Newsweek: Blackwater drew guns on US Soldiers

[cali]

From a kos diary:

by MsLibrarian
Thu Oct 11, 2007 at 02:27:09 PM PDT
Consider this a drive-by diary. I'm heading out the door but before I left I felt I needed to post this.

From the upcoming, October 15th issue of Newsweek. Of the many stories coming out of Iraq, the rise of the private army is on the top of my scary list.

MsLibrarian's diary :: ::

"The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."
It's worth reading the entire article. It's not long, not nearly in depth as I wish it had been, but it will hopefully show just how little faith and respect the government hired contractors have in and for the US military."

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/11/172359/69

I hope this info is spread far and wide. I think Americans will be outraged.

[Mike03]

1. Sadly, not surprised

Radio talk show host John Rothmann, out of San Francisco (KGO, 810 AM) had a few callers last week speculating that a Dr. Strangelove style battle between Blackwater and U.S. soldiers was inevitable.

People laughed, and I know I laughed as well at the thought, because I could only think of Kubrick's film.

But here we go. Not even a week after the faded laughter of Rothmann's talk show do we have an instance of precisely what was feared and ridiculed.

Oh, the punchline of the Rothmann analysis was that Blackwater would kick the U.S. military's ass, because of their background in special ops and SEALS work.

[eShirl]

2. Doesn't that make them "enemy combatants? "

Or at best, traitors?

[ThomCat]

8. You would think so.

You would expect every one of them to be in one of our military prisons right now.

[madrchsod]

3. there`s been problems like this the first few days blackwater showed up..

but no one has paid any attention.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. I wonder if they've ever shot U.S. troops.

Or worked with the Insurgency.

[gratuitous]

9. Why wouldn't they?

Mercenaries are for sale to the highest bidder, after all. Someone comes along with a better offer, I don't know any reason why they wouldn't turn their weapons on U.S. troops. Free market and all that. Alan Greenspan would approve, I'm sure.

[yodermon]

14. I wonder how many are CIA.

[Recursion]

18. Yes to the first

I know of one (non-fatal) friendly-fire in my regiment that came from (non-Blackwater) mercs.

And they and the military are very explicitly and deliberately working with "the insurgency" (by most definitions of "insurgency", ie militant sunni Arabs) as leverage against Iran's inevitable takeover.

[MessiahRp]

28. Read this...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20231579

The MSM seems to have forgotten these allegations.

[MikeNearMcChord]

5. It would be interesting to watch a court-martial

involving a soldier who took out a Blackwater Merc. My money would bet aquittal.

[Submariner]

6. Wouldn't it though

It's too bad that one or more soldiers didn't have enough cover when they disembarked from the Humvee, then they could have machine-gunned the Mercs into oblivion. Slimy low-lifes.

[Joanne98]

7. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kermitt Gribble]

10. This is unbelievable

I just sent this link to everyone I know. Blackwater shouldn't have existed in the first place. If congress didn't have reason to abolish this group before, these thugs pushing around OUR troops should be the final straw.

[cali]

11. It is a mindblower. When I read that paragraph

it took my breath away.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. So, is Congress going to hire mercenaries to protect our troops from our mercenaries?

They just gave the Pentagon $478,000,000,000. You'd think that they wouldn't need to hire mercenaries to do the same job.

Military/Industrial Complex? Silly to even think of such a possibility.

[Canuckistanian]

13. Wonder what they think of this in "The Heartland"?

Or will they have to do a re-enactment on Nightline?

[cali]

22. I think they're gonna freak in the heartland

if this becomes viral enough.

[KAZ]

15. If this turns out to be true, then I want their heads on a ...

... fucking pike. And I don't mean figuratively. Including Prince.

We are in deeper shit than I imagined. And I have quite an imagination.

[Cerridwen]

16. Don't some in our military have experience handling things such as this?

Will they deal with BW? Will they be charged or cheered?

That's as much as I'm saying.

[mod mom]

17. bu$h's war meet bu$h's army.

[Disturbed]

21. Blackwater Mercs murdered Iraqi civilians.

Will they be held accountable for those murders?

[mod mom]

24. I believe Iraq is a sovereign nation, and the murders occured on their sovereign

land, so it should be up to them-right?

[whopis01]

25. If you actually believe that you need to open up your eyes. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Damn this was the talk this afternoon at this house

how long until these damn monney grubbing mercs drew on US sodiers... and it will not be long until we have an old fashioned shootout

[fujiyama]

20. This is insane

What I want to hear is a simple pledge from every Dem candidate that they would not employ the use of mercenaries. PERIOD. I don't even mention pukes because they'll continue to use Blackwater. Mainly I'm talking about Hillary because she's employing a PR goon of their's on her team.

Blackwater is simply evil and out of control. All this sounds like the plot from a ridiculous Michael Bay film.

[wildbilln864]

23. K&R!

Outraged? I doubt it. I think they get more outraged by Britney Spears and Victor Newman! :grr:

[lonestarnot]

26. They earned their title: Bongwater.

[fenriswolf]

27. man i read this and could not believe it

I'm just imagining.....back in the dessert, bad pay, 105+ degree days, just the ultimate suck. fighting a war you never believed in. Just wanting to make it out alive. Then all of a sudden your humvee is struck and your sent flying. All of a sudden you have a gun in your face, no its not the enemy, its the guy who makes your yearly salery in a month. The guy who you have talked about with you buddies, the blackwater guys, treating you like enemies while they go over the accident they have caused. This burns me up to no end.