A bill to ban Blackwater

[Robbien]

A team of Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced a bill this afternoon that would quickly force private security contractors out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill, which Schakowsky dubbed the S.O.S. -- "Stop Outsourcing Security" -- Act, would force the State Department to phase out an estimated 800 private diplomatic security guards within six months of enactment. It would ban other private security guards in Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else Congress has authorized the use of force by 2009.

. . .

The bill faces an uncertain future. It has a Senate sponsor, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, but so far no home in a House committee. Stay tuned.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/11/a_bill_to_ban_blackwater_and_s.html
_______________________________

Jan Schakowsky. My rep.

How can one not love her.

[pinto]

1. Good move, good meme, good bill.

[kelligesq]

2. It's a wonderful bill but

America has to fear a mercenary army of more than 20,000 men I
think I heard,  coming back here.

[Robbien]

3. I first thought our problem was our guys coming back from Iraq with

brain/psychological problems.

But that is nothing compared to these mercs who have been well armed and have lived with no rules.

Interesting times does not even begin to describe what is next.

[orleans]

7. exactly. then we can banish them from this country as well.

welcome to du

[Elspeth]

9. Yes. I actually think we should outlaw Blackwater entirely

Private armies that can ignore the Geneva conventions anywhere in the world need to be banned

[superkia]

17. Yeah, we dont need them here with their $15 billion war on drugs...

contract. They will be here training to work for Bush's martial law. I thought I heard somewhere that they had more of them in Iraq than we do U.S. soldiers?

[Swamp Rat]

4. good

:kick:

[Hekate]

5. Good start. Next, Congress MUST ban them from serving anywhere in the US. Ever.

There must never be a repeat of what happened in New Orleans, with mercs showing up in lieu of National Guardsmen.

Hekate

[kelligesq]

6. absolutely right n/t

!

[FREEWILL56]

8. Yes, this is a good bill as "contractors" should not be replacing our military

or any other government worker as this puts our government functions up for sale and is totally unreliable and is most likely unlawful to begin with, but nobody has really been stopping these people that have been staging a slow coup on our government. This is only one part of the massive tasks ahead of us in reversing what they've done.
Welcome aboard.

[burythehatchet]

15. I'm sorry, but you are looking at the armed forces of the future (present)

hired by the owner class to protect their assets, and sieze what's left of ours.

[libnnc]

10. Blackwater's presence scares the shit out of me

I want them shut down for good.

[yurbud]

11. ...and sign international anti-mercenary treaty:

Maybe it's time for the US to fashion an anti-mercenary law along the lines of the UN treaty on mercenaries that we didn't sign that says:

the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries should be considered as offences of grave concern to all States and that any person committing any of these offences should either be prosecuted or extradited

and goes on to define mercenaries as:

Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar rank and functions in the armed
forces of that party...

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm

And so on.

[Krashkopf]

12. I'll go one step FURTHER

If I was in Congress, I would introduce a bill to BAN private armies in THE UNITED STATES!

[Fly by night]

13. I hope we stop Blackwater in Iraq/Afghanistan before we have to stop them at home.

[burythehatchet]

16. DuZY!

[aikoaiko]

14. For the most part we have little to fear from Blackwater or other security contractors coming home.

I have known a few over the years. They come home and spend their money on down payments for modest houses for their families, get out of credit card debt, set up college funds for their kids, buy a few fun toys and maybe a vacation, but none of them have gone crazy.

Sure, there are clearly some psychos over there and will be problems when they come home, but most, I believe, are just average men who did a dangerous job that required a specialized skill set and not the monsters that many make them out to be.