Amnesty International: Truth or Propaganda?

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 Now it's out of date, the tail of the dog, fat and lazy and politicized.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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

New Video Explains Low-Altitude Air Drop Service

A new Blackwater video describes the company's Low Cost-Low Altitude (LCLA) air drop service, which the US military is using to supply the troops in Afghanistan. We've posted some great amateur videos of the Blackwater C-212s delivering pallets of ammunition to US Army forward operating bases, but this one is an official product of the company. Some excellent video footage, and a great description of exactly what the taxpayers getting for their money: Pinpoint, rapid parachute delivery of food, water, ammunition and supplies to troops in remote areas too risky for helicopters and inaccessible for the Air Force's large cargo planes.

Watch closely and you can see the Blackwater pilots' evasive maneuvering to avoid Taliban groundfire. This is an extremely dangerous service performed by American military veterans who crew the planes.

In Darfur, Mia Farrow Says Blackwater Can Help Where Governments Have Failed

From a refugee camp in Darfur, actress Mia Farrow calls on Blackwater to help resolve the terrible humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Farrow (pictured in a file photo) says she's already been in touch with the company's chairman to talk about solutions.

ABC News reports, "Two unlikely allies met for breakfast last month in New York to discuss a possible collaboration: Mia Farrow, actress and passionate activist for Darfur refugees, and Erik Prince, founder and CEO of the government contractor, Blackwater Worldwide.

"Farrow told ABC News that Blackwater, despite its controversial history and allegations of murdering civilians in Iraq, might be able to help the 'hopelessly under-equipped' African Union forces deployed in Darfur with logistics and training.

"'Blackwater has a much better idea of what an effective peace-keeping mission would look like than western governments,' Farrow told ABC News from a refugee camp in near the Darfur border. Farrow said those governments have been unsuccessful in standing up to the Sudanese government and bringing peace to the region."

The rest of the article consists of commentary pooh-poohing the idea and trashing Blackwater. But Farrow is an important advocate given her cultural status and her leadership in the pro-Darfur movement.

Prince told the Wall Street Journal last month that he would provide the expertise, training and logistics to support a duly constituted African force in Darfur, and that he would do it at-cost, that is, as a charitable action.

6 Blackwater Guards Receive 'Target' Letters; Company Defends Its Team

Six Blackwater diplomatic security guards involved in the September 2007 shootout at Baghdad's Nisoor Square reportedly have received "target letters" from the Justice Department - an indication that they might be prosecuted.

The company itself does not appear to be a target of prosecution, and has been cooperating with the Justice Department and a federal grand jury.

"Since the September 16, 2007 incident, we have said that, based on statements of company personnel who were directly involved, we believe those involved acted appropriately," Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell says. "If it is determined that an individual acted improperly, Blackwater would support holding that person accountable. But at this stage, without being able to review evidence collected in an ongoing investigation, we will not prejudge the actions of any individual."

Is Diplomatic Security Too Risky for Big Publicly Traded Companies?

In his August 14 interview on CNBC, Blackwater CEO Erik Prince says he's surprised that huge, publicly traded defense contracting giants are getting into the private security area because of the incredible risks involved. Prince says,

"We’re uniquely positioned because we have a large facility. No one’s made the investment in the assets that we have. Even our big competitors, the Lockheed Martins, the Northrop Grummans of the world, they are running hard to get into this space but I’m surprised their risk management boards let them do that. They’re one incident away of being filleted in the media like we were."

The trial lawyers are going to love this one!

CNBC Interviews Blackwater CEO

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince was the guest on CNBC's major morning financial talk show Squawk Box. Among the points Prince raised in the interview, prompted by the three co-hosts:

On commitment: "Our guys take tremendous risks. Many have paid the ultimate price. Many have given parts of themselves in the process."

On business expansion: "We’re certainly not focusing as much on security going forward because we take a lot less grief. … It hammers our ability to raise capital. Our training site is growing like crazy, our aviation is growing a lot."

On whether an Obama administration would affect Blackwater's security contracting in Iraq: "All of it is competitively bid. Whoever takes over in January, the US government unfortunately is not going to be born again hard fast innovative and efficient. Someone’s going to do the work. The private sector’s going of be a part of it."

On profitability: "The margins aren’t nearly as good as you think. Law firms, PR firms and accounting firms have much better margins than we do." (Hmm - that raises the question: Is the taxpayer getting a good value in services performed by law firms and accounting firms under federal contract? A Congressional Budget Office study might be revealing.)

Blackwater Wants Strict Accountability Standards in California

Blackwater supports proposed legislation to standardize accountability for firearms training in California, where it has opened up a new facility for the Navy.

The company announced support for a proposed bill that, in its words, "would serve to hold all responsible firearms training facilities to a common standard, allow training of responsible citizens, and, hopefully, reduce firearms capabilities of dangerous criminals."

"Blackwater endorses AB2498 and urges it be passed.

"Blackwater, which recently opened a facility in San Diego County, has long supported a strict credential policy, requiring every student it trains to provide documented proof of their suitability for training and eligibility to possess firearms. The company is committed to safe training on the use and handling of firearms, but is equally committed to ensuring that those firearms are in the hands of capable and confident citizens, not prohibited felons."

(Photo: Interior of new Blackwater training range in San Diego County.)

Darfur Offer Provides More Accountability than UN Peacekeepers

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince's offer to train an African force to save Darfur has a built-in accountability measure that far exceeds United Nations peacekeeping standards.


As he said in the July 29 Wall Street Journal, he envisions a team of US military personnel to monitor a Blackwater training and logistical support operation to help a duly constituted African military force to stop the Darfur atrocities.


This reminds us of an article that Mountainrunner blogger Matt Armstrong wrote recently in Serviam magazine about UN peacekeepers. In that thought-provoking piece, Armstrong reveals that United Nations peacekeeping troops are exempt from international humanitarian law.



"The U.N. cannot impose a common military code of justice or judicial process on its forces without provoking a drop in troop contributions from member states," he says.

"If accountability is the core problem critics have with private military and security contractors, then the demonstrated lack of Blue Helmet accountability, whose troops are sent to some of the most challenging environments on the planet, should raise equally powerful concerns. "

(Addendum: London's Daily Mail runs a new story of how Dutch UN peacekeepers stood aside while Serbian troops rounded up thousands of men, women and children under UN "protection" and slaughtered them.)

SBA Memo Does Not Accuse Blackwater

You wouldn't know it by Congressman Henry Waxman's spin when he released a memo to the press, but the Small Business Administration Inspector General did not accuse Blackwater of improper behavior.

A reporter for the Virginian-Pilot (a paper that has long been critical of the company) actually read the memorandum and reports, "The memo, written by Glenn Harris, counsel to SBA inspector general Eric Thorsen, refers to 'potential misrepresentations by Blackwater' but does not accuse the Moyock, N.C.-based firm of breaking federal laws or improperly obtaining contracts."

Waxman postured in a written statement that Blackwater “misled contracting officials who in turn ignored blatant warning signs. It is deplorable that no one ever looked out for the interests of the federal taxpayer.” He said it as fact, when that's not what the Inspector General said at all.

Wanting It Both Ways: Senators Critical of Blackwater Want Assurances It Will Continue Serving

Senators who have been critical of Blackwater are now concerned that it might quit the security business in Iraq, and want assurances that the company will continue.

They've been beating the stuffing out of the company, accusing it of all kinds of wrongdoing. But then, when the company's leaders say that the security contracts aren't worth all the heat from Congress and the media, the senators worry that Blackwater might actually leave them high and dry.

They add, with a twist, that recent news reports suggesting that the North Carolina-based company might get out of the diplomatic security business are all the more reason for the State Department not to be so dependent on private contractors.

The Federal Times reports,

Given these intentions, the senators want to know whether State has been assured Blackwater will fulfill its recently renewed multimillion-dollar security contract. They also want to know what the department plans to do to shore up its Diplomatic Security Service and lessen its reliance on private security contractors.

They cite recent news reports that quote State officials as saying the other two private security contractors providing services under State’s Worldwide Personnel Protective Services contract would be unable to take on Blackwater’s work if the company pulled out.

Senators Bob Casey (D-Penn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) co-signed a letter of concerns to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

On the Ground Training Afghan Counternarcotics Police

Blackwater is training Afghanistan's new counternarcotics police - the men and women on the front lines to combat both the illegal drug business and to take away a big source of funds for the Taliban and, presumably, al Qaeda.

I haven't seen anything else like it in the above video. This stuff is new. Some of the highlights are what appears to be a main lobby of Afghanistan's new Counter-Narcotics Training Academy. On the wall are painted the flags of the "nations and organizations" that made the academy possible. Look at the emblems, one by one: Afghanistan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, United Nations, Blackwater . . .

The Blackwater logo among those flags: The Afghans and Coalition members on the ground appear to have quite a different opinion of the company, working with its people up-close, than does most of the American public.

The video shows how Blackwater is helping Afghan women integrate into the counternarcotics police; how it trains new police recruits in law and safety as well as paramilitary CN tactics; how it mentors the new police out in the field; and how it conducts live-fire exercises. These guys and women are heavily armed: they're training to go out against not only heavily armed drug gangs, but against the Taliban.

The video ends with images of some of the results of the training and mentoring: world's biggest drug bust that took place last month at Spin Bolduk, a haul so big that British warplanes had to be called in to incinerate it from the air.

Congressman Henry Waxman and others want to put a stop to such activity by putting Blackwater out of the federal contracting business.

Here's a direct link to the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YLSYosNcM8

NATO May Rent Helicopters from Blackwater

Britain and NATO are so short of helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan that the alliance is reportedly negotiating to rent some from Blackwater Worldwide.

That's what London's Independent is reporting today. The UK is said to want more helicopters in order to avoid overland travel, where roadside bombs are taking a toll on British morale.

Waxman Strategy: Make Blackwater Ineligible for Federal Contracts

As he continues to hammer away at the linchpin that keeps US diplomatic activity secure and the troops resupplied in wars on the other side of the world, Congressman Henry Waxman is revealing his strategy.

If he can't discredit the job Blackwater is doing - with its 100 percent success record defending diplomats, aid workers, and visiting congressmen and senators from terrorist attack - Waxman thinks he can destroy the company by picking away at regulatory issues.

ProPublica.org describes what's happening: "Waxman appears to be taking a new tack: scrutinizing the contractor's employment practices to make it ineligible for future federal contracts."

"So far," says ProPublica.org, whose reporting is biased against the company, "Waxman's strategy seems to be working."

Waxman began his jihad against Blackwater in February 2007, at the behest of a California trial lawyer. The trial lawyer, Dan Callahan, is suing the company on behalf of shell companies that another trial lawyer set up in the names of four security guards whom terrorists murdered in 2004.

Sounds like a sleazy arrangement: A congressman using taxpayer dollars to discredit a defendant in a lawsuit on behalf of a private businessman, a trial lawyer, who stands to make millions by suing a private company that the congressman is pressuring the government to investigate. Too bad there's no accountability to stop such abuse.

Erik Prince Offers to Train African Force to Save Darfur

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince tells the Wall Street Journal that he is willing to train and equip an African force to save Darfur.

And he doesn't want to make a nickel doing it. He's offering to do it at cost.

This amazing news is tucked way down in William McGurn's "Main Street" column that ran in the WSJ on July 29. McGurn writes:

Mr. Prince says that the 9,000 or so African Union soldiers in Darfur, as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force, are a good start. But he says that to be effective they need better training, communications and equipment. That is more or less the same message from a report released yesterday by the Darfur Consortium, a coalition of 50 African-based and Africa-focused NGOs. "One year ago the U.N. Security Council stood unanimous and promised Darfurians the strongest and largest protection force ever," says a coalition spokesman. "Today that force is just over a third deployed, lacks even the most basic equipment and is unable to protect itself let alone civilians."

Mr. Prince has a remedy. He believes that with 250 or so professionals, Blackwater can transform about a thousand of the African Union soldiers into an elite and highly mobile force. This force would also be equipped with helicopters and the kind of small planes that missionaries use in this part of the world. It would be cheaper than the hundreds of millions we are spending to set up a larger AU/U.N. force. And he says he'd do it at cost.

Blackwater would not do the fighting. Its people would serve as advisers, mechanics and pilots. Aid workers and villagers would be equipped with satellite telephones that include Global Positioning Systems.

When they call in, the troops would respond.

"I'm so sick of hearing that nothing can be done," he says. "The Janjaweed is a truly unfettered bully. No one has stood up to them. If they were met by a mobile quick reaction force of African Union soldiers, the Janjaweed would quickly learn their habits were not sustainable." And to ensure accountability, he says, the U.S. could send 25 military officers to observe how Blackwater is doing and serve as liaisons.

Up until Blackwater's offer, all the other "Save Darfur" activity is just useless talk. McGurn notes, "That's the point: Strongly worded resolutions, sanctions and boycotts are generally what you do in place of decisive action. I understand that the whole idea of Blackwater helicopters flying over Darfur probably horrifies many of the same people frustrated by Mr. Bashir's ability to game the system. But it's at least worth wondering what that same Blackwater helo might look like to a defenseless Darfur mother and her daughters lying in fear of a Janjaweed attack."

Any takers?

UN Peacekeeping Chief Rejects Blackwater Offer on Darfur

He didn't even offer the diplomatic decency of "due consideration." He simply warned against the temptation to use "mercenaries" to solve humanitarian problems.

He is Jean Marie Guehenno, the outgoing head of peacekeeping operations for the United Nations (pictured). The Frenchman held a news conference July 29 and threw cold water on Blackwater CEO Erik Prince's offer to train and support a duly constituted African force that would be used to solve the Islamist horrors against the people of Darfur.

In his eight years in charge of UN peacekeeping, Guehenno has accomplished nothing to stop the Darfur atrocities.

Imagine: The UN's top peacekeeping official takes Blackwater's offer so seriously that he must comment about it in a news conference. Erik Prince is holding a lot of moral power in his hands. He has the UN on the defensive.

Update: Guehenno says UN peacekeepers are 'stretched to limits' and in 'danger' (BBC)

Obama Campaign Still Won't Talk About Blackwater Help

The Obama campaign still isn't answering questions about whether the presidential candidate accepted security protection from Blackwater Worldwide during his trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. Citing Paul Bedard's column in US News & World Report, London's Daily Telegraph reports,

A tight-lipped Anne Tyrrell, spokeswoman for Blackwater, said she could neither confirm nor deny that the company had been involved in the visits by the senators to Afghanistan or Iraq.

My request to Bill Burton, Obama's national spokesman, for comment on the Bedard story - including whether the alleged quote or its sentiment was genuine - went unanswered.

But a source familiar with Obama's security arrangements told me that Blackwater, along with the Secret Service, did pull security for the three senators in Afghanistan, though not Iraq.

Deceiver describes this as Obama's "Rosie O'Donnell moment" That's maybe a tad harsh but it will be interesting to see whether Obama's public position on Blackwater changes as a result of his up-close time with their personnel in Afghanistan.

Inspector General Faults SBA in 4 of 5 Findings, But Waxman Spins It to Blame Blackwater

The Inspector General of the Small Business Administration (SBA) has faulted the SBA in four out of five findings concerning Blackwater Worldwide.

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) is alleging "waste, fraud and abuse" on his committee website, which contains a headline today worded to imply that the SBA has a major problem with Blackwater.

Blackwater is certain to take the blame in the headlines soon to be generated from the Waxman statement. Waxman generated the complaint to the SBA in March.

However, a look at the SBA Inspector General memorandum shows that of the five "findings," the government agency itself appears to be at fault in four of them.

In Finding 1, Blackwater and an affiliated company "may have" won contracts that were set-asides for small businesses, even though the company no longer qualified as a small business. It's pretty subjective and inconclusive, because of Blackwater's use of contractors versus employees in key areas to support the troops.

In Findings 2-5, the Inspector General blames the SBA itself - not Blackwater. Take a look at the original document and see for yourself: http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20080728141224.pdf.

Waxman spins the issue in a memorandum dated today, July 28, and titled: "SBA IG Finds Blackwater May Have Misrepresented Small Business Status." That's the gist of his complaint - he doesn't make an issue of the IG's four allegations against the SBA itself.

At the core of this argument is whether Blackwater can call its contractors "contractors," or whether it must designate them as "employees." The SBA IG report is littered with weasel words like "could have" and "potential," not daring to issue any definitive finding at all.

Waxman, as part of his work helping trial lawyers who stand to make millions from suing Blackwater, complained to the SBA, saying that the company shouldn't be allowed to call its contractors "contractors," but instead should call them "employees" so they can be taxed. Big Labor doesn't like how the law allows contractors either, because they can't be unionized and forced to pay dues to the union political machine.

The trial lawyers and labor unions are among the biggest campaign contributors to the very partisan Waxman's political party.

(Follow-on added at 5:08 PM: This blog broke the story of the SBA IG report. The first news report appearing on Google News was a McClatchy story written by Joseph Neff of the Raleigh News & Observer - the folks who gave the world the phony "news" about the Duke lacrosse team - posted at 4:27 PM. Standish posted the story first at 3:36 PM eastern time.)

Prince Shows Off Blackwater Headquarters

In a surprisingly upbeat article, the Associated Press described their recent visit to Blackwater headquarters in Moyock, North Carolina:

Erik Prince gets his guests to the runway seconds before the turboprop's approach. The financiers hop out of his black Chevy Suburban and gawk as the pilots drop a pair of packages that float to within feet of their target — just as they might on a mission for Blackwater Worldwide in the Afghan backcountry.

His audience is captivated by the show, but the Blackwater founder and CEO focuses on a seemingly minor detail: the parachutes.

"They're made out of the same stuff sandbags are made out of," Prince tells the group in hurried, staccato sentences. "They are truly disposable. The normal parachutes you put a human out under are much more expensive. With these, you can use them, repack them. It's very cheap."

The State described other aspects of a media visit: Prince "whipped his Chevy Suburban down Blackwater's driving course, where drivers can practice wet and dry runs around corners blinded by berms. Company officials opened up an airplane hangar where the company was working to improve 10 helicopters for a 'Middle East client,'" believed to be one of the Gulf states, which are increasingly threatened by Iran.

Just as Blackwater is preparing to transition away from the security business, it seems the media is coming to realize the quality and importance of its work. The AP writes, "Blackwater Worldwide built a reputation by successfully protecting the nation's top diplomats on the world's most volatile streets. Now the company is looking to... build up other aspects of its business."

By tapping the expertise of its veterans — from ex-SEALs to former Coast Guard officers to FBI agents — Blackwater instead sees a future in using its mobility and flexibility to seek out and quickly fill other gaps that present themselves.

"There's always been gaps. The military can't be all things to all people all the time," Prince said while standing on a gleaming Blackwater logo in the airy lobby of his company headquarters. "There are always going to be some pieces that the private sector can help in."

When Prince noticed a shortage of US combat medics, he developed a school and program to train his own. They practice rescues and vehicle extractions across on Blackwater's campus, and Prince is now looking for customers who want to hire medics as contractors.

MidEast Times Explains Economics of Contracting

When Blackwater recently announced that it was pulling back from the personal protection business, many people were (wrongly) surprised. What else do contractors do, they wonder, if not pull triggers? Well, it turns out there's a great deal more to contracting. The Middle East Times explains:

It has long been a myth, albeit a popular one, that the majority of private military contractors are gun shooters. In fact, the reverse is true, as has been pointed out, largely in vain, by trade groups such as the Professional Services Council and the International Peace Operations Association.

According to estimates from the IPOA, the total value of what it calls the global peace and stability operations industry is about $20 billion for all companies providing services in the field. Of that number, private security contractors make up only about 5 percent to 10 percent, or a maximum of $2 billion annually. The normal peacetime number would be closer to 5 percent for PSCs, but Iraq has driven it up.

Moreover, contrary to popular perception, the Middle East Times reports that security does not pay better than other forms of contracting:

To understand the difference, one has only to follow the money. For example, compare two major contracts in Iraq, the World Wide Personal Protective Services and the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program. The current WPPS contract, the second, was awarded in July 2005. The State Department utilizes it as an umbrella contract under which it issues task orders to the three contracting companies -- Blackwater USA, DynCorp and Triple Canopy. The bulk of the personnel come from Blackwater. The contract has a ceiling of $1.2 billion per contractor over five years -- one base year and four option years. That works out to $240 million per contractor per year.

LOGCAP, an Army program first established in 1985, is an initiative for the use of civilian contractors in wartime and other contingencies. It includes all pre-planned logistics and engineering/construction-oriented contingency contracts. It does everything from fixing trucks to warehousing ammunition to doing the laundry, running mess halls and building whole bases abroad. When the Army announced the awarding of the fourth and latest LOGCAP contract back in April to DynCorp International LLC; Fluor Intercontinental Inc.; and Kellogg, Brown and Root Services, the total annual maximum value was $15 billion and the lifetime maximum value was $150 billion. That works out to $5 billion per contractor per year.

You don't need a Ph.D. to figure out which is the market segment with the greatest profit-making opportunities.

Obama Got Blackwater Protection in Iraq & Afghanistan; Says 'Blackwater Is Getting a Bad Rap'

Blackwater did indeed protect Senator Barack Obama in Afghanistan and Iraq last week, impressing the presidential candidate so much that he was overheard saying, "Blackwater is getting a bad rap."

This amazing piece of news is being reported by Paul Bedard in US News & World Report.

Bedard writes in his "Washington Whispers" column on July 25,

Sen. Barack Obama has not been a fan of private police like Blackwater in war zones, and some news outlets even reported that they were spurned for his trip last week to Afghanistan and Iraq. But Whispers confirms that Blackwater did handle the Democratic presidential candidate's security in Afghanistan and helped out in Iraq. What's more, Obama was overheard saying: "Blackwater is getting a bad rap." Since everything appeared to go swimmingly, maybe he will take firms like Blackwater out of his sights, the company's supporters hope.

I'm sure there's a lot more where this came from. Obama's conversion on this is a really big deal. Was he struck by seeing up-close the professionalism of the private volunteers who protected him? Or perhaps did Gen. David Petraeus, who has honored Blackwater security men for their work in Iraq, say something? Stay tuned.