Sen. Levin moves to block Blackwater’s $1 billion Afghanistan contract

[kpete]

Source: Raw Story/AP

Sen. Levin moves to block Blackwater’s $1 billion Afghanistan contract

By The Associated Press
Thursday, March 4th, 2010 -- 9:43 pm

carllevin Sen. Levin moves to block Blackwaters $1 billion Afghanistan contractA senior Senate Democrat said Thursday the Pentagon should consider barring Blackwater, now called Xe Services, from a new $1 billion deal to train Afghan police because of "serious questions" about the contractor's conduct.

The comments by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin suggests thinning patience in Congress for the Pentagon's heavy reliance on contractors on the battlefield.

U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan using independent contractors has been a boon for companies like Blackwater and saved money and time for the Defense Department, whose forces are busy in combat.

But the outsourcing has made it more difficult for military commanders to control what happens on the battlefield.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/2010/03/sen-levin-moves-block-blackwaters-1-billion-afghanistan-contract/

[tabatha]

1. Yes!

Good news.

[jody]

2. Are Xe employees subject to U.S. law for crimes they commit in Afghanistan? n/t

[ro1942]

3. It's about time

Our Defence Dept. is shameful

[No Elephants]

18. "our?"

[saigon68]

4. Rahm is behind funding these criminals

Nothing happens with out his greasy little fingers massaging the Green $$$$$$

[Bodhi BloodWave]

19. while i know Rahm is quite disliked on here

but is there any proof of this accusation, or are you just making statements drawn only from your mind?

[saigon68]

22. I am drawing on the ignore button

Adios

[Bodhi BloodWave]

23. Now thats impressive, I ask a simple question and I gets ignored.

*shrugs* Oh well, no skin off my back since it answers my question quite well i guess.

[ArcticFox]

5. " saved money and time for the Defense Department"???

I doubt that very much.

[aquart]

6. I approve of this. Go, Senator Levin!

Rewarding those murderers for electrocuting our soldiers is obscene.

[dipsydoodle]

7. +1

.

[JNelson6563]

8. Once again, Levin makes me proud.

:toast:

[CanonRay]

9. Finally somebody with stones

[Owl]

10. Yes! And PLEASE end this waste of money.

[Robb]

11. Bandaid. Red meat for the less-informed anti-war left.

Politically popular, perhaps, but does little ... What about the other four contractors who are also bidding for this billion-dollar gig? Are they really to be "trusted" more than Xe?

Congress needs to end the policy of using private contractors in any capacity for tasks that could be performed by military or civilian government personnel. I'm not talking about the truck drivers or sanitation experts, I'm talking about anything these private security companies want to do.

[Demeter]

12. I Doubt It Will Hold for 24 Hours, Even

Carl is a sell-out.

[UrbScotty]

13. MY Senator!!! AND his brother now chairs House Ways & Means!

I :loveya: Michigan!

[northofdenali]

14. Has our damn military learned NOTHING from Iraq?

Go, Sen. Levin!!! This contract killers should NEVER be given taxpayer money.

Edited to add (from Vanity Fair):

As Adam Ciralsky observed in the January 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, Blackwater may have changed its name in an attempt at a P.R. makeover—the company is now cryptically called Xe—but that has not quite helped it stay under the radar, as founder Erik Prince surely hoped it would. Quite the contrary: Blackwater has been all over the headlines last week and this week for a number of developments. Two of these should come as relief to the company, however. First of all, Blackwater dodged a bullet last week when charges accusing it of wrongdoing in the 2007 Nisour Square shooting in Baghdad were dismisse by a judge. And this week, it was reported that Blackwater has settled a series of federal lawsuits, brought by Iraqis, accusing of it using excessive force in Iraq, including in Nisour Square. But the third development is likely to renew scrutiny of the secretive defense contractor: The New York Times today reports that two of the C.I.A. agents killed in last week's suicide bombing in Afghanistan were Blackwater employees.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/01/blackwater-still-making-ripples.html

[northofdenali]

15. I just found another interesting Blackwater article:

Blackwater Took 100's of Guns from U.S. Military, Afghan Police

Senate Inquiry Shows Contractor Signed for Rifles Using 'South Park' Alias

Employees of the CIA-connected private security corporation Blackwater diverted hundreds of weapons, including more than 500 AK-47 assault rifles, from a U.S. weapons bunker in Afghanistan intended to equip Afghan policemen, according to an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee. On at least one occasion, an individual claiming to work for the company evidently signed for a weapons shipment using the name of a “South Park” cartoon character. And Blackwater has yet to return hundreds of the guns to the military.

http://washingtonindependent.com/77476/blackwater-the-senate-and-south-park

[dmr]

16. Yea, he signed it Eric Cartman. I just don't understand why

it's taking so long to cut this company & others like them out of our treasury. I guess knowing the right people & where the bodies are buried helps.

:grr:

[Vidar]

17. Go, Carl, go!

[warm regards]

20. It doesn't sound very convincing to me. "Consider," is the key word.

"A senior Senate Democrat said Thursday the Pentagon should consider barring Blackwater, now called Xe Services, from a new $1 billion deal to train Afghan police because of "serious questions" about the contractor's conduct."

[w4rma]

21. Good! (nt)

[kgnu_fan]

24. whatever takes...

[mvd]

25. Kick

End these contracts!

[Uncle Joe]

26. Mercenaries are leeches, tapeworms and loose cannons all rolled in to one.

The use of mercenaries should be outlawed, there is no legitimate, logical reason; to have them, only a short sighted, cynical political motivation can account for tolerating them.

I'm sorry to have missed this one, it's too late to recommend.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.