.com. "The manufacturing facility is co-located with both an on-road and off-road test track. Their explosive and ballistic test ranges are a few hundred yards from manufacturing facilities. Locating their production facility in the middle of a 'tactical laboratory,' shortens the feedback cycle during the test and evaluation phase. Blackwater can build a prototype in the morning, and test it 10 times in the afternoon.

"The Raytheon/Blackwater vehicle has undergone extensive performance testing. The Raytheon/Blackwater JLTV has all the protection of Blackwater’s MRAP II vehicle, but features superior mobility than a Humvee. In designing their vehicle, Blackwater collaborated with a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing team, a champion Rock Racing Team and a Monster Truck Team. The challenge is finding a way to get championship performance out of commercially-available components. Blackwater and Raytheon have succeeded in doing that by tapping the experience of seasoned, experienced racing professionals. As the only truck manufacturing company who actually has its own people in the field, Blackwater has a unique insight into the tactical requirements."

How the Global Stability Industry Fits Together

2008-11-02T15:08:00.004-05:00

Here's an interesting take on the "global stability industry" - the sector of government agencies, private companies, non-profit charities and non-governmental organizations that is increasingly coming together to solve world problems.

It's published in the current issue of Serviam, a magazine for and about those working in "global stability operations."

In an "industry overview," the magazine lists its portrayal of the global stability industry. The list is impressive, and no doubt some groups won't necessarily agree that they should be on it. Even so, it's an interesting cross-section of companies and groups: economic, engineering, government consulting, computers, information services, public health and development, education, logisitics, infrastructure management, and military and law enforcement, and security operations.

Everybody is in here, from Blackwater and other security and logistics companies, to Project Hope and Save the Children. I'm sure not every group listed will agree that it's part of the sector, but the listing is the best illustration yet of the broad spectrum of how private security companies are crucial to building peace and promoting development in at-risk or war-torn countries.

Trial Lawyer Still Hiding from Media

2008-10-29T11:07:00.003-04:00

The trial lawyer who took advantage of grieving Blackwater families and tried to profit from the terrorists who murdered four contractors is still hiding from the media.

More than a week after a federal court effectively threw out his case against Blackwater, California trial lawyer Daniel Callahan has avoided making any press appearances.

Callahan devised a high-profile psychological campaign to discredit Blackwater, exploit the families of four Blackwater contractors murdered in Fallujah in 2004, and make millions from his made-for-media lawsuit. He's the source of phony allegations that Rep. Henry Waxman made against the company - allegations repeated without substantiation in the media. But since the federal court told the plaintiffs to abide by the terms of Blackwater's own contract, Callahan has been strangely silent.

Profile in courage.

US Navy Encourages Private Security Companies to Protect Ships from Piracy

2008-10-28T10:50:00.006-04:00

The United States Navy has praised the rise of private security companies to protect private shipping from pirates as a "great trend."

Media commentators have been generally skeptical of Blackwater's dispatch of its 183-foot ship, the McArthur, to the Gulf of Aden to provide security for private ships that the United Nations and the world's navies are leaving vulnerable to Islamist criminal gangs.

However, a US Navy spokesman has praised the move and encourages more private security companies to follow Blackwater's example. British security companies are already active in protecting ships, but Blackwater plans to provide McArthur, which can carry two special operations helicopters complete with doorgunners, to escort civilian ships that the UN and government navies can't or won't protect.

"This is a great trend," a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet tells the Associated Press. "We would encourage shipping companies to take proactive measures to help ensure their own safety."

Insurance companies also like the idea. "Pirate attacks have driven up insurance premiums tenfold for ships plying the Gulf of Aden, increasing the cost of cargos that include a fifth of the world's oil. But some insurers will slash charges by up to 40 percent if boats hire their own security," according to AP.

A senior official of Somalia, off whose coast much of the piracy is taking place, says private security companies are welcome in Somali waters. Somalia's 1,800-mile coastline is difficult to avoid for ships traversing the Suez Canal.

Loser In Fallujah Suit Is Hiding from Press

2008-10-21T12:06:00.006-04:00

California trial lawyer Daniel Callahan was never shy about talking to the press during his effort to profit financially from the deaths of four American military veterans in Iraq.

But now that a federal appeals court has effectively thrown out his suit against Blackwater, Callahan suddenly isn't talking.

The Virginian-Pilot, which serves the area near Blackwater Worldwide's headquarters and has been one of the main newspapers to break stories about the company, tried to get comments from both sides of the case for its October 21 story about the court decision.

Only Blackwater spokesman Anne Tyrrell would talk to the newspaper. According to Virginian-Pilot reporter Louis Hansen, the trial lawyers "did not respond to requests for comment."

Three Federal Judges Throw Out Fallujah Lawsuit

2008-10-21T11:52:00.003-04:00

A panel of three federal judges has effectively thrown out the highly publicized lawsuit against Blackwater in relation to the ambush of four of its security contractors in 2004. The federal appeals court judges have ruled that Blackwater's contract that each of the men signed - requiring any disputes to be resolved in confidential arbitration and not in court - is valid and must be observed.

The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, which serves the area near Blackwater Worldwide's headquarters, has the story. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond dismissed the petition filed by trial lawyer Daniel Callahan on behalf of shell companies that another trial lawyer set up in the names of the estates of the deceased.

Callahan planned to make millions of dollars profiting from the insurgents who murdered the four American military veterans, mutilated their bodies, and hung two of the bodies from a bridge in Fallujah, Iraq, in March, 2004.

Blackwater spokesman Anne Tyrrell says that the federal appeals court has vindicated the company, and upheld the firm's contracts. "The federal courts have now honored those written agreements," Tyrrell says in the article.

Report: War Profiteer Defeated in Federal Court

2008-10-20T12:25:00.011-04:00

We're hearing out of the US Federal Court of the Fourth Circuit in Richmond that a federal judge has rejected the trial lawyers' suit against Blackwater for the terrorist ambush in Fallujah, and has told the parties to settle their differences out of court.

This is a huge blow for ambulance chasing trial lawyer Dan Callahan (pictured), who had shell companies set up in North Carolina in the names of four deceased Blackwater contractors whom Islamist insurgents ambushed, murdered and mutilated in 2004. Via the shell companies, which he represented as "estates," Callahan was hoping to pocket many millions of dollars by taking advantage of the terrorists' attack on the Blackwater men. He persuaded several grieving members of the deceased men's families to go along, blaming Blackwater instead of the terrorists for the deaths, and holding out the prospect of lots of money from a court decision.

The trial lawyer is going to have to settle for a lot less now - if anything at all - after spending millions of dollars in venture capital in hopes of profiting from the atrocities.

It's also a big blow to Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Cal.), who opened up his "investigation" of Blackwater at Callahan's request, had Callahan's anti-Blackwater clients testify before Congress as expert witnesses, and followed the trial lawyer's script in holding the hearings and leaking confidential documents to the media.

Of course, this blogger's opinion that Dan Callahan is a sleaze is, indeed, an opinion, and is therefore protected speech. I'll be sure to post links to legal documents and news reports as soon as they're online.

Megastar Toby Keith, in Blackwater Shirt, Entertains the Troops in Iraq

2008-10-18T00:49:00.012-04:00

Megastar country singer Toby Keith, famous for his "American Soldier" song (among other huge hits), toured Iraq a while ago with the United Services Organization (USO) to entertain the troops. In a Memorial Day, 2006 performance in Fallujah with the Marines, the country superstar wore a Blackwater shirt.

I just discovered these videos on YouTube. Toby Keith does troop tours every Memorial Day. In the clip above, he is in Fallujah singing the "Taliban Song." Below are three more clips. The first is the "Camp Fallujah 2-Minute Report," produced by the Marines for the deployed military. Keith is shown with General Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and with ordinary Marines during his performance.

"The Camp Fallujah 2-Minute Report," March 29, 2006.

In the next video, Keith appears in the same Fallujah performance singing "American Soldier" (this is a really great video, with all the troops singing along). The bottom clip is from a sing-along with the troops in Baghdad.

Don't be disappointed by the homemade quality of most of the videos. Keith and his crew visited the troops with the barest amount of gear, and the videos were made by American soldiers with their own cameras and laptops. Nevertheless, the performances are inspiring.

Above: Singing "American Soldier" in Fallujah. Great performance!

Sing-along in Baghdad.

Finally: A Solution to the Somali Pirate Problem

2008-10-17T11:52:00.004-04:00

Governments around the world dither once again about what to do about unconventional threats, and once again, a private company offers a solution.

More than 70 ships have been attacked off the Somalian coast so far in 2008, with 11 ships and 200 crew still being held for ransom as of yesterday.

"The dramatic increase of pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden has led to parallel cost increases for the shipping industry," Blackwater says in an October 16 statement.

"Shipping insurance rates have risen tenfold this year alone. With the added danger pay offered to crews willing to make the journey, pirate ransom demands that reach into the millions, and lengthy negotiations for hijacked ships, if left unaddressed the cost of the piracy boom to the shipping industry - and consumers buying their goods - will only increase."

"We have been contacted by ship owners who say they need our help in making sure those goods get to their destination safely," Blackwater Executive Vice President Bill Matthews says.

Blackwater says it's making its 183-foot ship, the McArthur (pictured), available to assist the shipping industry fight piracy. While some shippers arm their crews or hire private security to ride aboard their vessels, they can hire the McArthur "to accompany a ship and deploy helicopters to patrol the area" as "a safer option for the shipping industry."

The McArthur has a helicopter landing deck and a large helo fuel capacity; Blackwater's aviation affiliate can supply the helicopters, pilots and maintenance required to support escort missions.

Blackwater Aids Local Sheriff in Manhunt

2008-10-15T14:15:00.007-04:00

In search of a suspect who shot a man, a North Carolina county sheriff called Blackwater for help.

When a Camden County, NC, deputy found a 45 year-old man bleeding from a gunshot wound, he called authorities in two other jurisdictions for assistance. Then the sheriff's office called Blackwater, whose training headquarters is nearby, and asked for the company to fly in a helicopter.

Blackwater immediately sent up a copter to aid in the manhunt. The area is largely rural farm, wood and swampland. A local TV station carries the report. The story is unfolding as I write this post.

Notably a regional newspaper that serves Blackwater's readership area - and has been noted for its sharp editorial opposition to the company - did not mention the company's involvement in the online edition of its news reporting.

If things went according to how I understand the company, Blackwater probably flew the mission as a public service, at its own expense, and under the guidance of the local authorities.

(The photo is of a Bell 412 helicopter that is similar to the one likely used by Blackwater to help the local police.)

Blackwater Announces Advanced Export Compliance Initiative

2008-10-09T11:39:00.004-04:00

Given the highly complicated and often contradictory federal laws and regulations concerning the export of military and security-related goods and know-how, Blackwater announces what it calls "a comprehensive initiative to enhance export compliance throughout its global operations."

According to a release distributed by the Earth Times, Blackwater says, "The initiative, under development for several months, includes the creation of an independent committee of experienced outside experts to oversee export compliance and the addition of a Vice President of Export Compliance.

"These efforts are supported by a global training initiative, proposed enhanced business controls and an increased compliance staff.

"'US export controls are a key part of our country's national securityand foreign policy. Blackwater, a partner with the US Government in many important programs, has an obligation to also be a partner in compliance,' said Erik Prince, Blackwater Founder and CEO. 'Our company has experienced remarkable growth in the last few years. This growth, our work for the US Government around the world, and the nature of the services we offer have created compliance challenges. The comprehensive initiative announced today is our direct response to those challenges and our recognition of the importance of these controls.'"

The independent panel, called the Export Compliance Committee, represents a cross section of talent and expertise. Committee members, who have full and independent authority of Blackwater's export control matters, are:

Robert C. Bonner. Former US Attorney, US District Court Judge, Commissioner of US Customs, the first Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, and Administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);

Asa Hutchinson (pictured). Former US Attorney, Administrator of the DEA, US Congressman from Arkansas; and the first Under Secretary of Homeland Security;

Carol R. Marshall. Former Vice President of Ethics and Business Conduct at Lockheed Martin, Senior Vice President for Ethics and Business Conduct at MCI, Chair of the Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program, and Chair and Working Group Liaison to the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics.

Blackwater's new Vice President of Export Compliance is Karen Jones, most recently the Director of Import-Export Operations for Raytheon Missile Systems Division. "Ms. Jones is an accomplished trade compliance professional with a deep resume. She is an expert in integrating export licensing, compliance and a culture oftransparency into complex global operations. We look forward to hercontribution in making Blackwater's compliance system the standard of the industry," said Prince.

The company has also strengthened and expanded its existing compliance programs and developed an online compliance training program for employees and independent contractors.

Commentators Heap Abuse on Brian Ross and His Silly ABC News Report

2008-10-08T13:53:00.011-04:00

Online commentators are heaping ABC News with abuse for Brian Ross's breathless report that the Army discovered a carbine in the hands or Iraqi insurgents and returned it to Blackwater.

Supporters of Blackwater and of winning the Iraq war should always take advantage of the public comment sections on Big Media websites. Some of the Ross commentators appear to be private contractor vets who have served in Iraq.

Though editors and reporters will seldom admit it, public comments - responsibly written, with solid facts and thoughtful analysis - often provide accountability and provoke biased or careless journalists to think twice.

So keep up the good work! Here's the direct link to the Ross report and the comments, so you can add more thoughts: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/comments?type=story&id=5931528.

No wonder Ross likes to pose so often for pictures with his arms crossed defensively over his chest. His body language shows that, deep inside, he knows he's not the great journalist he pretends to be. See post below.

ABC's Ross: His Body Language Tells the Story

2008-10-08T13:51:00.003-04:00

Brian Ross is a big man in the big media, but does he really believe he's as hot as he wants people to think? Allan and Barbara Pease, in The Definitive Book of Body Language (Bantam, 2004), offer some insights about why the machine gun man from ABC always crosses his arms over his chest:

"Hiding behind a barrier is a normal response we learn at an early age to protect ourselves. As children, we hid behind solid objects such as tables, chairs, furniture, and mother's skirt . . . . As we grew older, this hiding behavior became more sophisticated and by the age of six, when it was unacceptable behavior to hide behind solid objects, we learned to fold our arms tightly across our chests whenever a threatening situation arose . . . .

"By folding one or both arms across the chest, a barrier is formed that is an unconscious attempt to block out what we perceive as a threat or undesirable circumstances. . . . when a person has a nervous, negative, or defensive attitude, it's very likely he will fold his arms firmly on his chest, showing that he feels threatened. . . .

"When you fold your arms your credibility dramatically reduces."

"Crossed-Arms-on-Chest is universal and is decoded with the same defensive or negative meaning almost everywhere. It is comonly seen . . . anywhere that people feel uncertain or insecure." (pp. 90-93)

Army Returned Blackwater's Missing M-4; ABC's Brian Ross Sensationalizes It

2008-10-02T12:28:00.016-04:00

The US Army returned a missing M-4 Bushmaster military carbine to Blackwater after discovering the weapon during a raid on Iraqi insurgents, ABC News reports. The Army apparently doesn't consider the issue a big deal. Soldiers said the weapon was found in "surprisingly good condition," which indicates that the insurgents didn't use it much if at all.

ABC's Brian Ross (pictured in his typically defensive, arms-across-the-chest pose) reports, "Criminal investigators for the US Army turned the weapon over to Blackwater. A spokesman for the Army CID [Criminal Investigative Division] said no further investigation was conducted as to whether the weapon had been stolen or sold on the black market by someone with access to the Blackwater facility."

Ross withholds that piece of news until the 14th paragraph of the 15-paragraph story, stuffing parts of the middle with re-hashed allegations that reflect negatively on the company.

The incident reportedly occurred in 2006.

As is the case in almost any war, the enemy in Iraq often uses captured or stolen American weaponry. The insurgents have stolen, pilfered or captured US arms and weapons the US provided to the Iraqi military and law enforcement. Blackwater turned over two employees to federal authorities after suspecting them of stealing and illegally shipping weapons in the company's custody to factions in Iraq.

The company says that it has reported every known case of weapons theft to the authorities, but did not know about this particular incident. ABC cites documents that reinforce Blackwater's claim that it didn't know the weapon was missing from its inventory.

The ABC report reeks of sensationalism. Ross breathlessly says the incident was "kept secret" until now, and ominously that it "raises more questions" about the company's operations in Iraq, which by all accounts have had a 100 percent success rate in protecting American diplomats, aid workers, officials, visiting congressmen, and even journalists.

Ross repeatedly refers to the M-4 as a "machine gun." While definitions and interpretations differ, with some (mainly civilians) referring to any firearm capable of fully automatic fire as a "machine gun," most military definitions consider machine guns as full-auto firearms that require external support, like a swivel or bipod, and thus the M-4 is not in that category. Generally the media refers to selective-fire military-style carbines like the M-4 as "assault rifles." ABC apparently chose the term "machine gun" to sensationalize the story and "raise further questions" about the company.

After recycling old and negative reports about the company, Ross finally tells readers in the second-to-last paragraph that news the Army doesn't really think that the missing weapon was a very big deal, because criminal investigators returned the M-4 to Blackwater.

In the last paragraph, Ross properly describes the weapon, showing that all the reporter and editors had to do was Google "Bushmaster" to get an official description: "The Bushmaster, according to the company's website, is one of the 'world's most popular military and law enforcement carbine models.' It is outfitted with a flash suppressor and, in military models, can fire three round bursts or fully automatic." The term "machine gun" appears nowhere on the Bushmaster M-4 page or in any official manufacturer description of the firearm. But it sure sounds more exciting.

Amnesty International: Truth or Propaganda?

2008-09-28T15:54:00.006-04:00

Is Amnesty International still interested in the truth about human rights, or has it become so politicized that we can safely ignore it?

It's a legitimate question, because Amnesty has subverted itself by jumping to conclusions formed by others with a political agenda, rather than getting to the truth. Amnesty used to be at the cutting edge. Now it's out of date, the tail of the dog, fat and lazy and politicized.

As we see in the entry below, Amnesty has been so out of touch on the Blackwater/Nisoor Square controversy that it didn't even know that the federal government is readying to prosecute guards for the September 16, 2007 incident.

Further into Amnesty's Nisoor anniversary "report," we find that the foundation really wants to put Blackwater out of business - an agenda set by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) and moonbat writer Jeremy Scahill of The Nation.

Here's what Amnesty says in its "report": "Amnesty International USA has demanded that the State Department suspend contracts with contractors like Blackwater until it is clear that proper vetting mechanisms are in place to prevent further abuses."

Does Amnesty even know what the vetting mechanisms are? It gives no indication (they are amply documented among the more than 350 entries on this blog).

Waxman and Scahill can't seem to get much support from among fellow Blackwater critics. Scahill pointedly asked Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) if they would endorse pulling Blackwater's contracts, and both said no. Both said Blackwater should compete for contracts. Even Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has privately said, as US News and World Report revealed, that he thinks Blackwater is "getting a bad rap."

But in Amnesty's case, it shouldn't matter what the politicians say. The organization made a good name for itself by sticking to facts and not jumping to politicized conclusions. That was the old Amnesty International. The new Amnesty isn't worth listening to any more.

(Graphic courtesy of thedissidentfrogman.com)

Spinning Headlines or Just Plain Ignorant?

2008-09-28T15:31:00.007-04:00

Amnesty International used to have a great reputation as a champion of prisoners of conscience and human rights in general, but in recent years it's good name for objectivity and principle has become a bit tarnished.

Take this pompous headine from its "report" marking the one-year anniversary of the shootout at Nisoor Square in Iraq: "On Anniversary of Civilian Shootings by Blackwater in Iraq, Amnesty International Calls on US Government to Hold Military Contractors Accountable."

All well and good, but where has Amnesty been over the past year? The headline shows the group is way, way behind the curve, out of touch with the facts, and reduced to a Scahillian poodle nipping and yapping to make itself relevant in the media.

That's too bad, because Amnesty could be adding a lot to the debate on private military and security contractors, and to accountability in general.

Let's pick apart Amnesty's September 22 release and get to the facts:

Amnesty: "Amnesty International today condemned the US government for failing to hold anyone accountable for the deaths."

Fact: The US government has been working hard to hold people accountable for the deaths. As Blackwaterfacts reported on August 18 - a month before Amnesty's statement - the Justice Department sent "target letters" to six Blackwater guards, the first public indication that individuals have been targeted for prosecution. Like it or not, American justice is slow and deliberate. It can't be speeded up to coincide with anniversaries.

Amnesty: "'The U.S. government has failed to ensure legal accountability for widespread abuses by civilian contractors,' said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. 'Iraqi and U.S. investigations have determined that this assault was an unjustifiable use of force against civilians. And yet, a year later, we are still waiting for justice in this case. Robust protections must be in place to guarantee that personnel are held accountable for indiscriminate shootings and killings of civilians.'"

Fact: Cox is mistaken; the accountability measures are in place, as this blog reported last November. Congress has modernized its laws and the administration has tightened its procedures. Amnesty International seems not to realize that Blackwater CEO Erik Prince personally asked Congress for tightened accountability in his testimony before the Waxman Committee on October 2, 2007.

Finally, Amnesty quotes Congressman David Price (D-NC) about the need to expand the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA).

Again, Amnesty is way behind. Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince publicly called for accountability under MEJA. The Blackwater chief endorsed Congressman Price's call for other types of expanded accountability nearly a year ago during the Waxman hearings. The House, with full bipartisan support, overwhelmingly passed the Blackwater-approved legislation a few days later.

The timeline shows that Blackwater has been further out-front on the accountability issue than has Amnesty International.

Biden: Come Back to Where Blackwater Rescued Me

2008-09-22T22:48:00.009-04:00

In dramatizing his February 2008 trip to Afghanistan "where my helicopter was forced down," Senator Joe Biden omits an important fact: His rescuers were the private security men of Blackwater Worldwide.

"If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives, you want to know where Bin Laden is, come back to Afghanistan with me," said Biden in a taunt against Senator John McCain and supporters of winning the war in Iraq. "Come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down, with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are."

But, Senator, can you tell us who rescued you? We can.

Biden huffed that he would ask his Republican counterpart, Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, about "the superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down." He made it seem like terrorists forced down his aircraft.

Actually, it was a snowstorm that prompted the forced landing. That's what Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who accompanied Biden and Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) on the aborted helicopter flight, told the Associated Press at the time.

ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper clarifies the issue. But his Googling of the incident didn't reveal that Blackwater contractors serving their country in a hostile location were the ones who rescued the senators and a three-star general.

If Biden asks Palin about "where my helicopter was forced down," Palin should ask Biden in return to praise Blackwater for saving him and taking him to Bagram Air Base.

Last February, Senator Kerry didn't try to make it look like enemy fire forced down the helicopter. "The weather closed in on us," he told the AP from safe refuge in Turkey. "It went pretty blind, pretty fast and we were around some pretty dangerous ridges. So the pilot exercised his judgment that we were better off putting down there, and we all agreed. . . We sat up there and traded stories."

Tapper adds that Kerry joked, "We were going to send Biden out to fight the Taliban with snowballs, but we didn't have to do it … Other than getting a little cold, it was fine."

Blackwater Is NOT a Subject of Criminal Probe of Nisoor Shootout

2008-09-18T10:58:00.010-04:00

Blackwater Worldwide is not a subject of federal criminal investigation relating to the September 2007 Nisoor Square shootout in Iraq.

The Associated Press reports that only three Blackwater guards are under investigation, and questions loom about whether they government can even prosecute them because Congress failed to modernize federal law. The company itself is not under investigation, according to AP.

(Pictured: Nisoor Square, Baghdad)

Federal Prosecutions of Security Men Likely to Fail, AP Reports

2008-09-18T10:58:00.004-04:00

A federal prosecution of the Blackwater guards reportedly involved in the 2007 Nisoor Square shootout is likely to fail, the company tells the US Justice Department.

Of the dozens of Blackwater personnel involved in the security detail to protect a US diplomat at the time of the incident. Only three are likely to be charged, if any charges are brought forth at all, AP reports.

A federal grand jury has been investigating the incident. Critics have been howling for short-circuiting the justice process, demanding immediate prosecutions before the facts can be established.

"Prosecutors agreed to take Blackwater's argument into consideration but did not indicate whether they would continue to pursue charges or drop the case. The company itself is not a target of the investigation and has pledged to cooperate with the probe," according to AP.
"Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd declined to comment."

"Meanwhile, the government's investigation has hit several legal snags — chief among them promises of limited immunity to the guards."

Socialist Workers Party Involved with Anti-Blackwater Protests

2008-09-17T08:58:00.002-04:00

The Socialist Workers Party is one of the groups promoting anti-Blackwater protests from coast to coast, exploiting the September 16 Nisoor Square shootout to make its political point.

The protests attracted few participants.

Congressman Bob Filner (D-Cal.), whose anti-Blackwater activism was discredited by his assault and battery of a woman last year - he copped a plea to avoid trial - participated in the protest via telephone, according to SocialistWorker.org.

'Pentagon's New Map' Author Welcomes Global Stability Industry

2008-09-15T13:06:00.005-04:00

Thomas P. M. Barnett, author of The Pentagon's New Map and other future-oriented books, says the "global stability industry" is a new and positive phenomenon resulting from globalization.

Mentioning Blackwater in a syndicated column for the Scripps Howard news service, Barnett cites what he considers two bright spots: the launch of a new global stability magazine called Serviam, and the new US Army field manual on stability operations.

"Globalization sweeps this planet with a speed that stuns its most advanced member states and swamps its weakest. As these penetrating networks reformat traditional societies, a certain amount of social instability inevitably ensues among the least resilient. That's inherent to any frontier-integrating age, and we're experiencing one on an unprecedented global scale right now," Barnett writes.

"America is hardly in charge of this process, as most of globalization is now fueled by rising Asia. But as the world's sole military superpower, we naturally feel responsibility even when we're strategically tied-down elsewhere - e.g., Iraq and Afghanistan. Where gaps in coverage inevitably emerge, look for the global stability industry to step in. The cynical option is to 'let 'em burn.'" But an optimist, he argues, would look toward private providers of "sovereignty services" to those troubled lands.

"It definitely beats the alternative, on display right now in starving Haiti, where relief food supplies from the international community often sit on harbor docks - undistributed - while poor locals survive by eating cakes of mud," he says.

Hence the need for a magazine like Serviam: "Those industry non-stories must be told as well."

The second positive example Barnett encountered was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he received a briefing on "a new Army field manual on stability operations. Why this matters: Army field manuals are the authoritative how-to guides for future operations. The newest versions clearly reflect the build-up of operational experience in this long war against radical extremism.
When the Army's capstone field manual was revised earlier this year, it declared that stability operations should now be given the same priority as the kinetics - conventional combat operations. That was an unprecedented shift in response to the failures we experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan. . . .

"What the new field manual on stability ops does . . . is pick up that operational thread at the end of conflict and extend it through a long-term, stable peace. In short, it's what comes next.
America's defense community continues to adapt itself in this long war, with all roads leading to a far more developed capacity to conduct stability operations. As we proceed down this pathway, America can use all the bright minds and intelligent voices - both inside and outside of government - which it can muster.

Key Support for Blackwater In Senate

2008-09-12T20:41:00.005-04:00

Sources: Obama quote reported in July 25, 2008 US News & World Report: Webb and Kerry quotes elicited and made possible by Jeremy Scahill, DemocracyNow! website.

Senator Kerry Says He's OK with Blackwater

2008-09-11T16:29:00.005-04:00

Senator John Kerry has joined Senator Jim Webb in rebuffing calls for the US to ban Blackwater. Like Webb, Kerry is a sharp critic of Blackwater - but says that the company should be allowed to compete for contracts.

Kerry's comment further isolates House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, who is the only senior member of Congress to say he wants to force Blackwater out of the government contracting business.

The Massachusetts senator indicates he has no problem with Blackwater's security services in Iraq, as long as the company operates under the same rules as everyone else.

Anti-Blackwater gadfly Jeremy Scahill posed questions to congressmen and senators at the Democratic National Convention to elicit comments against the firm. Here's the transcript as copied from the DemocracyNow! website:

JEREMY SCAHILL: Senator Kerry, should Blackwater be banned? Senator Kerry, you’ve been aggressive on Blackwater recently. Do you think they should be banned?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: I’m not having a press conference right now. I’ve got to get to an airport, because I have to go to a funeral.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Just answer the one question. I know you know about this.
SEN. JOHN KERRY: I need to—I need—I’m not doing this right know. That’s all.
JEREMY SCAHILL: It’s a simple yes or no. Do you think they should be banned—Blackwater, the mercenary company—from operating in Iraq?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: No, I don’t think they should be banned. I think they need to operate under rules that apply to the military and everybody else.
JEREMY SCAHILL: But it’s OK if Senator Obama continues to use them, if he wins the presidency?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: You guys, I’m not—this is not the moment.

Nisoor Redux Buried In News Reporting

2008-09-10T10:07:00.006-04:00

"How can we blame Blackwater and the American soldiers for killing Iraqis in cold blood when today [Iraqi government] guards killed a woman and injured others for no reason but to have the street clear for them?"

That is the anguished question of a Baghdad soda peddler who witnesed the shootings by government guards for the Iraqi Minister for Displacement and Migration.

"First, they killed a woman who was trying to cross the intersection," an Iraqi police officer said. "After that they opened fire on the traffic policeman who was doing his job. They shot him twice and he was injured. He fell down on the street. Then they left the cars and were walking with machine guns and pistols in their hands."

The incident recalls the international outrage nearly a year ago after Blackwater guards defended a diplomatic convoy that came under attack on Nisoor Square, resulting in the deaths of 17 civilians. That incident is under US criminal investigation, with indictments expected.

Media coverage, however, is much different. The Nisoor Square shootout made international headlines. The latest incident is buried at the bottom of a McClatchy news service story about Iraqi natural gas.

CBO Fingers Waxman As Source of False Information

2008-09-09T12:23:00.008-04:00

Congressman Henry Waxman's office is the source of the false information about how much Blackwater security contractors in Iraq are paid. That's not simply this blogger's view - it's a statement in a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on private contractors in Iraq. The Senate Budget Committee commissioned the report.

During October 2, 2007 hearings, the staff of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Waxman prepared a memorandum to committee members, stating that Blackwater security personnel in Iraq were costing $455,000 per person per year, "over six times more than the cost of an equivalent US soldier." Blackwater CEO Erik Prince sharply disputed the figure, which several congressmen - including and especially Waxman - repeated during the hearing and in subsequent interviews with the media.

Waxman made the statements as part of a favor he did for a trial lawyer who stands to make millions by discrediting and suing Blackwater. The liberal website ProPublica.org says Waxman's strategy is to discredit the company to "make it ineligible for future federal contracts."

The New York Times, Washington Post and other news outlets uncritically repeated the misleading figures, adding to the falsehood by stating that the figure was what the individual contractors were being paid. This blog reported on the falsehood on the day of the hearing. nearly a year ago.

The CBO report, issued last month, points directly to the source of the falsehood. In footnote 22 of page 14 of the report, the CBO said that the critics' "figures appear to come from a memorandum to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Additional Information About Blackwater USA (October 1, 2007), http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf."

"Those figures, however, are not appropriate for comparing the cost-effectiveness of contracting the security function or performing it using military personnel," according to the CBO. The $455,000 a year figure comes from a daily billing rate of $1,222 a day. "The figure of $1,222 a day represents the contractor's billing rate, not the amount paid to the contractor's employees. The billing rate is greater than the employee's pay because it includes the contractor's indirect costs, overhead, and profit," the CBO said. This cannot be compared to what a U.S. soldier costs the taxpayer because of many other costs involved.

The CBO backs up Prince's contention at the 2007 hearing that the costs include equipping and supplying the security personnel, and paying for equipment damaged or destroyed by insurgents or the US military. That equipment includes several helicopters the company lost to hostile fire. It is not possible to insure helicopters in war zones; Blackwater pays for the losses out of its profit and overhead.

It is rare for the CBO - an independent, nonpartisan auxiliary of Congress - to point to congressmen or congressional staff as the sources of misleading information, so the observation in the report is particularly important.

State Department Contract Shows Requirements for Security Pros

2008-09-08T00:38:00.007-04:00

A State Department security contract obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows strict requirements placed on Blackwater and other private security guards in Iraq and elsewhere. Accountability is extensively built into the contract.

"One of the most common criticisms about private security contractors is that there are insufficient rules governing their actions," writes David Isenberg of UPI. "But the truth is, there is and always has been a way to ensure that contractors act the way the client, as in the U.S. government or other private sector firms, wants. And that is to simply write it into the contract.

"And now, we have documentary evidence that this is what the U.S. government has been doing. Recently, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, I obtained a section of the Worldwide Personal Protective Services contract that the State Department issued for protection of its personnel and facilities. This is the contract that is split between Blackwater, Triple Canopy and DynCorp."

Isenberg obtained the 187-page specifications section of the WPPS contract, which "details what Blackwater is required to do." Despite big blackout areas imposed during declassificition, the document lays out many of the requirements.

The contract describes the speed in which Blackwater and the State Department must be able to contact one another, contractor training (done with State Department review and veto power), workplace issues, logistical support according to State Department standards, the type of handheld radios the contractors must have, personal requirements of each security contractor, details of each contractor to include health, financial and criminal background checks, psychiatric exams and more; plus details on "vehicles, load-bearing vests, utility belts, pepper spray and morale needs."

"Given that contractors are often shot at while transporting their clients, the contract requires the contractor to employ a 'factory-certified vehicle mechanic' to maintain the Protective Services detail vehicles."

There's strict accounting of weapons, including their maintenance, specifics on when and where weapons should be cleaned, and specs on cleaning logs for each weapon which is tracked by serial number; and requirements for on-site factory certified armorers to maintain and repair weapons.

There even specific requirements for the Odor Recognition Proficiency Test for explosives-detecting dogs to meet; and the conduct of guards, to include that they "will be polite and courteous in performance of their duties. They will not use abusive language."

The contractor spells out when a private guard can and cannot use his weapon, and how.

This is no surprise to anyone who has been under Blackwater's protection. Across the board, protectees praise Blackwater for its guards' professionalism and courtesy. Senator Barack Obama, on receiving Blackwater security service in Afghanistan, said that the company had been receiving a "bad rap."

NOTE (9/11/08): David Isenberg writes us to ask that we post the link to his archived United Press International pieces. Here it is: http://www.upi.com/topic/David_Isenberg/. We picked up his column from the Google News feed, which does not link directly to UPI's site.

Zoning Board in Idaho Unanimously Backs Blackwater Plan

2008-09-03T00:11:00.004-04:00

Blackwater won the resounding support of a county board in Idaho to build an indoor firearms training facility. Ordinarily this wouldn't be worth posting, but activists opposed to winning the war in Iraq have been challenging Blackwater at the grassroots, to prevent it from training US military and police.

A guy who says his name is Martin Hippie is leading the opposition.

Normal residents and officials seem pleased that the company is converting a noisy outdoor range into a quieter, indoor facility, according to the Galena Gazette.

Local police officer Andy Schroeder says, "Blackwater has been nothing but tremendous in allowing us the use of their property."

Local zoning board member Nick Tranel was upbeat about Blackwater: "It has met all the requirements of the special use standards."

Said board chairman Mel Grotton, "We live in a world where people do need to train to protect life and property," adding, "I don't know where you could better site a building like this."

Meanwhile, Hippie says he plans to continue his fight.

Senator Webb Won't Back Waxman; Says Blackwater Should Still Compete for Contracts

2008-08-31T08:48:00.002-04:00

Senator Jim Webb won't back Congressman Henry Waxman's call for the US government to cancel Blackwater's contracts.

Moonbat writer Jeremy Scahill buttonholed politicians at the Democrat National Convention this week for a left-wing website. While getting Waxman to make his unprecedented call to cut off Blackwater - and receiving some praise for his own work against the company - Scahill didn't get Senator Webb to say the same.

To the contrary: Despite all his criticism of the company, Webb says he thinks Blackwater should still compete for contracts. Here's the dialogue:

JEREMY SCAHILL: "Do you think that, though, that Senator Obama should cancel Blackwater’s contract with the State Department, because it will be there if he wins? What should he do on Blackwater specifically?"

SEN. JIM WEBB: "I’m not—I mean, I’m not in a position right now to say that Blackwater’s contract specifically should be cancelled. I think all of them should be aggressively reviewed and, you know, have standards put on them, and I think Blackwater, like other companies, ought to compete."

Waxman Joins Moonbat Writer and Calls for Obama to Cancel Blackwater Contracts

2008-08-31T08:43:00.005-04:00

Congressman Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who has abused his committee chairmanship to help a trial lawyer make millions in a suit against Blackwater, is now calling on Barack Obama to have the US cancel its contracts with the company.

Waxman made the statement in league with moonbat writer Jeremy Scahill for a leftwing website.

In his commentary, Scahill appears upset that Senator Obama is not for an immediate pullout from Iraq. "Obama’s Iraq policy in reality is one of downsizing and rebranding the occupation, not entirely ending it," he says. That would be good news for Blackwater, which is needed to provide security as US troops pull out.

Waxman tells Scahill that he thinks Blackwater is doing a "very poor" job in Iraq, and promises to "investigate" the company even more. He also praises Scahill, saying, "And so, they’re going to be investigated much further by the Congress and people in the administration and good people like you on the outside."

Waxman says Blackwater has not "lived up" to its Worldwide Personal Protective Services (WPPS) contract in Iraq - an odd comment because the company has been universally praised for its stunning 100 percent success record in keeping Americans safe.

Even Senator Obama has said that he thinks Blackwater's "getting a bad rap." And Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.), another Blackwater critic, would not back Waxman when Scahill asked him to.

So Waxman is putting himself out on the extreme fringe with his comments - and his praise of one of Blackwater's goofier critics.

Readying for Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-30T11:45:00.003-04:00

Blackwater has sent out a notice seeking qualified personnel to work on potential rescue, recovery and stability efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

AP reports that the notice went out on Friday. The company volunteered to help out during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, donating use of a helicopter to the Coast Guard and assisting with rescue and recovery efforts on the ground. Blackwater is credited with saving 128 people in the New Orleans area.

Finding a demand for its services, the company expanded its business in the rescue, recovery and stability sectors.

PSC Presence to Increase as US Troops Leave Iraq, State Department Says

2008-08-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

The presence of private security contractors (PSCs) in Iraq is increasing for two reasons: (1) the shift from combat to rebuilding means that more diplomats are leaving secure areas to work in the field and require security; and (2) US troops who had guarded reconstruction and infrastructure projects are leaving.

Contractors "will increasingly take over these former roles and missions, increasing [the] numbers of private security, State Department press officer John Fleming tells USA Today.

New oversight policies will "hold contractors accountable," Fleming says.

Helping Canada Improve Counterinsurgency

2008-08-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

Washington Post blogger Robert O'Harrow, in his Government, Inc. blog, points out that Canada has hired the Terrorism Research Center, "a part of the universe of companies owned by Blackwater founder Erik Prince." The company will provide Canadian troops with higher-level expertise on the Taliban and related terrorist groups.

"Government Inc. was sifting through new contracts and saw that Canada had given the Arlington company a sole source contract worth about $848,000. Terrorism Research will be working to help counter insurgency forces perform better in Afghanistan," O'Harrow reports.

"This according to Canada's Globe And Mail: 'The move was announced yesterday, after weeks of mounting attacks by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar province, where Canadian soldiers are fighting, and the security situation has markedly worsened.

"'Traditionally, cultural awareness training was a brief introduction to the language, culture, customs and food. This training, while providing basic instruction in these areas, did not provide the operational relevance required to conduct [counterinsurgency warfare],' a Canadian government contract notice posted yesterday says."

Visit the Terrorism Research Center's website at http://www.terrorism.com/.

A Passionate Defense from a Blackwater Dad

2008-08-24T23:47:00.004-04:00

The father of two young men who served in Iraq - one a former Marine who worked as a Blackwater diplomatic security provider for two years and the other a soldier in the 101st Airborne Division - figuratively rips the head off an ignorant critic in a local paper.

C. Daniel Manrique's defense of Blackwater in the Ocala, Florida Star-Banner is an exciting read. It's a real red-meat response to the now-typical pabulum from the Hate Blackwater corner.

For those of you out there who don't think writing a piece in the local paper is worth the effort, think of this: the Ocala newspaper article turned up today on Google News and reached readers around the world. And if you're a Blackwater veteran or a spouse or parent of one, so much the better. That gives you instant credibility. So go ahead and fight back for the Good Guys.

US Is Creating a 'Destabilizing' Situation by Letting Iraqis Try American Contractors

2008-08-22T09:12:00.008-04:00

By negotiating with Iraq to revoke the immunity of American private security contractors from Iraq's undeveloped and corrupt legal system, the US is creating a "destabilizing" situation.

That's what two scholars from the center-left New America Foundation write in an important piece in today's Wall Street Journal.

The "positive" effects of an expected prosecution of Blackwater contractors for their alleged role in the September 2007 Nisoor Square incident risk:

being overshadowed by a more destabilizing development: the apparent agreement, as part of U.S.-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement negotiations, to revoke the immunity from Iraqi law that private security contractors have enjoyed since 2003. This decision could place diplomats, Iraqi civilians and PSCs at greater risk, and undermine the US mission in Iraq. More must be done to hold security contractors accountable for their actions -- but this is not the way to do it.

The problem of accountability, scholars Michael A. Cohen and Maria Figueroa Kupcu argue, is not going to be solved by handing Americans over to Iraqi justice, whatever that might be. To the contrary; it would only make things worse:

placing contractors at the mercy of an underdeveloped Iraqi legal system is not a solution. Greater liability for PSCs will also bring a higher price tag. Furthermore, PSC ranks will become deprofessionalized, as many of the most experienced contractors may decide that the risks of being thrown in an Iraqi prison are not worth a paycheck.

That would mean increasing reliance on third-country or local nationals, who lack the professionalism of the US, British, Australian and other PSCs. There's little accountability there - and much less security for the protectees.

"There are better ways to ensure accountability," Cohen and Kupcu maintain. "In 2006, Congress extended the Uniform Code of Military Justice to cover Pentagon contractors. Legislation in Congress now would place State Department contractors under the jurisdiction of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. The bill, which would also create an office of enforcement in the FBI to investigate alleged contractor offences, is opposed by the Bush administration. But its eventual enactment would go a long way toward clearing up much of the legal confusion surrounding contractors.

"Unfortunately, at the exact moment that contractor-related accountability issues are being taken more seriously, the Bush administration is negotiating an agreement with the Iraqi government that would weaken protections for PSCs, and risk undermining the professionalization of the private contractors protecting US diplomats."

Congressmen Accuse Waxman of Blocking Probe of Corrupt Colleagues

2008-08-21T11:43:00.009-04:00

Congressman Henry Waxman (pictured), who has raised eyebrows by doing favors for a trial lawyer with a business interest in trashing Blackwater, now stands accused by two other lawmakers of blocking a probe into congressional corruption.

Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Mark Souder (R-IN) have filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee over a published report that a mortgage company "gave illegal mortgages prohibited by House rules to members of Congress, congressional staff and other officials," Fox Business reports.

The lawmakers say that Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "is ignoring their demands for an investigation into cheap, VIP mortgages allegedly given by Countrywide Financial to House staff members and elected officials."

Issa and Sounder went to the House Ethics Committee after Waxman twice declined to pursue the issue, saying that it isn't the duty of his panel to investigate cases involving alleged corruption of his colleagues and their aides.