Amy Goodman & Jeremy Scahill Disucuss Blackwater’s Secret War In Pakistan

[Turborama]

Run time: 08:58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNrYEA25UGg   Posted on YouTube: November 25, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: November 26, 2009 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 2462

 
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsiD7miszqE

Full interview and transcript: http://i4.democracynow.org/2009/11/24/blackwaters_secret_war_in_pakistan_jeremy

Scahill's article: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill

Al Jazeera English Interviews Analysts On Blackwater

Mosharraf Zaidi, a New York-based Pakistani journalist and columnist, and Jeffrey Addicott, a professor of law at St Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, discuss Scahill's findings with Al Jazeera English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuEMJ6WDSRU

[defendandprotect]

1. k i c k for tomorrow --

[pauldp]

2. This should be a huge story. Blackwater denies they are in Pakistan,

yet multiple reports in the US and foreign press say differently. AND the Military is denying involvement with Blackwater.
This really smells like shit.

[JDPriestly]

11. And, aside from concerns about the reasons for their actions and without

judging whether or not taking the specific actions at issue in Pakistan is justified, if the U.S. government is funding the activities of this group and thus committing acts of war even indirectly, isn't a congressional declaration of war required?

Is there any interpretation of the separation of powers set forth in the Constitution that permits the administration to just hire mercenaries to commit acts of war somewhere in the world without a declaration of war by Congress?

[zeemike]

14. You would think.

But they all have a story line that exempts them....just like in the piece Blackwater says it has only one employee in Pakistan....thus they are Innocent.
In the Nixon years they called it plausible deni-ability.
Chaney took that to an art form by using his businesses experiences to form a separate government in which he was in charge...but that no one could accuse him of anything.

So now Obama has a shadow government that does not have his best interests at heart.
His task should be to dismantle it, and that won't be easy because there is a lot of money at stake.

[JDPriestly]

13. It is possible that they have been hired by Pakistanis precisely

because they appear to be Americans and their presence will eventually cause a stink. This could be some sort of boomerang operation. Of course, even if it is, it could be paid for with American aid money. This is the sort of complex double-agent stuff that, believe it or not, spies do. Seems like it would be impossible to even think this sort of thing up -- but it happens. Get your enemy to take the flak for what you are actually doing. Trick your enemy. Those are the keys in espionage I guess.

So Jeremy Scahill is probably on to something but just what it is we don't know.

[dotymed]

16. How many

"huge stories" are out there in the last decade? Stories that if were further investigated and actually reported as "front page" news in the MSM, could possibly, incense the population enough to demand reform? Hundreds easily. All of the stories get buried and if mentioned at all, are only done in passing and often they are reported as positive things. We don't have a MSM television news that will investigate and report the atrocities, and all of the print media are going out of business because they refuse to participate in actual investigative reporting. All we have are propaganda mills and a good interdependent media without the resources or the audience to make a difference. Even living in these devastating economic and horrific political times, the American people remain complacent and mired in make believe scandals that have no bearing on the "big picture." 1984

[tomm2thumbs]

3. '..so secretive that top Obama & military officials have likely been unaware of its existence'

that should scare the sh*t out of everyone about what the CIA is doing, without Congressional knowledge, and make you wonder about the potential threat these rogue paramilitary groups pose in starting a nuclear war in the region, and the lack of oversight on every level of what is going on under the 'flag' of the United States mission.

[JDPriestly]

12. I thought I heard the suggestion that this might be an activity

authorized not by the CIA but by a kind of autonomous clique in the military and that the drones controlled by this group might be parallel to those used by the CIA. Did I understand this incorrectly? It is possible that I did. It is very late.

[bobbolink]

26. Which means that if these activities DO progress to that point, this country

is liable to be invaded by Eupopeans who are tired of our shit.

That may be the only thing that will stop us.

:cry:

[rhett o rick]

4. k & r

[chill_wind]

5. K & R. I refuse to throw Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill

and the quest for truth under the bus.

[Turborama]

6. Me too, but what makes you say that?

Have I missed some throwing under the bus action?

[chill_wind]

7. A depressing perception

that I have that it's just a matter of time.

Thanks for posting this. Jeremy Scahill has been a truly dedicated sentinal, unparalled in his investigative journalism on the subject of these guys and the government for years.

[Turborama]

8. I hope you're wrong but after seeing the reactions to Sy Hersh on here recently you might be right

You're most welcome, I relish the opportuniy to post anything by decent ivestigative journalsts seeing as they seem to be so rare these days. And the fact that he's discussing it with Amy is the icing on the cake in this particular instance.

[chill_wind]

10. Agree. Each time Scahill exposes a finding

about the activities and the nexus to so much corruption and violence, he takes no small risks.
He and Sy Hersch are in a vanishing league of their own. It can't feel real safe, for either of them.
When they speak up, I listen.

[sattahipdeep]

24. This won't be on CNN, FOX, ABC,CBS or MSNBC

Truth slapped in your face! 2:10 / 4:10

Madsen: 'Whistle blown on secret 9/11 unit'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnnHF3BoFxc

FIRST FRUITS maintained a database on the intercepted phone calls of U.S. journalists.

Jeremy Scahill:I also received a call yesterday, as I was going to press, from individuals I had not called. I received a call from Admiral Mike Mullen’s office, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was a bit surprising to me, because I had not called Admiral Mullen’s office, so when a U.S. citizen gets a call from the military, especially from the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, its a bit jolting.

And they would not tell me how they got wind of the fact I was doing the story, or how they got my number.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States armed forces, and the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense.

[ihavenobias]

9. K & R, thanks for posting.

PS---Cenk's interview from Nov. 12th:

[ooglymoogly]

15. This is about as scary as it gets. kr nt

[sattahipdeep]

22. U.S. journalist Amy Goodman grilled at Canada border crossing

Goodman said her car was searched and the officials demanded to look at her notes and her computer.

"I am deeply concerned that as a journalist I would be flagged and that the concern – the major concern – was the content of my speech," said Goodman.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/26/bc-amy-goodman-border-incident.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4161683&mesg_id=4161683

[EVDebs]

17. The US gave nukes to Pakistan, which is why Obama is fronting for Cheney

...and why Cheney is getting away with everything right now, and Obama is letting him.

The Obama Adminstration is Helping to Upgrade Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons
How the U.S. Has Secretly Backed Pakistan's Nuclear Program From Day One

http://www.counterpunch.org/andrew06242009.html

[90-percent]

18. Wow!

It's like this secret rogue contractor is still under the command of Cheney/Rumsfeld to this very day!

I'm glas Larry Wilkerson is on this in some form. He's one of the only honorable upper level Republicans that still exist in this day and age.

Thanks so much for risking your life to report on this, Jeremy! Sorry you're just pissing up a rope that this could possible change even one damn thing, but thanks anyway.

-90% Jimmy

[sattahipdeep]

23. FIRST FRUITS

Jeremy Scahill:I also received a call yesterday, as I was going to press, from individuals I had not called. I received a call from Admiral Mike Mullen’s office, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was a bit surprising to me, because I had not called Admiral Mullen’s office, so when a U.S. citizen gets a call from the military, especially from the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, its a bit jolting.

And they would not tell me how they got wind of the fact I was doing the story, or how they got my number.

....
The NSA warrantless wiretapping program soon grew to include millions of Americans, including elected and appointed government officials, federal judges, anti-Bush celebrities and clergy, and even intelligence and law enforcement officials. WMR previously reported that a joint NSA-CIA database code-named FIRST FRUITS maintained a database on the intercepted phone calls of U.S. journalists.


WMR previously reported that NSA “fishnet” surveillance was used in the take down of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, as well as political dirt gathering directed against New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and then-Senator Joe Biden. There is also every indication that NSA intercepted the phone calls and emails of the junior senator from Illinois -- one Barack Obama.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_5296.shtml

[Bullet1987]

19. Jeremy Scahill just may be the best independent journalist

[sattahipdeep]

21. "an act of intimidation"

Jeremy Scahill comes out and explicitly says that he felt that a call he received from the office of Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was "an act of intimidation"

....
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States armed forces, and the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense.

Jeremy Scahill is a :patriot:

[sattahipdeep]

20. The Pakistan Daily Times Thursday, November 26, 2009

‘Blackwater launching missions from Karachi’

The Pakistan Daily Times
Thursday, November 26, 2009
* US paper says Blackwater assisting CIA in assassinations of Taliban, Al Qaeda operatives, ‘sensitive action inside, outside Pakistan’
* Blackwater’s help to secret US military drone attacks runs parallel to well-documented CIA predator strikes

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Members of an elite division of Blackwater (Xe Services) are conducting a secret programme from Karachi in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigative report by US-based newspaper The Nation has revealed.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\11\26\story_26-11-2009_pg7_14

http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Blackwater+launching+missions+from+Karachi

A threat? 7:30/8:46
GRITtv: Jeremy Scahill: Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zLl8CnS5Z0

[Overseas]

25. K&R. //nt