get to know our u.s. mercenaries.....go to the Blackwater website

[mopaul]

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

and what is your opinion on using mercenaries in our war?
i heard the other day that there were about 10,000 u.s. mercenaires over there. surely i was hallucinating.

[mopaul]

1. sorry, there's 20,000 u.s. mercenaries over there...here's proof

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3906.htm

[TrueD]

2. They provide security for civilian rebuilding and aid efforts

and this was the company where the four Americans who were brutally murdered and dragged through the streets worked.

Why are you upset at them? I have not heard of attrocities committed by non-military people.

[Imperialism Inc.]

4. I think this was discussed and closed down earlier.

What I personally have against them is that they are essentially an Army, an armed force, that operates outside of the military chain of command. Because of this they are not accountable, except in indirect ways, to the civilian authorities or the American people.

There were reports in the British press that we lost 80 mercs in the battles of Fallujah the last couple weeks. So these guys are fighting, they aren't just truck drivers as many like to say. Our govenmernment uses this as a wayto disguise how many American deaths Iraq has resulted in.

As to your question about attrocities. How do you know what they are doing? They aren't accountable to any of the structures we have set up to hold people accoutable for such crimes. Just look at the behavior of some of the contractors in former Yugoslavia.

A private army of contractors is not democratic. That is not how a democratic society that cares for human rights structures its armed forces. Accountability and openness should be hallmarks of such a society. But then of course, we won't approve the world court either.

[WyLoochka]

7. Sure looks like they're prepared to commit

atrocities, according to their front page. This is no mundane security contractor. This pic says it all about what Blackwater is. It's a private military organization that purports to "support freedom and democracy everywhere."

Yeah right - who defines what "freedom" is - who defines what "democracy" is? Gary Johnson, Blackwater president? To whom is he accountable? To whom must he explain? Don't kid yourself, he hires his mercenaries out to whomever will pay his price, including foreign governments. Johnson's "freedom" is all about his "freedom" to make a buck wherever military intimidation will be useful in forcing local populations to shut up about what outside interests are doing in their communities, it ain't got nuttin' to do with "democracy."

[Bozita]

3. Photo of Blackwater chopper on front page of today's NYTimes

above the fold

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/pageone/scan/index.html

[maddezmom]

5. link to article

Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq
By DAVID BARSTOW

Published: April 19, 2004


his article was reported by David Barstow, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Kate Zernike and was written by Mr. Barstow.

They have come from all corners of the world. Former Navy Seal commandos from North Carolina. Gurkas from Nepal. Soldiers from South Africa's old apartheid government. They have come by the thousands, drawn to the dozens of private security companies that have set up shop in Baghdad. The most prized were plucked from the world's elite special forces units. Others may have been recruited from the local SWAT team.

But they are there, racing about Iraq in armored cars, many outfitted with the latest in high-end combat weapons. Some security companies have formed their own "Quick Reaction Forces," and their own intelligence units that produce daily intelligence briefs with grid maps of "hot zones." One company has its own helicopters, and several have even forged diplomatic alliances with local clans.

Far more than in any other conflict in United States history, the Pentagon is relying on private security companies to perform crucial jobs once entrusted to the military. In addition to guarding innumerable reconstruction projects, private companies are being asked to provide security for the chief of the Coalition Provisional Authority, L. Paul Bremer III, and other senior officials; to escort supply convoys through hostile territory; and to defend key locations, including 15 regional authority headquarters and even the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, the center of American power in Iraq.

~snip~
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/international/middleeast/19SECU.html?ex=1082952000&en=6ee1433c827a195d&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[maddezmom]

6. Bush Plans Aid to Build Foreign Peace Forces

Bush Plans Aid to Build Foreign Peace Forces

By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 19, 2004; Page A01


Facing a chronic shortage of foreign troops for peacekeeping missions, President Bush has decided to launch an international drive to boost the supply of available forces -- a move that if successful could relieve some of the pressure on U.S. soldiers to join such operations, defense officials said.



A plan approved by Bush earlier this month calls for the United States to commit about $660 million over the next five years to train, equip and provide logistical support to forces in nations willing to participate in peace operations.

The campaign, known as the Global Peace Operations Initiative, will be aimed largely at Africa by expanding the peacekeeping skills of African forces and encouraging international military exercises in the region, where U.S. officials said much of the need exists.

But African forces developed under the program could be used in peace operations anywhere in the world, officials said. And the program also sets aside some assistance for armies in Asia, Latin America and Europe to enlarge their peacekeeping roles as well.

Pentagon officials who briefed The Washington Post stressed that the plan, which Bush has yet to formally announce, is not meant as a unilateral U.S. effort. They said Bush intends it to be a broad, multinational push, with other countries contributing trainers and additional resources, although consultations with potential partner nations remain at an early stage.
~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22637-2004Apr18.html

[gottaB]

9. Senator Reed's letter to Rumsfeld

http://reed.senate.gov/iraq.htm

Reed Concerned About Presence of Unregulated Private Security Forces in Iraq

April 8, 2004

The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

The shocking deaths of four American security contractors in Fallujah have revealed the growing role that private security contractors are playing in Iraq.

These security contractors are armed and operate in a fashion that is hard to distinguish from military forces, especially special operations forces. However, these private security companies are not under military control and are not subject to the rules that guide the conduct of American military personnel. In addition, it is unclear what status these private security companies would enjoy after June 30, 2004 when sovereignty is transferred to the people of Iraq.

It would be a dangerous precedent if the United States allowed the presence of private armies operating outside the control of governmental authority and beholden only to those who pay them. In the context of Iraq, unless these forces are properly screened by United States authorities and are required to operate under clear guidelines and appropriate supervision, their presence will contribute to Iraqi resentment.

The presence and number of these private security personnel again raise the question of the adequacy of United States troop levels in Iraq. Security in a hostile fire area is a classic military mission. Delegating this mission to private contractors raises serious questions.

We request that you provide, at the earliest possible moment, an accurate tally of the number of privately armed non-Iraqi security personnel in Iraq. We also request that you adopt written guidelines, including the legal justifications for their use both now and after June 30, 2004, the rules of engagement for these contractors and the lines of coordination among U.S. military forces, the Coalition Provisional Authority (and after June 30th, the sovereign Iraqi entity) and the contractor community.

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
Senator Carl Levin (D-IL)
Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD)
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)

[the Kelly Gang]

8. scary stuff..wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley

[NoPasaran]

10. Mercenaries or "Unlawful Combatants"? n/t

[seemslikeadream]

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[seemslikeadream]

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