Marines 'beat US workers' in Iraq (Contractors)

[maddezmom]

Marines 'beat US workers' in Iraq

Contractors say they were treated like insurgents

Jamie Wilson in Washington
Thursday June 9, 2005
The Guardian

A group of American security guards in Iraq have alleged they were beaten, stripped and threatened with a snarling dog by US marines when they were detained after an alleged shooting incident outside Falluja last month.
"I never in my career have treated anybody so inhumane," one of the contractors, Rick Blanchard, a former Florida state trooper, wrote in an email quoted in the Los Angeles Times. "They treated us like insurgents, roughed us up, took photos, hazed us, called us names."

A Marine Corps spokesman denied that abuse had taken place and said an investigation was continuing. According to the marines, 19 employees of Zapata Engineering, including 16 Americans, were detained after a marine patrol in Falluja reportedbeing fired on by a convoy of trucks and sports utility vehicles. The marines also claim to have seen gunmen in the convoy fire at civilians.

This is believed to be the first time that private military contractors have been detained in Iraq by the US military, and it has reignited debate about their status and accountability.

~snip~
more; http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1502474,00.html

[Barrett808]

1. If it's good enough for journalists...

...it's good enough for the hired help.

[pokercat999]

70. Lovely just f-ing lovely.

An Merickan civil war in Iraq? Wonder which side gwb is on? Im lmao this is really great news on so many levels.

[realisticphish]

2. ah, good

nice to know that we're equal opportunity abusers

[aquart]

3. A skirmish between regular military

and mercenaries?

How long before it's a war?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[brentspeak]

8. You're calling our troops "SS"?

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[pfitz59]

12. If the shoe fits......

the war in Iraq is dehumanizing....all participants! US sodiers are breaking their oaths of enlistment daily every time they obey orders issued by Shrub or facilitators! (The entire war is illegal, therefore all orders connected with it are defacto illegal!)

[brentspeak]

19. Here's an idea for you

Go to your nearest military base, and say to the troops there exactly what you said to us here. Then report back.

[Jammer]

22. I LOVE OUR MILITARY!!!!!!

What are you saying????? The Military is going a VERY tough JOB so YOU can sit on your BUTT and TYPE on this site. I am against the WAR but our troops are here to allow us to pursue our wonderful life. God Bless Our Troops.

[SweetLeftFoot]

44. Sigh

When was the last time the US was invaded?

How are US troops in Iraq keeping you safe?

[burythehatchet]

65. You go Jammer

but didn't my rights come from God? That's what Fat Tony said. I'm confused now.
/sarcasm off

The troops have nothing to do with me pursuing my wonderful life. They are there to pursue wealth for a small group of international criminals.

[SammyWinstonJack]

67. ROFL

:rofl: You're kidding right? Troops in Iraq aren't defending our freedoms. Iraq didn't attack us and Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11 or the terra ists bush** blames for it. There were no WMD and bush** lied his ass off for war profits for his slimy bidness partners and his war mongering family. But then you knew this, right?

[atreides1]

24. So???

You're saying that the U.S. military is completely innocent of any wrong doing, and that even if they kill women and children, shoot unarmed and wounded men, beat, torture, and in some cases even steal.

That we should be proud of these accomplishments, you go right ahead, me I have just a little more self respect then that.

Now, I'm not saying that all military personnel are guilty of these things, but if you look the other way when it happens, and do nothing, then you might as well join in.

There is right and there is wrong, if you know something is wrong you don't participate and you don't allow it to happen. But, at least in the case of the USMC, shooting unarmed men is self defense,
shooting an unarmed wounded man is also self defense. Not sure what the Army calls the systematic torture of an Afghan taxi driver, who was in the wrong place, but in light of what's been happening they will probably call it self defense also.

You know the German people looked the other way as well, when it was the Wehrmacht that rounded up and abused civilians, I guess history does repeat itself.

By the way I live on an USAF base and have aired my views, so far nothing, but then again the 9mm Ruger that I practice with might have something to do with that.

[Demit]

5. "so inhumane...they treated us like insurgents"

Okay for them, but--we're Murkins, dammit! Oh, that is so rich.

[DLnyc]

34. yeah, call somebody an insurgent, then it's okay to treat them like sh*t

There is only one kind of person in this world: human. All these names and categories just provide a fig leaf for nazis.

You hit it right on the button.

[lebkuchen]

84. And our soldiers wonder where the flowers are

[leftchick]

48. isn't that special?

God that says it all doesn't it. The "insurgents" (aka: any Iraqi caught by the US) are expected to be treated worse than animals. I am so fucking proud to be an ameriKan. :grr:

[Javaman]

69. So they do treat the "insurgents" this way!

Kinda gives more credence to Abu Garib, huh?

and considering that most of the "insurgents" are released because of no evidence, it's nice to know that even the Mercs know that the US military is beating people.

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bemildred]

6. U.S. Marines Detained 19 Contractors in Iraq

LA Times version.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Marines forcibly detained a team of security guards working for an American engineering firm in Iraq after reportedly witnessing the contractors fire at U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians from an armed convoy, the military said Tuesday.

---

This is believed to be the first time that the U.S. military has detained private security personnel in Iraq for allegedly putting American troops and Iraqi civilians at risk. By some estimates, there are as many as 20,000 such workers in Iraq protecting American civilians and U.S. and Iraqi government officials.

---

The incident has also raised new questions about the treatment of captives by U.S. military forces. Several of the detained Zapata employees said that they were stripped and threatened by a snarling military dog while Marines jeered and took photos.

"I never in my career have treated anybody so inhumane," one of the contractors, Rick Blanchard, a former Florida state trooper, wrote in an e-mail message. "They treated us like insurgents, roughed us up, took photos, hazed us, called us names."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-security8jun08,0,5681407.story?coll=la-home-world

This story is different from the print version, which reads
in part (page A10):

He said his clients told him that Marines had "slammed around"
several contractors, stripped them to their underwear and placed a
loaded weapon near their heads.

"How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?" the Marines
shouted at the men, Schopper said, in an apparent reference to the
large salaries contractors make in Iraq.

[burrowowl]

31. As they say

follow the money.
Troops are cracking.
Are mercenaries cheaper in the long run?
Probably not since our tax doolars paid to train them while in the military. However you might say that if wounded, they get no benefits, so far the National Guard is getting any. U$ soldiers are geting some but are being constantly cut back.
Humm! And this is where our middle-class taxes go? To pay corporations and the BFEE-class?

[speedingbullet]

75. Contractor$

I also have many questions on the real price of contractors. Even though they are "private contractors" aren't most of them hired by companies that have fat government contracts? I'll bet the corporations are savvy enough to figure their security costs into the contracts and ultimately it is our tax dollars paying the mercenaries.

Another cost is the effect upon retention. If you are gung-ho and like this sort of thing, why stay in when you can make a lot more as a private contractor?

[SpiralHawk]

37. "How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?"

Telling.

[bunkerbuster1]

73. I was wondering when something like this would happen.

I've a co-worker whose ex-Marine husband knows he can go to Iraq, work private security and make more than triple what he makes in the private sector here in the States.

that opportunity's there waiting for him whenever he wants.

Obviously this is going to create tension between those who have no choice in the matter, and those who have decided to cash in. I feel for both sides in this, and have nothing but contempt for the scum that put them in this position.

ok, let me clear my desk so I can pound my head some more...

[leftchick]

81. yikes!

now that is what I call Blowback!

[Roland99]

7. Hmm...something smells rotten here.

Seems they're accusing the Marines of one of everything we heard about in Abu Ghraib (except the glowsticks up the ass.)

Is this maybe a pissing match between overinflated egos?

[NNN0LHI]

10. Think there was an incident of filming the rape of a 14 or 15 year old...

...Iraqi kid by an American translator mentioned in the Taguba Report also.

Don

[hadrons]

9. think a little resentment over the highly paid contractors???

both in terms of their salaries and the headaches they've caused the Marines ... I also noticed Zapata Engineering; George H.W. Bush's old firm was called Zapata

[lumpy]

11. Verily

x

[Al-CIAda]

14. Yes, noticed that as well. (Zapata)

Damn, by their own admission, it is inhumane yet it is revealed it is how 'insurgents' are routinely treated. Geneva Convention?


Resentful regulars turning on the merc's. Its lord of the flies out there.

[SweetLeftFoot]

45. Well

If I was a Marine who'd lost a buddy trying to take back Fallujah because some stupid contractors on a grand a day died trying to drive through the place, I'd have a bit of resentment too.

[meganmonkey]

16. Ding ding ding

we have a winner. My thoughts exactly (about the resentment/salary stuff - didn't remember the Zapata stuff...:o )

[jayfish]

13. Wha?

"This is believed to be the first time that private military contractors have been detained in Iraq by the US military, and it has reignited debate about their status and accountability."

Wait a minute the contractors were beaten yet the debate is about their accountability? George Orwell would be proud.

Jay

[kodi]

15. The Marines deny abuse has taken place, but they're still investigating?

how does one do that?

[SweetLeftFoot]

46. With training from the Israeli Government

[IndianaGreen]

17. Zapata Engineering? Is that like CIA-front Zapata Oil that Poppy Bush

used to own?

Are we having the instruments of imperialism at odds with one another? Somehow, I don't feel any sympathy for any American mercenary in Iraq.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

33. I don't think so, but here's a couple of links....

Zapata Engineering
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=83>

QUOTES:

Zapata Engineering, a small North Carolina-based firm with about 50 employees, provides engineering services for private and government clients, including civil infrastructure, architecture services, environmental projects, and forensic engineering of failed structures, as well as military and security services. Since 1995, the company has provided services to the U.S. government to investigate and remove unexploded ordnance, including chemical warfare equipment. The company also offers master design plans for military installations and structures under the specifications of the Defense Department's Antiterrorism Construction Standards, including surveillance equipment.

...snip...

Manuel L. Zapata founded the firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he has made many government and community connections. Zapata was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1940 and immigrated to the United States in 1967.

Poppy Bush's Zapata Offshore Drilling Company was involved in anti-Castro Cuban operations:

George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography --- by Webster G. Tarpley & Anton Chaitkin

CHAPTER VIII-b - THE BAY OF PIGS AND THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
< http://www.tarpley.net/bush8b.htm>

QUOTE:

1959 was the year that Bush started operating out of his Zapata Offshore headquarters in Houston; it was also the year that Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. Officially, as we have seen, George was now a businessman whose work took him at times to Louisiana, where Zapata had offshore drilling operations. George must have been a frequent visitor to New Orleans. Because of his family's estate on Jupiter Island, he would also have been a frequent visitor to the Hobe Sound area. And then, there were Zapata Offshore drilling operations in the Florida Strait. On all of these activities, the official "red Studebaker" biographical material and the Zapata Offshore annual reports are extremely cryptic.

The Jupiter Island connection and father Prescott's Brown Brothers, Harriman/Skull and Bones networks are doubtless the key. Jupiter Island meant Averell Harriman, Robert Lovett, C. Douglas Dillon and other Anglophile financiers who had directed the US intelligence community long before there had been a CIA at all. And, in the back yard of the Jupiter Island Olympians, and under their direction, a powerful covert operations base was now being assembled, in which George Bush would have been present at the creation as a matter of birthright.

During 1959-60, Allen Dulles and the Eisenhower Administration began to assemble in south Florida the infrastructure for covert action against Cuba. This was the JM/WAVE capability, later formally constituted as the CIA Miami station. JM/WAVE was an operational center for the Eisenhower regime's project of staging an invasion of Cuba using a secret army of anti-Castro Cuban exiles organized, armed, trained, transported, and directed by the CIA. The Cubans, called Brigade 2506, were trained in secret camps in Guatemala, and they had air support from B-26 bombers based in Nicaragua. This invasion was crushed by Castro's defending forces in less than three days.

[elehhhhna]

64. Waht ordnance are the removing? To where? All of it was stolen, right?

[central scrutinizer]

18. oops, Freudian slip?

" "I never in my career have treated anybody so inhumane," one of the contractors, Rick Blanchard, a former Florida state trooper, wrote in an email quoted in the Los Angeles Times."

So, Mr. Blanchard, just how inhumanely have you treated somebody, and when and where did that occur? Inquiring minds want to know.

[gratuitous]

20. Oh, just a few harmless pranks!

A little dog snarling, some roughing up, a few photos, name-calling and . . . hazing. Yup, just frat pranks. But I'm sure that the Marine Corps will thoroughly investigate these allegations against the, uhm, Marines and no doubt will get to the bottom of this whole situation.

[DemBeans]

21. There might be another angle to this...

The marines also claim to have seen gunmen in the convoy fire at civilians.

I think it's very possible that behavior like this on the part of our mercenary army is very well known to Marines, and they likely had enough of it.

How many civilians have these contractors killed during their joyrides, and how much hatred is that fueling for our troops, further endangering their lives? This might well have been a warning to these unaccountable rubes.

[Jammer]

23. Great Point

[Rainscents]

25. Hi Jammer... Welcome to DU!!!

:hi:

[ngGale]

36. I second that great point....

n/t

[Voltaire99]

27. It's unlikely that mercs have killed more innocents

In actuality, the troops are free to kill anyone suspicious, and often do. I've heard from one vet who says the rule in his unit was that a kid who peered around a wall got a warning; the second time, a bullet.

Officers travel around with patrols making tiny payments to the survivors of slain civilians. It's common practice to barter down the price--it's a buyer's market, you see.

Then, too, it's hardly the mercs who smash down doors and humiliate entire families, house after house.

Not that I'm sympathetic at all to the mercs, but they are only a piece of the mess in Iraq.

Was this a "warning," in some way? Consider the article:

...they had told him that marines had "slammed around" several contractors, stripped them to their underwear and placed a loaded weapon near their heads.

"How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?" one of the marines is alleged to have shouted at the men, in an apparent reference to the large sums of money private contractors can make in Iraq.

That sounds more like class resentment, which is only to be expected. The beating and stripping was sadism. People are snapping. Not uncommon in a losing war.

[DemBeans]

63. that's very true

There's no question that atrocities are being committed wholesale against Iraqi civilians. It sounds like it's open season on them, whether from our troops or from jackasses like the mercenaries in the story firing on civilians.

It might indeed be a class issue, or the marines may have thought the mercs were firing on their unit and didn't give a damn about the civilians they were firing on. The "investigation" by the marines probably won't tell us much more than is in the story.

I still worry about these mercs roving the countryside, looting and killing. They don't seem to have a shred of accountability, and reporters don't tend to leave the Green Zone so we have no clue what they're actually doing. I'm sure none of it is pretty.

[Voltaire99]

26. "Do as thou wilt"

In occupied Iraq today, a CEO, war criminal, serial killer or occultist should find himself equally pleased with his options.

There, in Crowleyan terms, the law is plain. Do as thou wilt.

And do they ever.

[dbt]

40. Too bad people like Crowley and bu$h ignore the *whole* Law:

"An it harm none, do what you will."

[Straight Shooter]

28. Zapata Engineering out of Charlotte, North Carolina (War profiteers)

http://hannah.smith-family.com/archive/2004_03.html

Windfall of War

The Center for Public Integrity has learned that Zapata Engineering has a contract worth a
maximum $120 million to provide ordnance and explosives management services
worldwide, including in Iraq. In response to Freedom of Information Act
requests for copies of contracts for Iraq, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
provided the Center a copy of a $3.8 million task order on this contract
for services specifically in Iraq, dated Sept. 30, 2003.

For $3.8 million, Zapata Engineering will provide one year of ordnance and
explosives management services of five Zapata staff members?one liaison
officer and four program managers?who will work for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers' Captured Enemy Ammunitions program in Iraq. The task order
negotiated a salary based on an 84-hour work week for the liaison officer
at a rate of $159.47 per hour, or $696,564.96 for 52 weeks. Each program
officer receives the rate of $119.26 per hour, or $520,927.68 for 52 weeks.
In total, $2.8 million of the $3.8 million task order could be spent just
for the salaries of the five-person team. The task order also breaks down
estimated total costs, including Zapata's profit, at $1,098,650 for the
liaison officer and $2,740,308 for the four program managers.

<snip>

Further clarification from USACE has revealed that the contract originally
was awarded on August 25, 2000. According to a Defense Department press
release, the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract was
competitively bid and awarded collectively to six firms at a total value of
$200 million, with no single firm permitted to receive more than $60
million through the life of the contract, ending August 2005. In 2003 all
six companies had their individual contract ceilings increased to $120
million. The first $10 million increase was approved by USACE in April
2003, with an additional $50 million later approved by the U.S. Army.

Note that this contract was awarded more than 12 months BEFORE September
11, 2001. No wonder we had to drop a lot of ordnance on Iraq. There was
already a contract to clean it up.


http://www.maravot.com/About_Maravot_News.html

Willdorf lists the following companies that benefited from contracts in excess of $1 billion for Iraq:

Kellogg, Brown & Root (Halliburton) $11,431,000,000
Parsons Corp. $5,286,136,252
Fluor Corp. $3,754,964,295
Washington Group International $3,133,078,193
Shaw Group/Shaw E & I $3,050,749,910
Perini Corporation (Diane Feinstein's husband, Dick Blum's firm) $2,525,000,000
Contrack International Inc. $2,325,000,000
Tetra Tech Inc. $1,541,947,671
USA Environmental Inc. $1,541,947,671
CH2M Hill $1,500,000,000
American International Contractors, Inc. $1,500,000,000
Odebrect-Austin $1,500,000,000
Zapata Engineering $1,478,838,958
Environmental Chemical Corporation $1,475,000,000
Explosive Ordnance Technologies Inc. $1,475,000,000
Stanley Baker Hill L.L.C. $1,200,000,000

[ebayfool]

32. How would the Army know to 'hire' them 1 year BEFORE 9/11?

As well as years before we invaded Iraq? Is this SOP, having bids out just in case we have a little war?

[0007]

39. Duh!

[ebayfool]

85. Okkkay - didn't think the sarcasm gif was necessary, but if I must ...

:sarcasm:

[Karmakaze]

29. Does anyone else remember what started the Falluja uprising?

Remember the four "contractors" pulled out of their vehicle, killed and burned? Remeber what the Iraqi's were saying about that incident?

They said that the four were killed because they had been driving through the streets randomly shooting civillians.

And here we have the Marines saying the same thing. How many Marines died because of the Falluja uprising and the subsequent attempts to "pacify" it? If I recall correctly it was a significant percent of the total deaths.

Perhaps the Marines WERE treating these guys far more humanely than they treat Iraqi who threaten their lives? If these guys were driving around shooting randomly at civillins and Marines, and if they had been Iraqi, they sure as hell wouldn't have been "detained" - they would have been blown away.

[sattahipdeep]

80. Blackwater $21.3 million.

Blackwater Security provides security guards and two helicopters
for the administrator of the CPA, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer.
The contract was awarded on Aug. 28, 2003; it is
valued at $21.3 million.

http://www.public-i.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=95

[burrowowl]

30. Marines are pissed

contractors getting more pay.
Internecine conflict!?!?
Civil War in Iraq: Murrikans fighting Murrikans!

[eridani]

41. Like about 30 times more--

--and not subject to military discipline. I'd be sorely tempted if I were in the Marines' shoes.

[Rex]

35. Iraqi democracy

Step out of line and get your head crushed. Freedom in a military state. :eyes:

[LuPeRcALiO]

38. ah, capitalism arrives

company cops beating up workers, and no pesky politicians or journalists around asking questions, hallmarks of a well-ordered corporatocracy.

[annabanana]

42. Contractors have REALLY GOOD coverage, right?

I'm assuming that in their juicy compensation packages, there's very comprehensive health insurance.

[Disturbed]

43. 20K Mercs?

It is understandable that the the troops would be resentful of mercs. That still shouldn't give them free reign to abuse them. It is also plain now that "Insurgents" get abused and tortured. Iraq is a violent pit thanks to the Bush Regime's illegal invasion and Occupation.

It seems that most Iraqis are aware that the Bush Regime is only using Iraq as a colony and usurping their oil and property.

[DoYouEverWonder]

47. Obviously this type of treatment

is standard operating procedure. Too bad it happened to a couple of white guys, otherwise it would be no big deal.

[Lori Price CLG]

49. Marines arrest US contractors (for shooting US forces)

(Mods - not same story as contractors beating Marines.) -LP

Marines arrest US contractors

Fallujah - US marines said on Wednesday they had detained 19 employees of a contract security firm, including 16 US citizens, in the former rebel hotspot of Fallujah last month after they fired on US forces.

"Nineteen employees working for a contract security firm in Iraq were temporarily detained and questioned after firing on US Marine positions in the city of Fallujah on Saturday, May 28," Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lapan said in a statement.

<snip>

"In accordance with standard operating procedures, the Americans were segregated from the rest of the detainee population and, like all security detainees, were treated humanely and respectfully."

Lori Price

[CottonBear]

50. Did the Marines subject the US contractors to torture since

"... like all security detainees, (they) were treated humanely and respectfully."

[grytpype]

51. "were treated humanely and respectfully"

Translation: they were white and spoke English, so we couldn't get away with shocking their balls.

[Disturbed]

54. Read the story but it makes no sense.

Why were Amerkian mercs firing on Marines?

[Lori Price CLG]

55. Probably the Marines are annoyed that the mercenaries

('contractors') are paid a fortune, and they get zippo... hence, the discord that erupted (that will be covered up in the media due to the Michael Jackson trial or runaway bride updates).

Lori Price

[burrowowl]

58. Had it been Marines

firing on Marines, it would be called friendly fire.
Are the Mercenaries and Marines on the same frequency? Many Mercs are former Marines, more money .... Is pretty shitty getting friendly fire, let alone expensively paid friendly. The Mercs probably have more ammo than our Marines since the U$ of A support our troops can produce enough.

[sattahipdeep]

78. See #28

Bremer_Tenent_Goss_

Contractors Write the Rules

http://www.public-i.org/wow/

A report issued by the US Justice Department
has boosted the credibility of Sibel Edmonds,
the former FBI translator who claimed a foreign
intlligence agency had blocked evidence
gathered prior to the 9/11 attacks.

http://www.breakfornews.com/Sibel-Edmonds.htm

http://hannah.smith-family.com/archive/000133.html

[LiviaOlivia]

52. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1533994&mesg_id=1533994

[Lori Price CLG]

53. Nope, not same story or premise. n/t

[LiviaOlivia]

56. Disagree

same story different source


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1502474,00.html

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

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[SpiralHawk]

62. "Onward Mercenary Soldiers,

Marching off to the bank"

- Courtesy of BushCo Unltd.

[Barrett808]

68. AP: Military Investigates U.S. Guards in Iraq

Military Investigates U.S. Guards in Iraq
By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military is investigating 16 private American security guards for shooting at U.S. Marines and Iraqi civilians during a three-hour spree last month west of Baghdad, officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, President Jalal Talabani said up to 25 Sunni Muslim Arabs will be appointed to join elected lawmakers in drafting

Iraq's new constitution, averting a threatened Sunni boycott of the process if they did not receive greater representation.

The Marines said the 16 Americans and three Iraqi contractors sprayed small-arms fire at Iraqi civilians and U.S. forces from their cars in Fallujah on May 28. There were no casualties.

Marines spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Lapan said Marines reported seeing gunmen in several late-model trucks fire "near civilian cars" and on military positions.

"Three hours later, another Marine observation post was fired on by gunmen from vehicles matching the description of those involved in the earlier attack," Lapan said.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050609/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[leesa]

66. Wouldn't it be rich if this ended up being a civil war between

the US military and the mercenaries?

[Nihil]

71. Heh heh !

At least they'd be "fighting over there instead of over here" to quote
a certain dumbass ...

[bunkerbuster1]

74. no, it wouldn't.

It'd just be another clusterfuck, courtesy of Commander Cuckoobananas and crew, paid for by you and me.

[Dover]

76. "How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?"

"How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?" one of the marines is alleged to have shouted at the men, in an apparent reference to the large sums of money private contractors can make in Iraq.

..snip..

But he said the incident also raised the question of what happens to contractors if they are caught doing something wrong, such as firing on civilians, as their legal status is not defined. "If the marines think did do something illegal there is no process they can go through. Who are they going to hand them over to?" Mr Singer said. "There have been more than 20,000 on the ground in Iraq for more than two years and not one has been prosecuted for anything."

[Supersedeas]

77. a culture of torture?

[sattahipdeep]

79. $1.475 billion

http://www.public-i.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=83

Zapata Engineering was awarded a contract for munitions removal
worth up to $1.475 billion over a period of five years, which
includes four option years. This is a worldwide contract but most
of the work will be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Further clarification from USACE has revealed that the contract
originally was awarded on August 25, 2000. According to a Defense
Department press release.

[Algorem]

82. sposed to be a show on npr this weekend about soldier/merc situation

in Iraq,I keep hearing ad for it between shows,a soldier and a mercenary yelling at each other,the mercenary doing security somewhere telling soldier he has to leave

[bunny planet]

83. Perhaps the soldiers are fed up with the contractors being paid 100K a

year to do the same jobs soldiers are getting $1000./per month for.

Never mind, just more bad apples.

[Walt Starr]

86. Contract workers accuse Marines of abuse

Contract workers accuse Marines of abuse

By Griff Witte
The Washington Post
Published June 10, 2005


WASHINGTON -- U.S. Marines and employees of a contractor working for the military in Iraq offer sharply contrasting versions of a recent incident in which Marines in Fallujah detained 19 of the company's employees for three days after saying the contractors fired at them.

The contractors say they did not, and some now allege that the Marines physically abused them during their confinement.

<snip>

At one point during the contractors' confinement, Schopper said, a Marine asked, "How does it feel to be a rich contractor now?"

<snip>

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has begun an investigation into the initial incident and the contractors' allegations, a Navy spokesman said.

<snip>

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0506100178jun10,1,7622828.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Now you have Bush policies of outsourcing military functions to contractors in Iraq resulting in current Marines who are rightfully frustrated and angry about contractors making fortunes off the blood of servicemen abusing former Marines.

Semper Fi.