Since the incident on Bloody Sunday in Iraq last week the spotlight has been finally focused on Blackwater & the other Killers for Hire working for the US Government , the Pentagon & Private Foreign owned Businesses operating in Iraq- These Mercenary Armies are just another negative aspect of the American Bloody Occupation of Iraq & these Mercenaries have been a focus of a lot of Iraqi anger over this foreign occupation of Iraq-
Inside America's private army with extended bonus scenes from Robert Greenwald's documentary "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers"
Blackwater report From CBS - note how the report is slanted in the end in favor of Blackwater because these Killers For Hire face real danger on a daily basis whereas I guess most Iraqis are living care-free lives in the American Made Utopia in which they live- of course our intrepid reporter here probably still believes that there were WMDS & Saddam & Al Qeada were linked & that only about ten thousand Iraqis have died throughout this conflict- it never occurs to her that there is something wrong in Iraq when you need thousands of Private Guards to protect American officials in Iraq- & she never questions why it is that these mercenaries are permitted to shoot at civilian vehicles on a public highway in Iraq - again this report is also a criticism of any who dare question US policy in Iraq or the Bush Regime or the Generals in its pay -
Maliki insists Blackwater must pay for shootings Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Monday September 24, 2007
The Guardian
note:that the Guardian article still reports only eleven deaths rather than the confirmed number 28 dead & dozens wounded-
and from The Independent 23/09/07 The real story of Baghdad's Bloody Sunday
Six days ago, at least 28 civilians died in a shooting incident involving the US security company Blackwater. But what actually happened? Kim Sengupta reports from the scene of the massacre :
... The shooting on Sunday, by the guards of the American private security company Blackwater, has sparked one of the most bitter and public disputes between the Iraqi government and its American patrons, and brings into sharp focus the often violent conduct of the Western private armies operating in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, immune from scrutiny or prosecution.
Blackwater's security men are accused of going on an unprovoked killing spree. Hassan Jabar Salman, a lawyer, was shot four times in the back, his car riddled with eight more bullets, as he attempted to get away from their convoy. Yesterday, sitting swathed in bandages at Baghdad's Yarmukh Hospital, he recalled scenes of horror. "I saw women and children jump out of their cars and start to crawl on the road to escape being shot," said Mr Salman. "But still the firing kept coming and many of them were killed. I saw a boy of about 10 leaping in fear from a minibus, he was shot in the head. His mother was crying out for him, she jumped out after him, and she was killed. People were afraid."
At the end of the prolonged hail of bullets Nisoor Square was a scene of carnage with bodies strewn around smouldering wreckage. Ambulances trying to pick up the wounded found their path blocked by crowds fleeing the gunfire.
Yesterday, the death toll from the incident, according to Iraqi authorities, stood at 28. And it could rise higher, say doctors, as some of the injured, hit by high-velocity bullets at close quarter, are unlikely to survive.
With public anger among Iraqis showing no sign of abating, the US administration has suspended all land movement by officials outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.
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And FROM DAILY KOS
The REAL Story of Blackwater's Bloody Sunday in Baghdad by markthshark Sat Sep 22, 2007
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for more from DEMOCRACY NOW! Blackwater:
The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary
Jeremy Scahill is the author of the new book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." interviewed by Amy Goldman .. about how new lawsuits and congressional efforts are challenging Blackwater's role as the Bush administration's leading private security force, from Iraq to Afghanistan to New Orleans.
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BBCNEWS -Iraq shootout firm loses licence
Iraq has cancelled the licence of the private security firm, Blackwater USA, after it was involved in a gunfight in which at least eight civilians died.
The Iraqi interior ministry said the contractor, based in North Carolina, was now banned from operating in Iraq.
The Blackwater workers, who were contracted by the US state department, apparently opened fire after coming under attack in Baghdad on Sunday.
Thousands of private security guards are employed in Iraq.
They are often heavily armed, but critics say some are not properly trained and are not accountable except to their employers.
The interior ministry's director of operations, Maj Gen Abdul Karim Khalaf, said authorities would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force.
"We have opened a criminal investigation against the group who committed the crime," he told the AFP news agency.
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BBC NEWS
Iraqis angry at Blackwater shooting
By Hugh Sykes SEPT. 19,2007
As many as 20,000 private security contractors are working in Iraq
US security firm Blackwater says it acted "lawfully and appropriately" after its convoy was "violently attacked by armed insurgents" in Baghdad earlier this week.
Blackwater security guards then opened fire in a busy Baghdad square.
Eyewitnesses and recovering victims of the shooting - in which 11 Iraqi civilians died - say the Blackwater account is wrong.
Asked by the BBC if anyone shot at the convoy, an Iraqi policeman, speaking anonymously, answered unequivocally: "No."
Two men shot and wounded in the incident corroborated the policeman's account.
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And the Bush Regime felt the need to send one of it's minions to placate the Iraqis & prove that the Bush & the Neocons have souls but they don't fool the Iraqis one bit -even soulless Condi Rice had to make one of her standard empty apologies to the Iraqis in order to appear to be shocked by this latest incident as if The Bush Regime gives a damn about the Iraqi people since all Condi worries about is how to cover up for the Bush Regime's ineptness & its callousness -Otherwise she is concerned with other important matters such as how to get all that oil out of the ground & increase America's power in the Middle East & what company she can become CEO for after she leaves the White House- though she can always return to the Green Zone & play the piano a bit of Rachmaninov or maybe a bit of Wagner which would be more apropos while Bhagdad burns & a million bodies are now stacked up as Homage to the American Empire- don't expect her to roam around the streets outside the Emerald City she might just get her Prada shoes dirty -
ABC NEWS Iraq: Video Shows Blackwater Overreacted -Official: 'On the Tape, There Was Nobody Shooting at the Blackwater Guards'
...The Blackwater shootings have become a major source of friction between the U.S. and Iraqi governments.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to apologize after the Sept 16 incident, but Maliki is still furious, and on Sunday he said it was "a serious challenge to the sovereignty of Iraq," and, "cannot be accepted."
...There are 20,000 to 30,000 private security contractors in Iraq guarding the U.S. embassy and other civilian agencies. There have been numerous incidents of Iraqis being shot dead by these contractors, and the private forces are widely resented across the country for their often trigger-happy behavior.
What infuriates Iraqis most is that the contractors are not subject to the Iraqi legal system, nor do they seem to fall under U.S. law. There is no record of any foreign contractor being prosecuted for the killing of an Iraqi civilian
NOTE: other sources put the figure at over 100,000 mercenaries who have contracts in Iraq as we see in the next article -
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and from GULFNEWS: BETRAYAL BY BLACKWATER By Mayada Al Askari, Staff Writer September 24, 2007
...Little do Iraqis know that there are more than 130,000 private military contractors in Iraq, raising the number of US military existence from the 130,000 plus soldiers to 260,000.
Little do Iraqis know that even the Fallujah incident of 2004 - where Blackwater USA contractors were hanged and burnt from the iron bridge - is believed by Iraqi officials to be a muscle and money war between Blackwater USA and other security firms, wanting to demarcate their territories for contracts and money. So what else is this war about for mercenaries?
When and if the US army is asked about Blackwater USA's affiliation, the response will be like the one I received from both Lieutenant Colonel Holly Silverman, a US Military official in the region, and Captain Vic Beck, US Navy Chief, Media Operations, Multi-National Force-Iraq.
Both said that Blackwater USA was a privately contracted company and had no affiliation with the US military.
So who does Blackwater USA do business with? The US State Department, with contracts reaching $715 million in Iraq.
Can Condoleezza Rice be wanting a private army for her State Department now? Well, as almost everyone has a mini militia in Iraq today, staying in vogue is very tempting.
US troops in Iraq make anywhere between $28,000-$40,000 annually, while Blackwater USA boys make the sum monthly, tax exempted.
They are the Fed Ex service of peace and stability as described by the man who established the company, Eric Prince. He also defines his firm as the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping and stability operations company in the world.
And now for something really scary: an ad for Blackwater realy scary: kids playing with all kinds of toys-
"Blackwater USA's Defensive Driving Course prepares the private military contractor with the driving skills necessary to survive an attack while on the road."
Watching this clip one can imagine what is the appeal for those who would join Blackwater or some other Private Army besides making a lot of money if one survives but they offer the chance to take part in wild car chases & blowing up things with the latest in High Tech weaponry so they can live out their wildest Macho Fantasies -
Take care,
GORD.
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