Waxman questions State Dept. actions after drunken Blackwater contractor killed Iraqi VP's guard

[rodeodance]

Source: Hill

Waxman questions State Dept. actions after drunken Blackwater contractor killed Iraqi VP's guard
By Klaus Marre
October 01, 2007

The staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has unearthed new information that raises questions about State Department actions with regard to contractor Blackwater USA, highlighting an incident in which a drunken contractor killed an Iraqi guard.

According to a document released Monday, the intoxicated Blackwater contractor shot and killed the guard of Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi. Within two days of the incident, the department had allowed the contractor to leave the country and “recommended that Blackwater make a ‘sizeable payment’ and an ‘apology’ to ‘avoid this thing becoming even worse.’”

While at first a department official suggested payment of $250,000, it was later deemed that the sum was too high and a payment of $15,000 was agreed upon.

“There is no evidence in the documents that the Committee has reviewed that the State Department sought to restrain Blackwater’s actions, raised concerns about the number of shooting incidents involving Blackwater or the company’s high rate of shooting first, or detained Blackwater contractors for investigation,” according to the committee document.

Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/waxman-questions-state-dept.s-actions-after-drunken-blackwater-contractor-killed-iraqi-vps-guard-2007-10-01.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. When is the hearing?

Did I miss it?

[0007]

29. It on now - c-span3 nt

[seemslikeadream]

36. I was at work but I'm watching it now on CSPAN on line

:hi: :hug:

[truthisfreedom]

2. Go Waxman. You can be certain this company is corrupt from the ground up.

Any company that gets bushco's approval is nothing but a sinkhole for American tax dollars.

[Gman]

20. Any company that hires professional mercenaries is corrupt

by definition which fits nicely with Bushco.

[Robbien]

3. This pisses me off. How arrogant

The State dept official said the $250,000/$100,000 for an Iraqi death are “crazy sums” and stated that such a figure could cause Iraqis to “try to get killed so as to set up their family financially.”

Yeah right. Iraqis don't grieve when a loved one is killed. Hand them fifteen grand and the Iraqi will be overjoyed.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. And what would it say about the state of Iraq if a person were willing to do such?

The idea of someone sacrificing their life for such a small sum of money to help their family is heartbreaking.

What that really says to me is that the people of Iraq are in a painfully desperate state of mind.

[civildisoBDence]

14. Nothing like dehumanizingy our enemies

I know I'd be sending all my loved ones out to get killed for $100 grand apiece.

Here in the US, all I have to do is get them to spill hot coffee in their laps. What a country!

Newsprism

[Botany]

4. What happened to my country?

Ever since the SCOTUS gave bush the White House my country has hit the
skids ....

kill somebody when you are drunk .... fine
shot a friend in the face after drinking and wait 18 hours to talk to the police .... fine
spy on people ..... fine
torture ...... fine
steal elections .... fine
slime a war hero .... fine
have a Sec. of State be asked not to visit a country .... fine
have control over so much of the media that you control the message .... fine
start a war ..... fine
call troops in battle "phony" .... fine and the repugs in congress will vote to support you.

[Trillo]

5. K&R n/t

[Beaverhausen]

7. Waxman is a busy man

[robinlynne]

8. The US has been doing this quite a lot- kill innocent families, then pay them 20

2 or 3 thousand dollars per person. I remember the discussion here several years ago, about "what a life is worth".
Why doesn't Nancy Pelosi get this?
referring to her recent interview with wolf blitzer where she says, we tried, he vetoed. And he says aren't you going to keep on trying, and she says "you don't really understand how ths system works."

[louis-t]

9. The amazing thing about this? The guys that got fired..

were fired for the drunkenness and not for the killing, from what I understand. There is no accountability for contractors there. Dumbass made sure of that. Not subject to Iraqi law, not subject to American law, not subject to international law, not subject to military law.

[IndianaGreen]

10. Blackwater mercenaries are Christian, and as such they can kill infidels with impunity

That has been the track record of Christianity for 2,000 years, and that is going to be their track record for the next 2,000 years (assuming they don't get us all killed before then).

[Mark D.]

22. Excuse Me

Not only fake concservative, they are fake Christian.
True Christians don't need to support organized faith
and don't have to vote pro-life and support killing as
much as Bush & Co. want and falsely justify it. There
are many who are Christian who are as against the way
many have ignored science, and held us back in just so
many ways. Misused, Christianity is wrong. But I don't
consider Blackwater folks or the folks who sent them
there, any more than I consider Cheney, DeLay, Pat
Robertson, Fallwell or any of them Christin either.
They are the false prophets. They are the evil.
Their God is not God but Money and it is global
money people that run everything and will use
the fact that almost all fundamentliasts are so
simple and easily led they will fall for their lies
to build a devoted bunch of sheep followers...

[Bluebear]

11. Onward, Blackwater Christian Soldiers! nt

[dickbearton]

12. The Corrupt Republicans are right , they just got it ass backwards as usual...

The terrorist are following us back to America, the Blackwater
terrorist. Didn't these guys cause problems in New Orleans as
well as Iraq?

[Sam Ervin jret]

15. cause the problem? maybe? maybe not? Make themselves RICH off of it? NO DOUBT!!

Haliburton and friends. A Black Mark on America. THE BIG BROTHER THE COMPANY of our time.

[yellerpup]

13. Blackwater should be declared a terrorist organization . eom

[Seabiscuit]

17. I'll gladly declare it: BLACKWATER IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!

There. I feel better already. How about you?

[yellerpup]

28. Maybe I will when they are off the public payroll,

out of Iraq, and locked up in Guantanamo with all the rights of the other prisoners being detained there.

[Seabiscuit]

32. I hear ya. But meanwhile, I'll still call them a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!

[yellerpup]

35. And you will be 100% CORRECT!

[Beartracks]

16. Well, at least now we know...

...how much an Iraqi life is worth to these people. :mad:

[tblue37]

25. That's a highly placed Iraqi life. An ordinary Iraqi would

probably be considered worth much less.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

18. Self-delete. (n/t)

[Mark D.]

19. In America

If he did this, it would be a homicide. At the
very least manslaughter with years in jail. In
what way does this differ but that it's one of
the right wing's new army (regardless of who's
in power) doing the shooting in this case here.

That is the problem. Only we on the left with
common sense, or empathy, realize that guard
was FUCKING MURDERED. Fake-con supporter
folks could care less ... And these 'actions' of
the state department ... to 'demand' he throw
a little money at that man's family...is bullshit.
Fuck the hearings ... where are the handcuffs?

This is just preparation. Like what'd happened
in that major incident recently; to see if they
CAN get away w/ murder OVER THERE so they
can work their way to getting away with that
OVER HERE. You know, protesters, civil rights
folks, vegans ... as their new set of targets.

They can't all be fit in detention camps and noisy
ones like Alex Jones & RFK Jr. who are too smart
& onto things for their own good can stir troubles
in captivity. As done with Hunter Thompson, make
it look like a suicide. If not that a little 'accident'
or like they had 'shot first'. This is just practice...

[radhika]

21. Waxman Does Like to 'Talk' - Doesn't He?

I wouldn't get too hyped up about Henry Waxman's questions - or even his hearings. I was as excited as the rest of you when he and the Dems first got committee chairmanships and subpoena power. Naively, I titillated that oo-wee, now there's gonna be some butt whupping. The USA will be A-OK again, sort of. But virtually nothing is coming of any of the hearings or foragings for data.

Henry asks someone from the Administration to send him info or stop by the hearing for a chat. They decline, or just don't get back to you. Do subpoenas get issued? Do you charge Inherent Contempt? Nah, too much like work. Lots of constitutional matters are appropriately under inquiry. Anything being done? Not that I've seen.

Henry the Timekiller is just hamstering the cage until its 'moot' to do anything about the debacle that is US-under-Bush. Stage One of the Imperial State of War.

[calimary]

23. Yeah. I'd rather see him do more than talk on these things. A LOT more.

Mr. Waxman sir, how 'bout those subpoenas you issued at which contradicta has been thumbing her nose for months? Do you have ANY plans to enforce such things? Or are they going to be thus rendered as jokes - the way the Dems at large are, already?

I cheer for Henry, too. He's my Congressman anyway. But Dear God, he's really pulling his punches! It's infuriating!!! I thought he was going to be a bulldog. He's more like a Teacup Chihuahua.

:banghead:


My KINGDOM for some backbone...

[L0oniX]

24. Welcome to DU

[BeHereNow]

26. You are NOT alone- ALL show, go nowhere on the Waxman investigations, for YEARS now

Pretty depressing, is it not?
Welcometo DU.
BHN

[judaspriestess]

27. Only $15,000??

It is most likely his family lost their financial support system because of some arrogant piece of shit poor excuse of a human being fucking murdering Amurkan? WTF?

[0007]

30. Congressman Darrell Issa looks and acts like Gomer Pile

[0007]

31. Listening to Dan Burton questioning Erik Prince is like watching

Hulk Hogan defending the integrity of professional wrestling.

[0007]

33. Erik Prince is getting rattled.

He is making quick succession of short percussive sounds that don't make sense but his facial expression sez it all.

[Kurovski]

34. K&R. (nt)