Contractor Expert: State Dep't Also Culpable in Blackwater Incident

[babylonsister]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004230.php

Contractor Expert: State Dep't Also Culpable in Blackwater Incident
By Spencer Ackerman - September 19, 2007, 10:17AM

Few people not employed by Blackwater know more about the rising world of private military companies than Robert Young Pelton, author of Licensed To Kill, an exploration of military contracting in the war on terrorism. Pelton told me it's a mistake to point a finger at Blackwater for Sunday's debacle in Mansour without looking at the role of the State Department -- which, after all, pays Blackwater to protect its diplomats. State doesn't want to take chances with its peoples' lives in the chaos of Iraq.

Blackwater's rules of engagement "are set by State and are different than other security contractors who use the Military Rules of Engagement and Rules of Force," Pelton says via e-mail. "State went from a kinder, gentler Rules of Force (they were told to shoot flares, throw water bottles or wave a flag to warn off motorists) to shoot if a threat is imminent with no warning shots required. They are supposed to use aimed shots and have to file a report if there is any discharge of a weapon." The State Department has said that Blackwater fired warning shots in Sunday's Mansour attack at an approaching car.

As quoted by the New York Times, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that security companies in the department's employ will, when under attack, "respond with graduated use of force, proportionate to the kind of fire and attack that they’re coming under." The rules of engagement for contractors in Iraq are much less restrictive than those for the U.S. military. An ex-Legionnaire named Anthony Hunter-Choat, who used to supervise security for the Pentagon's contracting office in Baghdad, created the first rules of engagement for Iraq security contractors. According to Pelton, Hunter-Choat said in 2003, "if they shoot, shoot back."

That's a standard that, so far, hasn't been met with objections from the State Department. "Its important to note that or Embassy security details work in close conjunction with the State Department security staff (Diplomatic Security Services) and the U.S. military, so it's incorrect to portray Blackwater as a lone actor in all of this," Pelton says.

[donsu]

1. kick

nt

[Didereaux]

15. kick

[goodhue]

2. kick

[goodhue]

3. !

[babylonsister]

4. !!

[goodhue]

5. ^

[goodhue]

7. .

[goodhue]

9. ,

[libodem]

6. .

:applause:

[Kelly Rupert]

8. K&R'd. Blackwater isn't the disease,

it's a particularly nasty symptom.

[Quantess]

10. Here's your 5th rec.

[Didereaux]

11. Blackwater and it's smaller competitors are a threat to..

Blackwater, who recently was reported to be scouting another 'campsite' in Calif(they are based in North carolina) are reported to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10.000 'employees, nost deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are a handful of other 'security' providers as well. All told the sum in Iraq is around 30,000. I will not bother with links, there are inumerable reputable mainstream websites who have the data. That is not the point.

The point is we now have a STANDING private military force, owning NO allegiance whatsoever to this nation, its people or constitution. Conspiracy types with overtones of paranoia are going ape. And like the hypochondriac whose headstone reads 'See! I told you I was sick' may finally be closer to reality than any of them have been since their meds ran out. Further the 'employees' of Blackwater are better armed and have better equipment than the US regular troops do.

Again the point is not the minutia, it is the BIG factor, they are a private STANDING army!

Sleep tight, your National Guard is in Iraq!

[ClayZ]

12. K and R

[JohnyCanuck]

13. No doubt, the Blackwater high ups would love another chance

to bring their act to the USA. They gave you just a taste of it with New Orleans. Think they'll loose any sleep if, in the course of the mission, their mercenaries "accidentally" waste a US citizen or two who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? I can guaran-damn-tee you that they don't loose any sleep when an Iraqi driver and his kids get blown away because dad didn't promptly pull over to the side to let the convoy through.

Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo

SNIP

Officially, Blackwater says it forces are in New Orleans to "join the Hurricane Relief Effort." A statement on the company's website, dated September 1, advertises airlift services, security services and crowd control. The company, according to news reports, has since begun taking private contracts to guard hotels, businesses and other properties. But what has not been publicly acknowledged is the claim, made to us by 2 Blackwater mercenaries, that they are actually engaged in general law enforcement activities including "securing neighborhoods" and "confronting criminals."

That raises a key question: under what authority are Blackwater's men operating? A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department, Russ Knocke, told the Washington Post he knows of no federal plans to hire Blackwater or other private security. "We believe we've got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for the federal government to meet the demands of public safety." he said.

But in an hour-long conversation with several Blackwater mercenaries, we heard a different story. The men we spoke with said they are indeed on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana governor's office and that some of them are sleeping in camps organized by Homeland Security in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. One of them wore a gold Louisiana state law enforcement badge and said he had been "deputized" by the governor. They told us they not only had authority to make arrests but also to use lethal force. {emphasis added) We encountered the Blackwater forces as we walked through the streets of the largely deserted French Quarter. We were talking with 2 New York Police officers when an unmarked car without license plates sped up next to us and stopped. Inside were 3 men, dressed in khaki uniforms, flak jackets and wielding automatic weapons. "Y'all know where the Blackwater guys are?" they asked. One of the police officers responded, "There are a bunch of them around here," and pointed down the road.

"Blackwater?" we asked. "The guys who are in Iraq?"

"Yeah," said the officer. "They're all over the place."

A short while later, as we continued down Bourbon Street, we ran into the men from the car. They wore Blackwater ID badges on their arms.

"When they told me New Orleans, I said, 'What country is that in?,'" said one of the Blackwater men. He was wearing his company ID around his neck in a carrying case with the phrase "Operation Iraqi Freedom" printed on it. After bragging about how he drives around Iraq in a "State Department issued level 5, explosion proof BMW," he said he was "just trying to get back to Kirkuk (in the north of Iraq) where the real action is." Later we overheard him on his cell phone complaining that Blackwater was only paying $350 a day plus per diem. That is much less than the men make serving in more dangerous conditions in Iraq. Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning to Iraq in October. But, as one mercenary said, they've been told they could be in New Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend," he told us. "You're going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0910-07.htm

[goodhue]

14. blackwater kick