Newsweek-Blackwater Drew Guns On US Soldiers-"We're F--ing Security-Don't Have To Answer To Anyone"

[kpete]

The Blackwater File

The Confidential Iraqi Incident Report
Video: A Scene of Death

By Rod Nordland and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

Oct. 15, 2007 issue - The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."

..........

Responsible for guarding top U.S. officials in Iraq, Blackwater operatives are often accused of playing by their own rules. Unlike nearly everyone else who enters the Green Zone, said an American soldier who guards a gate, Blackwater gunmen refuse to stop and clear their weapons of live ammunition once inside. One military contractor, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution in his industry, recounted the story of a Blackwater operative who answered a Marine officer's order to put his pistol on safety when entering a base post office by saying, "This is my safety," and wiggling his trigger finger in the air. "Their attitude was, 'We're f---ing security; we don't have to answer to anybody'."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21163806/site/newsweek/

[babylonsister]

1. I believe it; I think Jeremy Scahill mentioned this, too. It's surprising

the military wasn't in an uproar over this.

[aquart]

3. We have a military? Still?

People who disagree with Georgie retire early.

[Robbien]

5. How do you know the military isn't in an uproar

The military is just under orders not to speak to the press

[tekisui]

9. The Marines said they want out of Iraq. Maybe BW has something

to do with this?

[SpiralHawk]

73. Blackwater is the republicon Praetorian Guard - not loyal to America

Loyal only to the republcion crony paymasters

republicons HATE America and are proving with with these mercenary corporations

[aquart]

2. So, is she saying it didn't happen?

Because I'm thinking it did.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

8. Sounds like a "nondenial" denial to me. She doesn't deny it, just makes the comment about gossip.

[aquart]

22. Yep.

[spanone]

4. K&R

[tabasco]

6. Blackwater should just rename themselves the SS.

That's what they are. Immoral, unscrupulous murderers.

[Sequoia]

13. Hell, yes! Get rid of those goose-stepping goons now!!!

I hope and pray Eric Prince's little kingdom goes bankrupt. If anyone's a terrorist it's Blackwater.

[lovuian]

26. No Gestapo they wore black

remember

[Sirveri]

30. BW Instructors do wear all Black.

I know I've been there.

[Red Zelda]

56. bingo!

everything they do is SS. Right to the religious roots of the party organization.
Sieg heil, fuckwads. Please, UN-FUND these beasts!

[tekisui]

7. Is the US military going to have to start fighting BW?

BW acts like a rogue terrorist organization, answering to no one.
How much US money did it cost to have private mercenaries disarm and detain US paid Marines?

[Ignis]

10. Wow, this is explosive! Keep it up, kpete! K&R. (nt)

[flvegan]

11. Since when do the "rent-a-cops" tell the real cops who is boss?

[spanone]

12. what are these guys gonna do when they come home...scares the shit out of me

[kisserofsinners]

64. we already know.

They will become private security here. Like they did during the hurricane Katrina relief.

They are actively promoting themselves as such, doing what they can to keep revenue flowing after the war.
The investors have to make sure their business model is diversified.
Long live profits from murder!!!

[Ghost in the Machine]

14. I don't know how well this speaks of the soldiers who bowed down

to some fucking security guards. Seriously...

This is a big story though. It's exposing Blackwater more and more as the MERCENARIES that they are, with no allegiance to any flag or country, just the man with the most money.

Those soldiers should have shot every damned one of those jackboots.

[tekisui]

16. They should have.

The Marines must be well aware of how trigger happy these thugs are, and surrendered out of fear for their lives. Or, they have orders that they are to do as BW says.

[Disturbed]

17. When the US Military stands down to Mercs

something is seriously screwed up!

[Ghost in the Machine]

18. I agree 100%

[me b zola]

39. agreed.

[Guaranteed]

32. Absolutely. Should have destroyed them.

Those soldiers are the representatives of the PEOPLE of the United States.

[Aviation Pro]

34. More than likely....

...the soldiers did not have ammunition in their weapons. The Bravo Whiskeys are always locked and cocked and ready to shoot at a moments notice.

[Ghost in the Machine]

36. Why, pray tell, would we have soldiers in a war zone with unloaded weapons??

That's a very sad commentary if that's true, don't you think? I don't care if you're in a "green zone" or not... you don't unload your weapon and let your guard down in a war! Period! That'd be like an off duty cop carrying an unloaded weapon. That's just nuts....

[Aviation Pro]

37. The Green Zone is supposedly a secure garrison area....

...and like all military installations, the only service members authorized to carry ammunition are those providing security for the perimeter and the gates. To prevent accidental discharges, ammunition is removed upon return to the garrison and stored in an arms room or other secure facility. Blackwater has no such regulations so they routinely wander around with weapons loaded and more than likely with the safety in the off position.

[Sic Semper Tyranus]

41. Secure garrison status shouldn't matter

I'll say up front that I have not been to Iraq, but I just returned from 12 months in Afghanistan, where the perceived threat is not as high as in Iraq. Nonetheless even when "in garrison" on a camp we were required to have at least one loaded magazine on our person for each weapon we carried. Certainly we cleared the weapon(s) as we entered the camp, but the magazines were on our person at all times. In fact on the actual camp I lived on (not a main HQ camp, but still quite secure) we were required to carry the loaded magazine in the weapon (Condition Amber) just with no round chambered. I can't imagine anyone issued a weapon in Iraq would ever be in a situation where they were not even in possession of a loaded mag, even if not in the weapon.

I had a run-in with Blackwater in Kabul while we were out on a mission just before I left. I guess after reading all this I'm lucky I'm still alive. They act like a law unto themselves there too. I know of few US servicemembers who had anything good to say about them there.

[Aviation Pro]

42. First off, welcome back.....

....I don't know what the chain of command has issued in the way of orders regarding carriage of ammunition in the Green Zone, but with so many civilians wandering around the AO, I imagine that to keep up the image of a "secure and peaceful oasis" orders may have been issued to the effect that prevents service members, not on guard duty or similar, from carrying ammo.

Again, those orders do not apply to the mercenaries.

P.S. Any recent returnees from Iraq who can shed some light would be greatly appreciated.

[Sirveri]

95. It's likely the same in the green zone.

I'm Navy and shoreside, security for our boat keeps rifles in Condition 3 (Chamber empty but with a full mag ready to chamber rounds, weapon on safe) and 9mm pistol in condition 1 (round chambered, weapon on safe). That's for shore security (granted we also have a nuclear reactor to protect). Why should the green zone be any less secure than a CONUS shore facility?

I also trained at BW under the navy. I have heard numerous stories about the 'my finger is the safety' attitude. In a way it is correct, so long as the trigger isn't pulled, a modern semi auto pistol won't discharge. However it is irritating to see them disrespect chain of command superiors. I suspect the real reason for the lack of safety is to prevent accidental discharge into your leg while drawing your firearm. However in Iraq even the split second required to remove the safety might prove the differance between life and death. Then again, on a suppossedly secure base, you should have less need of your firearm since you're more likely to be killed by a mortar than by a close combat encounter (I theorize having never been to Iraq, thank god).

[KayLaw]

50. Thank God you're all right.

These people sound extremely dangerous.

[awoke_in_2003]

58. Welcome back

and welcome to DU.

[Ghost in the Machine]

79. Welcome home, welcome to DU and thank you for your service

:salute:

[Raksha]

81. Welcome home, and welcome to DU, Sic Semper Tyranus!

:toast:

Your story is very revealing and reinforces the credibility of the Newsweek article. The more first-hand accounts we have of the true situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the more the neocon Nazis and their goons like Blackwater reveal themselves for what they are.

Thank you for your service and your eyewitness testimony.

[RainDog]

88. welcome home

wish you could come home to a better govt. here.

[sasquatch]

70. Yeah they should've shot the fuckers dead

[Raksha]

76. Please don't diss the Marines or say they bowed down.

They knew better than anyone just what kind of SS thugs they were dealing with. The Marines still try to play by the rules...Blackwater doesn't!

[Ghost in the Machine]

80. As far as I'm concerned, they were in clear & present danger and should

have opened fire on the douchebag security guards. From what I'm reading, it may come down to that anyways.. the military vs. the mercs

[Raksha]

84. The military vs. the mercs...that might not be such a bad thing.

It would make it explicitly obvious even to the most brain-dead Freeper ever spawned just exactly what the real power struggle is all about. AND it would force the kool-aid drinkers to choose sides. But that makes me wonder WHICH side they'd choose, and I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to that.

[spoony]

86. Maybe they're stressed out soldiers who weren't expecting

supposed ALLIES to seriously pull such a stunt. It'd be like your uncle mugging you at Christmas.

[PassingFair]

91. The fact that these stories are getting play suggests that

...Blackwater's days, at least in THIS incarnation, may be numbered.

The jig may be up for them...

[Ghost in the Machine]

94. Let's hope you're right on this. It was just a month or 2 ago when it was reported

that they had purchased some Brazillian Bombers, the Super Tucano. They already have a fleet of armed assault helicopters in Iraq.

I don't have a good feeling about them at all....

[tanyev]

15. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am"

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/28/385833.aspx

[niyad]

19. k & r for this most important topic

[austinboy]

20. This is my safety," and wiggling his trigger finger in the air

Hey...didn't Eric Bana's character say the same thing in the movie Blackhawk Down? Dude should try to get a little more original. I guess they all think they are John Rambos ove there.

[Aviation Pro]

35. Yep, and he said it to Capt. Steele, the Ranger commander....

...who came off poorly in the book, but in real life is one squared away guy.

[Canuckistanian]

21. Classic non-denial denial from the Blackwater flack

"This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."

[glitch]

23. Blackwater will be the new pariah. If not already.

They probably don't realize it yet, but they won't be mentioning their experience as Blackwater stooges on their resumes.
Or bragging in bars, whatever the case may be.

[annabanana]

24. Way to support the troops.. . . . . . . n/t

[fujiyama]

25. They're right. They DON'T answer to anyone...

Just like this administration. Accountability for those connected to this administration is nonexistent.

In saner times and places, the use of mercenaries supplied by a firm that is very close to the party in power would cause a major uproar. For God sakes' Prince's sister is married to that nutjob DeVos (thankfully the state didn't elect him). Blackwater should be disbanded and Erik Prince should rot in a prison.

In all honesty, the more I read about Blackwater types, I don't give even the slightest shit about them. And to think someone wanted to give these fuckers military burials in Arlington?

[file83]

27. Cool - so pretty soon there'll be a Civil War in Iraq....between the USA and Corporate America

What a wonderful world.

[kurth]

28. They should have been shot

[Rosa Luxemburg]

29. Thugs

just imagine how they could be used in this country? Thought Police?

[Tatiana]

31. Why the HELL isn't Blackwater under the ultimate authority of military command?

These punks have the F-ing nerve to draw their weapons on U.S. MILITARY? If this is how they treat American soldiers, how the hell do we expect them to treat Iraqi civilians whom they view as the enemy?

Heads need to roll over this. PRONTO. And Blackwater should never receive another federal contract EVER.

[Aviation Pro]

33. Here's the pic accompanying the story....

It looks like the soldiers who are taking cover are smirking at the Rambos. The attitude of the soldiers? "Go ahead, be a hero, tough guy."

[earth mom]

38. My gun is bigger than yours. Figuratively speaking of course.

:yoiks:

[wellst0nev0ter]

40. Wait, Our Soldiers SURRENDERED To A Bunch Of Mercs?

Welp, add another reason why I don't weep for those clowns that burned in Fallujah.

[bdamomma]

43. blackwater is Negroponte's death squads.

[mzmolly]

44. "Support The Troops?"

"We don't have to answer to nobody...." That is the goal for "privatizing" the war, ey?

[robertpaulsen]

67. EXACTLY! If you support a bunch of mercenaries who answer to nobody...

YOU DON'T SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!!!

[yurbud]

45. I sent this to all my friends with this note:

I spent all of junior high and high school involved in a military cadet program, Civil Air Patrol, hanging around Air Force and Air National Guard bases and dealing with military people, and every semester I have sailors and marines from a nearby base and returning vets in class.

I see the faces of all those people I have known in this story, and this is how we allow them to be treated.

We sent them to war not to protect the US but to enrich the already wealthy and to be humiliated and endangered by these employees of the president's cronies.

The bloated salaries that go to these mercenaries also means less money is available to care for injured and disabled vets when they get home, and in fact the military has been using a trick from private insurance companies to avoid treating vets with brain injuries or post-traumatic stress: they tell them it is a pre-existing condition from before Iraq and therefore they don't have to treat it.

If we paid entry level troops a decent salary and only used them to actually defend the United States instead of seize natural resources, protect oil contracts, and make Central America free for Chiquita and sweatshop owners, we would have no trouble filling the military, and people would likely not even oppose a draft, which many advanced countries have.

A lot of countries have signed a treaty banning the use of mercenaries. It would be a small step toward sanity if we did the same.

[Fridays Child]

69. I like that.

Well said. :thumbsup:

[YOY]

46. If it's true the Army Soldiers should have ventilated those Mercs' asses

I wouldn't hold it against them in the slightest.

[ooglymoogly]

47. looks like they are being trained for stateside missions.

The military has abrogated its responsibilities and oaths by taking orders from corpworlds and Shitlers private army and rolled over by not shooting these treasonous law breakers in a time of war. At the very least the officer in command should have gone in and arrested the lot of them for acts of war against the United States instead he passed the sovereignty of the United States over to a private army. If there was a shootout so be it, then Shitler and his private army would have been exposed for what it is, a treasonous entity working for corpworld and against the interests of the US and its citizens. By the U.S. military submitting to the rule of a private army it has passed the sovereignty of the U.S. to a private army controlled by corpworld. So watch out folks this horror film is coming to a theater near you if it is not already there.

[UnyieldingHierophant]

48. They should have fuckin' bombed the BW compound

[renie408]

49. God, this is some scary shit. Why does this government think that privatizing everything is the way

to go??

[Locrian]

57. because...

1 - Because the rich make a shitload of money that way?
2 - Because the rich get to take over control of the army by first gutting it then replacing it (see 1)?
3 - Because they dont have to be accountable for anything?
4 - Because they have the deadliest sin of all: pride. And believe they are "chosen" to lead by authority (see all above)

[RainDog]

85. because they are fascists.

because Mussolini identified fascism as the union of state and corporation.

because Hitler used his own personal military to intimidate opposition. because Cheney has had this in the works for years... since Nixon's impeachment, and since he selected himself to be Bush's vp, and since bush is a dick on a stick, aka Howdy Doody, Cheney has full control.

Cheney does not like democracy, even if he doesn't realize it, tho I think he does. This administration has made it possible for the president to override congressional oversight with the most signing statements ever in the history of this nation. That's saying that the executive is a dictator.

why have they awarded huge contracts to blackwater and not provided basics for our soldiers? because they want to own blackwater. and blackwater wants to be their bitch.

I, too, think the military should have capped those blackwater guys since they answer to "no" authority. Let that be a lesson about authority and treating soldiers like shit. sad thing is, many of the blackwater guys are former seals... but they think they're the shit when they're in the military, too.

however, the soldiers blackwater imported from Pinochet's murder spree in Chile and apartheid killers in South Africa, and I think some are killers from Rhodesia... well, let's just say that when China wanted to kill the students in Tianammen Square they bought in soldiers from the countryside so they wouldn't know any of the students they were killing while the lights were out.

because fascism is about power and money. read these great excerpts from Henry Wallace, Roosevelt's vice prez until he was removed because ppl claimed he was a communist (I was told this by an eighty-something year old man who used to tell me about those times. It was great to hear his extremely informed commentary.)

From Wallace:

Still another danger is represented by those who, paying lip service to democracy and the common welfare, in their insatiable greed for money and the power which money gives, do not hesitate surreptitiously to evade the laws designed to safeguard the public from monopolistic extortion. American fascists of this stamp were clandestinely aligned with their German counterparts before the war, and are even now preparing to resume where they left off, after 'the present unpleasantness' ceases.

The grandson of one of those American fascists is now president of this nation... because he stole an election in 2000... and because he started a war ... something already planned for with Iraq before 9-11... because americans do not generally vote prezizz out of office during a time of war. Bush is the hunky cheerleader beer-swilling frat boy front, just like Reagan was the fake soldier, so that the real powers can work under cover of the night, so to speak. same people now as then, in fact.

when I saw the "proto-fascism" that began immediately after 9-11, I hoped I was wrong. but this group of fascists have only gotten worse, only created more and more fascist infrastructure in this country. it will not get better, imo, because no one with the power is willing to say what they are to their faces, and to say it to the American people.

They have not installed every measure at once. They have done them all, tho, hoping their actions would not be noticed by the american people or reported by the press.

Jeff Sharlet wrote an article for Harpers a few years ago called Jesus plus nothing in which good republican christians talked about adopting the tactics of Stalin and Hilter.... but to do good things... "hitler-like" tactics was the phrase, I think.

and here is Wallace, again, more than 50 years ago, during fascisms strongest phase in the U.S. up until now:

"The really dangerous American fascists," Wallace wrote, "are not those who are hooked up directly or indirectly with the Axis. The FBI has its finger on those. The dangerous American fascist is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power."

[Zywiec]

51. If this it true, it is inexcusable

Having US Soldiers disarmed by Blackwater, can not be tolerated. When are some heads going to roll?

[Horse with no Name]

52. Certainly gives pause to some of the "unexplained" soldier deaths

and the alleged suicides in the Green Zone. Could be these poor soldiers just took the last Coke and pissed off Blackwater.

[Heywood J]

53. What the fuck?

Isn't that wartime treason to draw down on your own soldiers? Didn't they accuse John Walker Lindh of that? Strap them down to a gurney like they did to Lindh, these guys are guilty of the same thing - being the Iraq equivalent of the American Taliban.

Come to think of it, wouldn't this type of shit make them eligible for the death penalty in a court?

[liberation]

60. The chain of command allows a carte blanche to BW

BW Is hired by the higher ups, ergo a normal Lt or Captain ain't going to be messing with people with a far more direct connection with HQ than they have. It is sad and it compromises the legitimacy of the armed forces... but that is the new reality that our so-called first MBA president has brought upon us. Everything is a bizness... and war should be no different, esp it being the ultimate bizness.

Ironically there were plenty of documented clashes between the regular German Army, and the SS during WWII. With the Wehrmacht being somewhat politically neutral and just doing the bidding of the country, and to some extent carriers of a military tradition and respectful of the rules of war (still I find it ironic that war has rules...). And the SS being fully political and not respecting much in the sense of military tradition or engagement rules.

So history repeats itself. Prescott Bush should be so proud....

[Miss Chybil]

54. Corporate armies... Reminds me of that movie

where women went sterile for years and then that one lady popped up pregnant and she didn't know who she could trust to save her and her baby. I can't remember the name of it, right now, but these corporate thugs have to go.

[awoke_in_2003]

63. Children of Men. nt

[Miss Chybil]

99. Thank you. nt

[Locrian]

55. what will it be like...

What's it going to be like when Blackwater is deployed in the good old USA (other than NO)? With the recent tasering, security guards breaking 12 yo girls arms etc I suspect we will have quite a more "citizen encounters".

Geez, if the US MILITARY isn't able or willing to stand up and smack these guys how is the average guy/gal on the street going to deal?

[Joey Liberal]

59. It's Become Blackwater vs the USA?

Scary.

[The Question]

61. Bloodwater

They're murderers

[Golden Raisin]

62. Have any of the Joint Chiefs

or any Senior military brass commented publicly on Bush/Cheney's use of mercenaries (i.e. Blackwater)? Have any of the leading presidential candidates (Dems or Repubs) or the Congressional "leadership" (and I use the term loosely) such as Pelosi or Reid, had anything to say publicly about Blackwater? Or is the establishment of our own SS stormtrooper movement just unfolding in a vacuum without any protest or comment from those who ought to be seriously concerned?

[tblue37]

65. Everyone should send this to Keith. (eom)

[TrogL]

66. Geez and the Freepers are worried about the UN taking over

Blackwater already has.

[radhika]

68. Did Congress know this before the hearings?

Considering BW CEO Eric Prince was before Congress just last week - why wasn't this incident mentioned? Did Congress know about it, was it concealed from them or didn't they feel it was worthy of discussion.

[codjh9]

71. Holy shit. This surprises me, and that's unusual in our 1984-type-world today.

[Raksha]

72. I read this headline and gasped, trying to wrap my mind around it.

I'm still trying, and don't know when or if it's going to happen.

Blackwater mercenaries drew their weapons on American troops.

Kinda tells you which side these thugs are really on, doesn't it?

[radhika]

77. Ask the folks of New Orleans ....

They were so helpful after Katrina.

[codjh9]

74. Btw, are any Dem leaders/prez candidates pointing out to the public that these

'security contractors' cost the taxpaying American public, whom the Repubs claim to care about (their tax levels at least) a HELL of a lot more than regular US military personell? Unfortunately, a lot of the public needs a lot of things pointed out to them very specifically. Bush's privatization policies have been yet another boondoggle for the public.

[Initech]

75. I'm really starting to think Blackwater had something to do with Pat Tillman's death.

They are a sick bunch of motherfuckers, I hope Congress throws the book at them.

[Danger Mouse]

78. The troops should've used these fuckers for target practice.

[The Blue Flower]

82. How much more abuse of our military?

I'm seething at this report. As if our troops weren't being abused enough by this criminal corporation posing as government. The military has to be very near some sort of breaking point.

[Raksha]

87. The military has to be very close to a fucking COUP!

At this point I wouldn't blame them in the least.

[Hydra]

83. We knew this would happen

BW has been given immunity in return for their loyalty to Bushco...is it really so surprising that they are killing random people and telling our troops to surrender or die?

Show this to anyone who thinks our Gov't has any business hiring mercs.

[Raksha]

89. Too late to recommend, kicking and bookmarking anyway.

I know I've said this before, but this could very well be the story that takes down the Evil Empire once and for all. The two sides have never been drawn more explicitly, and it totally neutralizes the "support our troops" meme. The kool-aid drinkers might as well take those yellow ribbons off their SUVs, because we KNOW which side they're supporting now.

[Imagevision]

90. There's 125,000 security guards in Iraq, pull the troops ASAP, tell

Blackwater their on their own as they continue to guard the oil pipelines for Texaco & Chevron.

[Hieronymus]

92. Erik Prince is such a Nazi, even to the spelling of Erik. He looks the part too.

[WinkyDink]

93. Troops should shoot BW'ers in any confrontation.

[Hangingon]

96. "This is my safety..."

Stole that line right out of Blackhawk Down.

[Rex]

97. Well now, that says it all about our military.

Wow, just pathetic on so many levels. Thanks George.

[Sabriel]

98. Our new slogan: "Draft Blackwater First"

They're not too old, are they? (waves trigger finger in air)

I feel yet again like I'm living in a science fiction novel come to life.