Posted on 01/07/2009 6:02:12 AM PST by Kaslin
Justice: Once again, Americans asked to put their lives on the line go on trial. Their crime was doing the very job we asked them to do in Iraq. Will they now be sacrificed for an ungrateful Iraq?
On Sept. 16, 2007, 18 members of the "Raven 23" team came under fire while responding to an attack on another Blackwater group transporting a State Department official. It was a typical mission under their contract. This freed up military personnel for combat.
To aid their comrades, Raven 23 had to take the most direct route, which took them through Baghdad's Nisour Square on their way to the Green Zone. As radio logs show, they came under fire while trying to set up a temporary roadblock through which their comrades could pass quickly and safely.
They returned fire and when the firefight ceased 14 Iraqis were dead and 20 wounded.
To call this action "voluntary manslaughter in the commission of a crime" is a tragic joke. They were protecting State Department personnel in a war zone, as they were contracted to do. They had no reason or motive to show up in downtown Baghdad and start randomly shooting civilians.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Paid to fight?
Sounds like the traditional definition of “mercenaries” to me. Not necessarily a perjorative meaning, just a term used to describe such people.
Even the US, in its early years, hired mercenaries.
They fought for the US.
They were still mercenaries.
Saying they’re not mercenaries because they fight for the US is wrong, because they also “contract” to other foreign governments.
“Defense contractors” are traditionally understood to be defense manufacturers or service providers, other than combatants. If you weren’t a combatant, nobody’s ever called you a “mercenary”.
There was such a company out of South Africa... Executive Outcomes. They basically got shut down. I’m not sure that Blackwater has much of a future even if they move their HQ outside the US.
Who is we! I did not ask them to do shi+ they did it as private contractors and they did it for money.
Duh.
Usually those with the greatest opposition to private contractors earning 'good' money are those who lack the skills, patriotism, motivation to do that kind of work.
Mercenary corporations have long had a hard time of things, but over the long haul, they save so much money compared to having a standing army, that they continue on. Much of the 30 years and 100 years wars were fought with mercenaries.
Calling defense contractor’s mercenaries is a disservice to them. Everyone gets paid for their work, but almost all of these guys are very patriotic vets. I ought to know I have worked for a Defense Contractor for 15 years and we are not mercenaries.””
Spot on assessment. I know some very honorable people that work for BW. These men are true professionals doing a job for which they are highly trained and often better than many inexperienced military personnel.
“I also hope our government gets out of the business of hiring mercenaries to do the job our military is supposed to be tasked with doing.”
You need to read the article more closely. Blackwater is contracted to protect State Department personnel. Civilians. The military doesn’t even protect the President directly. The Secret Service does.
Mercenaries are paid to fight a war. The Blackwater folks are there to protect civilian dignitaries like the US Ambassador.
Without the services of Blackwater and other contractors, the State Dept. personnel in high risk area would be confined to their fortress. As it is..they need to rely on these contractors to protect them and not “duck” if there is an incident. All the contractors are under the supervision of State Dept. Security Officers who try to avoid going on on the streets.
State Dept. determines the rules of engagement and assignments.
Our military doesn’t want this job...for exactly the reason that these guys are on trial. You can’t trust our lilly livered friends at State to stand up for their own troops.
The use of these mercenaries in military capacities in foreign countries has presented serious legal questions that places those involved on pretty shaky ground, in my opinion.””
“Legal questions” — the lawyers have all the answers right? Any one of these “mercenaries” I would rather have as a colleague than any 50 shysters passing as legal experts. We have one of the most corrupt judicial systems ever devised which continues to bring on the ruination of our country, imho.
and how many days before hillary takes over the state department? time to give Blackwater your resignation...
Body guard and Gopher are not exactly US Military job descriptions.
Under whose legal jurisdiction does a Blackwater employee operate when he is working in Iraq?
A Blackwater employee working in Iraq certainly isn't subject to the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice. Is he subject to the civilian laws of the United States of America? The laws of Iraq (whatever they may be)? Is he subject to any legal oversight at all?
So Blackwater ASKED the US Government to issue a contract? No, the government ASKED qualified contractors to go, and Blackwater answered the call.
Yes, they have a mission that is quite different from military personnel. There are good and sound reason why the government issues these contracts, and not all of their missions are stuff the military should be doing, given current staffing levels.
Reminds me of what Kit Lange said:
>>>Those brave and honorable men who currently reside in prison cells across the country, stripped of their rank, their careers, families, and their good name, will not taste free air again for many years. Their sacrifices and their stories will be forgotten by the general public, remembered only by those of us who continue to fight for them.<<<
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2159535/posts
Blackwater and other “contractors” do more than protect US civilian/state department personnel.
They’re guarding supply convoys headed into and out of hostile areas.
They’re guarding PRIVATE enterprises.
It’s all good and fine, but quibbling about the term “mercenary” is a non-starter.
They are, in nearly every sense, wether they contract to the US or not.
I just don’t say “mercenary” like it’s a bad thing.
Myth: Blackwater contractors are unaccountable under U.S. and international laws.
Reality:
Blackwater is accountable under the U.S. Constitution, international treaties, U.S. regulations, defense trade controls acts and numerous U.S. statutes. Specifically, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) applies to contractors accompanying the total force and the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) creates jurisdiction for federal court trials. Any wrongdoing is covered under statutes such as the War Crimes Act, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the Anti-Torture Statute, the Defense Base Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and many other domestic and international regulations. Blackwater advocates stricter enforcement of existing laws.
“Blackwater and other “contractors” do more than protect US civilian/state department personnel.”
Yes, I aware that other contractors (not sure why you felt the need to put that in quotes) do other things in Iraq. However, we were discussing what Blackwater was hired to do and that’s to protect US civilian dignitaries. And they do it very effectively.
As far as you and others using the term mercenary. 99% of the time it’s used in a pejorative way intentionally. There is a distinction between what Blackwater is doing and what traditional mercenaries do. Mercenaries has historically been hired to fight wars that a county either did not want to fight itself or to augment their forces by using personnel hired from other countries. Those are offensive operations. Blackwater was hired to provide DEFENSIVE operations. Sometimes, as in this case, it requires offensive actions, but the MAIN purpose is to defend those they’re hired to keep alive.
Moral of the story: If the sh*t hits the fan, State Dept will run and hide. You are on your own.
They are mercs, and that is a pejorative.
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