BBC: Iraq Govt Tells Blackwater to Leave

[Guest]

Says Used Excessive Force When Attacked; Personnel Involved to Be Tried

mh
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"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[PhreeZone 20]

Wow, Blackwater is responcible for a lot of the private contracting forces in that area right now. I have a feeling all that will end up happening is that you'll see the other companies like Triple Canopy and others getting the work and the Blackwater employes just transfering employers to continue to work the same contracts, just for a different boss.

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And tomorrow is a mystery

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[Andrewwhyte 1]

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Wow, Blackwater is responcible for a lot of the private contracting forces in that area right now. I have a feeling all that will end up happening is that you'll see the other companies like Triple Canopy and others getting the work and the Blackwater employes just transfering employers to continue to work the same contracts, just for a different boss.

Yes, and that is how it should be. No one in Iraq is saying that these security needs are no longer there. Hopefully the new service providers will provide their employees with more appropriate SOPs; if not the Iraqis will put some more people in prison; this seems like a logical step on the road to a civil society.

[BillyVance 35]

Several skydivers and some crwdogs work for Blackwater. Would be nice to get some of their opinions on this.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[bob.dino 1]

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Yes, and that is how it should be. No one in Iraq is saying that these security needs are no longer there.

I'm not sure. I've always been very uneasy about the use of mercenaries. They're very hard to control and generally aren't accountable to a government in the same way as soldiers.

Witness the widely-held belief in Iraq that Blackwater et al are outside/above the law.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

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Several skydivers and some crwdogs work for Blackwater. Would be nice to get some of their opinions on this.

You really think that they will speak up on a public forum on this?

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you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[faulknerwn 38]

A friend of mine who spent last year in Iraq told similar tales about Blackwater. One I remember - he said that he was standing in an intersection with an Iraqi cop who was directing traffic. The cop had a gun but wasn't doing anything other than directing traffic. Blackwater zoomed up to the intersection, shot the cop, and sped off. The cop was within 10 feet of my buddy - he wasn't doing anything wrong. WTF?

[billvon 3,090]

>Blackwater zoomed up to the intersection, shot the cop, and sped off. The
>cop was within 10 feet of my buddy - he wasn't doing anything wrong. WTF?

He was probably muslim, and therefore a terrorist.

[Misternatural 0]

Bwahhh... I think you must really enjoy moderating

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[tkhayes 348]

don't worry - the definitive word came on the news this morning (from CNN)

I did not get the guys name but he says "A contract with the US military in a time of war 'trumps' the Iraqi parliament and its decisions"

Nice to know that we are supporting democracy.

Actually it sounds just like the way a lot of things are run in the US. big corporations with government contracts seem to run everything.....

[JohnnyD 0]

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I've always been very uneasy about the use of mercenaries. They're very hard to control and generally aren't accountable to a government in the same way as soldiers.

Order No. 17, a law issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq before the Iraqis regained sovereignty in June 2004, gave the companies immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

I know its difficult to see beyond the rose colored glasses filled with mom, apple pie and freedom, but the reality is there are very skilled men operating in a way that the armed forces cannot. By design, these men are "above the law". Naturally, bad guys don't like them, because they are better than them and are not constrained by the ROE.

[jakee 1,571]

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I know its difficult to see beyond the rose colored glasses filled with mom, apple pie and freedom, but the reality is there are very skilled men operating in a way that the armed forces cannot. By design, these men are "above the law". Naturally, bad guys don't like them, because they are better than them and are not constrained by the ROE.

I'd imagine there are a lot of civilians not too enamoured of them as well

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[billvon 3,090]

>I'd imagine there are a lot of civilians not too enamoured of them as well.

Not any more.

[jakee 1,571]

Buh-dum tshh.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[jenfly00 0]

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I've always been very uneasy about the use of mercenaries. They're very hard to control and generally aren't accountable to a government in the same way as soldiers.

Order No. 17, a law issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq before the Iraqis regained sovereignty in June 2004, gave the companies immunity from Iraqi prosecution.

I know its difficult to see beyond the rose colored glasses filled with mom, apple pie and freedom, but the reality is there are very skilled men operating in a way that the armed forces cannot. By design, these men are "above the law". Naturally, bad guys don't like them, because they are better than them and are not constrained by the ROE.

In summary ...paid thugs.

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"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[JohnnyD 0]

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In summary ...paid thugs.

Highly dedicated and trained individuals that carry out the wishes of the CIC. Don't hate the player.

[AWL71 0]

These "paid thugs" and "paid thugs" from previous wars and generations made it possible for you to have the freedoms you have. A little gratitude might be in order.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

[billvon 3,090]

>Highly dedicated and trained individuals that carry out the wishes of the CIC.

You could say the same about the Watergate criminals. Dedication and training are great, but it is the task to which that dedication is applied that determines how worthy the individual, and whether "thug" or "hero" best describes them.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Actually mercenaries have had very little to do with winning our freedoms in past wars.

[AWL71 0]

That may be true but the war on terror is not a conventional war so it can't be fought in a conventional manner. Mercenary or soldier? They are both out to get the bad guys and that is what matters.

There has not been another attack since 9/11 so the mercanaries and soldiers must be doing some good over there.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

[NCclimber 0]

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>Highly dedicated and trained individuals that carry out the wishes of the CIC.

You could say the same about the Watergate criminals.

Another stellar comparison, courtesy of Billvon.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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There has not been another attack since 9/11 ,..

Huh? What about London? What about Madrid?

[billvon 3,090]

>There has not been another attack since 9/11 . . .

?? Did you forget the first ever biological attack against the US government? The bombings in Europe? Terrorism has gone UP since we invaded Iraq. These people are making us less safe, not more safe.

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Global terrorism up more than 25 percent
POSTED: 8:39 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2007

WASHINGTON - Iraq's sectarian warfare fueled a sharp increase in global terrorism in 2006, the U.S. State Department reported Monday.

The total number of terrorist attacks was up more than 25 percent from the previous year, according to the State Department's annual report on global terrorism.
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[Zipp0 1]

Historically, what has happened to empires defended to a major extent by mercenaries?

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[jakee 1,571]

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There has not been another attack since 9/11 ,..

Huh? What about London? What about Madrid?

And the numerous other attempted bomb plots whose foiling had absolutely nothing to with the war in Iraq.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?