Pentagon Gives Blackwater New Contract

[struggle4progress]

By Ali Gharib

WASHINGTON, Sep 28 (IPS) - A U.S.-based private security firm received a contract worth up to 92 million dollars from the Department of Defence amid hard questions about its involvement in two separate violent incidents in Iraq.

"Blackwater has been a contractor in the past with the department and could certainly be in the future," said the U.S.’s top-ranking military officer, General Peter Pace, at an afternoon press conference here.

The future arrived just two hours later when the Pentagon released a new list of contracts -- Presidential Airways, the aviation unit of parent company Blackwater, was awarded the contract to fly Department of Defence passengers and cargo between locations around central Asia ...

Last week, the Iraqi government announced that it had revoked Blackwater's license to operate in the country ... http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39458

[Lars39]

1. Of course they do.

:banghead:

[maddezmom]

2. Blackwater is the new Halliburton

:eyes: Doesn't Congress have any oversight on it?

[struggle4progress]

4. It's reasonable to ask Congress to disallow spending federal dollars

to hire such contractors: they're incredibly expensive, using them instead of federal personnel undermines the military and establishes the private equivalent of standing armies, and in Iraq they produce major blowback.

[burrowowl]

5. Very reasonable!

Is Congress reasonable?

[struggle4progress]

6. Some of the 535 are more reasonable than others: it's a local game

[lonestarnot]

9. Congress doesn't give a fuck.

[mod mom]

3. Those who approved this should be held personally responsible for any crimes

that this organization does completing this contract.

Business as usual in our one nation under BFEE.

[bobthedrummer]

7. Some background links

"The Far Right in West Michigan: Erik Prince" (from mediamouse.org)
http://www.mediamouse.org/resources/right.php?personId=8

Erik Prince profile from source Watch.org
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Erik_Prince

"Security Company Death Squads Timeline by Dirk Adriaensens and Sarah Meyer" (started 9-25-2007, has extensive Blackwater links + info on 19 other mercenaries)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x309935

Mr. Cheney had a meeting in Utah today with a "super-secret" group that was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye, a group that the Prince and DeVos families and associates has supported-the Council for National Policy

Council for National Policy page from Source Watch.org
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy

Fascism is on the march.

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[struggle4progress]

8. Thanks!