Blackwater and me: A love story it ain't by Lt. Col. Robert Bateman

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1012contractoroct12,0,4399312.story


<snip>
I know something about Blackwater USA. This opinion is both intellectually driven as well as moderately emotional. You see, during my own yearlong tour in Iraq, the bad boys of Blackwater twice came closer to killing me than did any of the insurgents or Al Qaeda types. That sort of thing sticks with you. One story will suffice to make my point.

But imagining that incident from an Iraqi perspective made it clear to me that though Blackwater USA draws its paycheck from Uncle Sam, it's not working in Uncle Sam's best interests. If I was this angry, I can only imagine the reactions of the tens of thousands of Iraqis who encounter Blackwater personnel on a regular basis.

What employees of the private security firm care about, and I have heard this from the Blackwaters with whom I interacted in Iraq, is their paycheck. They care about their huge compensation packages, and about getting home alive to spend them. Blackwater USA has already taken in more than $1 billion from the public coffers.

All in all, that's not a bad take for Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and a Naval Academy dropout who served less time under the colors of the nation, in uniform, than my most recent pair of boots.
<snip>

Lt. Col. Bateman has been a frequent contributor to Eric Alterman's 'Altercation' on Media Matters for the last couple of years.

[babylonsister]

1. Kick/nom. nt

[Lugnut]

2. K&R n/t

[kimmylavin]

3. My friend works with the Marines.

Training soldiers to deal with insurgents.
These folks are PISSED about the Blackwater thing.

I think that if the military started speaking out against Blackwater, en masse, using points like:
1. They're mercenaries, with no loyalty.
2. They're doing a LOT to harm America's reputation.
3. They cost three times as much as a soldier, yet have no oversight and no real chain of command.
4. They are associated with the military, which couldn't be further from the truth, and which makes us look REALLY BAD.

then Blackwater might just be sent home, tails between their legs, and put on trial.

[Bicoastal]

4. JUST LOOK AT THE COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM!!!

Some anonymous Freepnuts are calling this guy a liar. And to his credit, he personally CALLS THEM OUT on it!

Nicely done, sir.

[TacticalPeek]

5. K & R

:kick: