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Hissyspit

(45,788 posts)
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:04 PM Jun 2014

HOLY SHIT: Blackwater Head in Iraq Threatened to Kill State Dept. Investigator

Last edited Mon Jun 30, 2014, 03:06 AM - Edit history (2)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/before-shooting-in-iraq-warning-on-blackwater.html

Before Shooting in Iraq, Warning on Blackwater

By JAMES RISEN
JUNE 29, 2014

WASHINGTON — Just weeks before Blackwater guards fatally shot 17 civilians at Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007, the State Department began investigating the security contractor’s operations in Iraq. But the inquiry was abandoned after Blackwater’s top manager there issued a threat: “that he could kill” the government’s chief investigator and “no one could or would do anything about it as we were in Iraq,” according to department reports.

American Embassy officials in Baghdad sided with Blackwater rather than the State Department investigators as a dispute over the probe escalated in August 2007, the previously undisclosed documents show. The officials told the investigators that they had disrupted the embassy’s relationship with the security contractor and ordered them to leave the country, according to the reports.

After returning to Washington, the chief investigator wrote a scathing report to State Department officials documenting misconduct by Blackwater employees and warning that lax oversight of the company, which had a contract worth more than $1 billion to protect American diplomats, had created “an environment full of liability and negligence.”

- snip -

The shooting was a watershed moment in the American occupation of Iraq, and was a factor in Iraq’s refusal the next year to agree to a treaty allowing United States troops to stay in the country beyond 2011. Despite a series of investigations in the wake of Nisour Square, the back story of what happened with Blackwater and the embassy in Baghdad before the fateful shooting has never been fully told.

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HOLY SHIT: Blackwater Head in Iraq Threatened to Kill State Dept. Investigator (Original Post) Hissyspit Jun 2014 OP
Kicking. nt littlemissmartypants Jun 2014 #1
"Blackwater Story Is Exactly Why NYT's James Risen Must Be Shielded from DoJ Prosecution" Hissyspit Jun 2014 #67
Except that in this story James Risen used, "using recently disclosed State Department documents".nt ieoeja Jun 2014 #70
Not Surprised cantbeserious Jun 2014 #2
But still horrified. Ed Suspicious Jun 2014 #17
by James Risen elleng Jun 2014 #3
Yup. nt Hissyspit Jun 2014 #68
Kicked... GReedDiamond Jun 2014 #4
K&R newfie11 Jun 2014 #5
Blackwater threatened to kill State Department investigator. Holy shit, indeed. morningfog Jun 2014 #6
Ka Boom!!! nt 7wo7rees Jun 2014 #7
Also, the State Dept STILL contracts (for big money) with Blackwater's progeny. morningfog Jun 2014 #8
Privatizing the armed forces. What could go wrong? arcane1 Jun 2014 #87
They're doing it with your dollars, WHEN CRABS ROAR Jun 2014 #89
I hope that the wealthy liberals, Dawson Leery Jun 2014 #9
I think those "wealthy liberals" can take care of themselves. nt delrem Jun 2014 #23
More likely those "liberals" are vested in the very same corporations supporting this madness. raouldukelives Jun 2014 #72
love the Doobie Brothers demtenjeep Jun 2014 #10
Hmmm...Skunk Baxter, of the Doobies and Steely Dan... GReedDiamond Jun 2014 #13
Unbelievable. Here's what will happen next: MannyGoldstein Jun 2014 #11
Possibly..... Rod Beauvex Jun 2014 #27
HUGE K & R !!! WillyT Jun 2014 #12
We THINK we know shit... ReRe Jun 2014 #14
Are we there yet? Enthusiast Jun 2014 #37
America seems to be based on dotymed Jun 2014 #76
I agree. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #84
That's Republican oversight for you. 47of74 Jun 2014 #15
K & R n/t glinda Jun 2014 #16
Are we just learning about this now? Ash_F Jun 2014 #18
We knew during the Bush Admin JustAnotherGen Jun 2014 #42
The investigator did not work for Blackwater itself. Ash_F Jun 2014 #79
Look for the allegations JustAnotherGen Jun 2014 #80
'Holy Shit' Is Right, Ma'am The Magistrate Jun 2014 #19
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #20
No wonder they reincorporated and changed names. eom TransitJohn Jun 2014 #21
Yes they changed their name to Xe and then a group of private investors bought them out and Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #26
They were just acquired again JustAnotherGen Jun 2014 #43
Prince was an admitted CIA agent. dotymed Jun 2014 #77
I don't believe he is JustAnotherGen Jun 2014 #78
they are heaven05 Jun 2014 #100
We. Don't. Look. Back. DeSwiss Jun 2014 #22
It changed the nation forever. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #36
This is why you don't fucking go to bed with mercenaries MattBaggins Jun 2014 #24
I think they are vying defacto7 Jun 2014 #25
Private armies pscot Jun 2014 #93
didn't they patrol the streets heaven05 Jun 2014 #101
That privatization of our military is working so much Cleita Jun 2014 #28
Just wait until they get the entire government privatized. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #35
Look out for the SWAT team in your town malaise Jun 2014 #50
A nation transformed. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #55
The mutation of the food chain will proceed (with the support of Republican Mercenaries, Inc.) Crowquette Jun 2014 #86
And no one will be punished for it, JoeyT Jun 2014 #29
Punished? Our condition for giving military "aid" is indemnification of our merrily Jun 2014 #40
K&R for more exposure. nt Jasana Jun 2014 #30
KnR the Bush/Cheney evil goes on and on.... nt Hekate Jun 2014 #31
It's true. Contractors were held harmless from all crimes committed in Iraq. grahamhgreen Jun 2014 #32
Ugh. blkmusclmachine Jun 2014 #33
Lawlessness. Par for the course since the 2000 election. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #34
Kicked and recommended! Holy crap! Enthusiast Jun 2014 #38
At that time they were randomly shooting people for fun as they drove down the road... Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #39
So, now the private contractors threaten the Government that hires them? Helen Borg Jun 2014 #41
And the GOP blames Obama for pulling out of Iraq when Ilsa Jun 2014 #44
Huge K&R. woo me with science Jun 2014 #45
Mutant Republican bedfellows: Monsanto & Blackwater Crowquette Jun 2014 #46
Yet we STILL do business with these criminals. Doncha wonder why? Scuba Jun 2014 #47
PERHAPS THIS DEATH THREAT FROM BW COULD BE AN ISSUE IN THE '14 & '16 ELECTIONS drynberg Jun 2014 #48
The key lesson here was given by Machiavelli centuries ago malaise Jun 2014 #49
Then why isn't he being brought up on charges? lostincalifornia Jun 2014 #51
I wonder what Blackwater sulphurdunn Jun 2014 #52
WHEN it was Blackwater JustAnotherGen Jun 2014 #53
Oh, by the way, we all got to pay for this hatrack Jun 2014 #54
Link to 2007 State Department's Blackwater Investigation Reports avebury Jun 2014 #56
Thank you! Remember Col. Ted Westhusing? Octafish Jun 2014 #58
Thanks for this important link. 7wo7rees Jun 2014 #60
Col. Ted Westhusing was a patriot who stood up to the traitors and warmongers. Octafish Jun 2014 #71
blackwater head threatening to kill state dept investigator heaven05 Jun 2014 #57
Sickening. K&R Jefferson23 Jun 2014 #59
And I bet the MSM will give this thorough coverage mcar Jun 2014 #61
i googled this story and got ONE HIT. the nytimes story spanone Jun 2014 #66
Starting to spread Babel_17 Jun 2014 #82
Kick nt Hissyspit Jun 2014 #62
holy shit is right. spanone Jun 2014 #63
Senate hearings immediately malaise Jun 2014 #64
i won't hold my breath. but this is some jaw-dropping revelations. unbelievable. spanone Jun 2014 #65
Dems would sure be missing a beat if they don't start malaise Jun 2014 #69
K&R Holy shit indeed. Especially since it is most likely just the tip of the iceberg. nt raouldukelives Jun 2014 #73
Eric Prince ...of darkness. L0oniX Jun 2014 #74
Maximum kick, Absolute recommendation Babel_17 Jun 2014 #75
Private armies are a law unto themselves The Second Stone Jun 2014 #81
K & R Scurrilous Jun 2014 #83
It infuriating LiberalLovinLug Jun 2014 #85
Bunch of thugs. NealK Jun 2014 #88
I keep waiting for the pendulum to swing back on privatization. Ed Suspicious Jun 2014 #90
kickety countryjake Jun 2014 #91
Open Treason is now allowed in America... nikto Jun 2014 #92
Blackwater = USAG John Ashcroft = Romney/Bain laserhaas Jun 2014 #94
And how many hearings has Issa held regarding Blackwater? Oh, yeah - ZERO. bluesbassman Jun 2014 #97
Of course Issa will bury Blackwater investigation and push forward on IRS laserhaas Jun 2014 #98
I'm thinking here that the chief investigator is calling out the do-nothing bureaucrats of ancianita Jun 2014 #95
The Above the Law mentality of Washington D.C. must come to and end. laserhaas Jun 2014 #96
The Bush administration’s ties to Blackwater Octafish Jun 2014 #99
kick woo me with science Jul 2014 #102
kick woo me with science Jul 2014 #103
kick woo me with science Jul 2014 #104
kick woo me with science Jul 2014 #105

Hissyspit

(45,788 posts)
67. "Blackwater Story Is Exactly Why NYT's James Risen Must Be Shielded from DoJ Prosecution"
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 10:06 AM
Jun 2014
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025169827

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/30/1310516/-Blackwater-Story-Is-Exactly-Why-NYT-s-James-Risen-Must-Be-Shielded-from-DOJ-Prosecution

James Risen of The New York Times, using recently disclosed State Department documents, has written a bombshell-of-a-story chronicling how Blackwater's top manager threatened to kill the U.S. government's chief investigator in 2007, thus thwarting an investigation into Blackwater's operations just weeks before the company's guards massacred 17 Iraqi civilians.

The story is characteristic Risen: unflinchingly and thoroughly reported. However, Risen may not be able to write such stories in a matter of months. Instead, he may be sitting in a jail cell as a result of a case being prosecuted against him by the Obama administration.

The case against Risen began in 2008. This is when his book, State of War, was published, which contained information on a secret, botched CIA operation in Iran. The Bush administration, furious at the revelations, subpoenaed Risen and demanded that he reveal his confidential source. Risen has steadfastly refused, and if the Obama administration proceeds this summer to prosecute Risen, the NYT journalist may soon be behind bars.
 

ieoeja

(9,748 posts)
70. Except that in this story James Risen used, "using recently disclosed State Department documents".nt
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 10:55 AM
Jun 2014
 

morningfog

(18,115 posts)
8. Also, the State Dept STILL contracts (for big money) with Blackwater's progeny.
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:20 PM
Jun 2014
There also is an unknown number of U.S. security contractors protecting State Department personnel in Iraq. They work from a $10 billion, 5-year Worldwide Protective Services contract the department signed with eight companies in 2010. They include defense giants like Dyncorp International and Triple Canopy. Dyncorp also signed a five-year deal with the State Department in 2010 that could be worth up to $894 million to provide a fleet of aircraft, including UH-1 utility helicopter and DHC-8 planes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/06/12/diplomats-pilots-and-hired-guns-here-are-the-americans-left-in-iraq/

Dawson Leery

(19,348 posts)
9. I hope that the wealthy liberals,
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:26 PM
Jun 2014

Buffett/Soros/Kasier/Gates/Hollywood, etc....have nothing to do with Blackwater for their security.

raouldukelives

(5,178 posts)
72. More likely those "liberals" are vested in the very same corporations supporting this madness.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 11:07 AM
Jun 2014

At home, as well as abroad. Every dollar in the markets a little extra weight behind that boot eternally stomping our heads into the ground.
Like slavery, those who live in it suffer beyond suffering, those who can see it are horrified, those who profit refuse to condemn and those who care refuse to partake.

GReedDiamond

(5,299 posts)
13. Hmmm...Skunk Baxter, of the Doobies and Steely Dan...
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:48 PM
Jun 2014

...from his wikipedia entry:

Baxter fell into his second profession almost by accident. In the mid-1980s, Baxter's interest in music recording technology led him to wonder about hardware and software that was originally developed for military use, i.e. data-compression algorithms and large-capacity storage devices. As it happened, his next-door neighbor was a retired engineer who had worked on the Sidewinder missile program. This neighbor bought Baxter a subscription to Aviation Week magazine, provoking his interest in additional military-oriented publications and missile defense systems in particular. He became self-taught in this area, and at one point he wrote a five-page paper that proposed converting the ship-based anti-aircraft Aegis missile into a rudimentary missile defense system. He gave the paper to California Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and his career as a defense consultant began.


and

Baxter was a member of an independent study group that produced the "Civil Applications Committee Blue Ribbon Study" recommending an increased domestic role for U.S. spy satellites in September 2005.[7] This study was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on August 15, 2007.[8]
---
Baxter is a Senior Fellow and Member of the Board of Regents at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.[10]

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
14. We THINK we know shit...
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:49 PM
Jun 2014

... but we don't. We don't know shit.
We definitely know more than John Q Public, but we still don't know shit.

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
37. Are we there yet?
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 04:41 AM
Jun 2014

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
― Frank Zappa

dotymed

(5,610 posts)
76. America seems to be based on
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 11:21 AM
Jun 2014
1984 and Kafka.
No different from what my generation was taught that Russia was like.
We deserve real freedom and so much more.
"We" are like the sexually abused family documentary that I just watched, we keep coming back for more.
We must change this entire paradigm.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, I believe, could do this.

America and China have the largest prison populations in the world. Non violent drug offenders get more "time" than rapists or robbers....what is wrong with that picture?

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
42. We knew during the Bush Admin
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:47 AM
Jun 2014

Remember John Doe 1 and 2 were threatened by their employer.

What I don't believe was followed up on were their detailed allegations in their statements a few years back.

And where is Mr. Prince now? Look up Frontier Resource Group. The web site is not very robust - but of course . . . It wouldn't be. It's a "Private Equity" firm looking to disembowel Africa for China.

Ash_F

(5,861 posts)
79. The investigator did not work for Blackwater itself.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:11 PM
Jun 2014

The investigator worked for the US government. I think you are describing a different case.

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
80. Look for the allegations
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:12 PM
Jun 2014

From John Doe 1 and 2 - google keith olbermann countdown. That will give a tip off of what I'm posting about.


ETA - Doe 2 was very specific that a higher up threatened his life directly.

Uncle Joe

(58,112 posts)
26. Yes they changed their name to Xe and then a group of private investors bought them out and
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:39 AM
Jun 2014

and changed the name again to Academi, they're headquartered in McLean, VA.

They have no useful purpose while siphoning defense dollars and personnel from the public's military, they also funnel money back to politicians supporting their existence and allow pubic officials to have an extra layer of non-accountability to the American People while engaging in hostile actions abroad.

I view them in the same light as "for profit prisons" both are a danger to our democratic republic.

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
43. They were just acquired again
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:49 AM
Jun 2014

In early June. DBA has changed again.

Erik Prince now has a private equity firm called Frontier Resource Group.

The guy is made of Teflon. He's like a Teflon whack-a-mole.

dotymed

(5,610 posts)
77. Prince was an admitted CIA agent.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 11:40 AM
Jun 2014

Does anyone know his present status? I don't think that the real truth would be known by us anyway..

Will we ever step off this horrible ride?

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
78. I don't believe he is
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:07 PM
Jun 2014

He was outed - and I'm going to be truthful -

I do feel his outing was on the same level as Valerie Plame's.

Also - Pvt. Chelsea Manning was the one who tipped off Jeremy Scahill a few years ago that Prince would be moving to UAE. Which then sparked Madea Benjamin (of code pink fame) to go his home. And Prince has given kudos to Snowden.

^That's some really interesting googling for you^

But it makes me think - how much of ALL of it is a shell game?

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
100. they are
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:23 PM
Jun 2014

mercenaries. Pure and simple. Very highly paid mercenaries, but a mercenary none the less. Pretty scummy people. I know from experience. Some of the lowest of low psychopaths with NO accountability or conscience.

MattBaggins

(7,894 posts)
24. This is why you don't fucking go to bed with mercenaries
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:28 AM
Jun 2014

So many of us were screaming that years ago.

Privatize prison, education and war; and you will suffer the consequences.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
25. I think they are vying
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:38 AM
Jun 2014

for a place in the oligarchy. Major bad ass mercenaries that don't give a shit about our country or it's citizens will be the new SS in the US as well as elsewhere anytime the highest bid calls for a coup d'état or a the downing of a president. That's the military of the future where corporations are persons and oligarchs trump all other life. The USSS.

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
101. didn't they patrol the streets
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:29 PM
Jun 2014

of new orleans after Katrina. I'll go back and research to confirm but I seem to remember reading that bush had deployed them and that they had killed some people alleged to be looters.

malaise

(267,823 posts)
50. Look out for the SWAT team in your town
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:43 AM
Jun 2014

Privatized and unaccountable - that's fascism on steroids.

JoeyT

(6,785 posts)
29. And no one will be punished for it,
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:52 AM
Jun 2014

so the lesson to be learned from this is that if you're a mercenary outfit, threatening people to cover up war crimes totally works.

merrily

(45,251 posts)
40. Punished? Our condition for giving military "aid" is indemnification of our
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:37 AM
Jun 2014

mercenaries, even if they kill and rape.

American exceptionalism.

ETA: make that even if they murder civilians and rape. Killing, of course, is part of the job description of a mercenary.

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
34. Lawlessness. Par for the course since the 2000 election.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 04:35 AM
Jun 2014

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”
― Frank Zappa

Helen Borg

(3,963 posts)
41. So, now the private contractors threaten the Government that hires them?
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:46 AM
Jun 2014

Bunch of criminals. But we knew that.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
44. And the GOP blames Obama for pulling out of Iraq when
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 06:25 AM
Jun 2014

this group is part of the reason for having to leave.

drynberg

(1,648 posts)
48. PERHAPS THIS DEATH THREAT FROM BW COULD BE AN ISSUE IN THE '14 & '16 ELECTIONS
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:05 AM
Jun 2014

'Cause y'all know this ain't right at all. Take a whack at the Teflon Prince, maybe two. We gotta get this guy.

malaise

(267,823 posts)
49. The key lesson here was given by Machiavelli centuries ago
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:42 AM
Jun 2014

Avoid mercenaries at all costs. This is why the neo-cons want non-stop war - private armies are very profitable.

 

sulphurdunn

(6,891 posts)
52. I wonder what Blackwater
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:46 AM
Jun 2014

is calling itself these days and what kind of sweetheart deals it has to suck on the public teat?

JustAnotherGen

(31,683 posts)
53. WHEN it was Blackwater
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 07:54 AM
Jun 2014

I think the four guys on trial - that's one thing.

But Blackwater has changed hands so many times - it' s mind bending.

Note who the current CEO is:

http://academi.com/news_room/press_releases/42
Former Bridgadier General Craig Nixon

Under a new ownership group that acquired the company in 2010, Wright has been instrumental in the development of ACADEMI’s impressive best in class compliance practices as well as management of its highly specialized operations serving U.S. Government clients in high-threat regions around the world.


Moving forward, Nixon will spearhead ACADEMI’s dedicated support of our government clients, the company's continued growth into commercial and foreign markets as well as overseeing ACADEMI's world-class training facilities.


Before joining the McChrystal Group, Nixon served as the Deputy Director of Operations in U.S. Central Command. He also previously served as the Director of Operations for U.S. Special Operations Command and commanded the 75th Ranger regiment during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.


Nixon graduated from Auburn University with a degree in business and holds two Masters Degrees in Military History and Strategic Studies.



More changes -
http://academi.com/news_room/press_releases/95

Its' a press release from a business - so it's fair game for full disclosure;

Constellis Holdings, Inc. Acquires Constellis Group, Inc.

June 06, 2014


Constellis Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire Constellis Group, Inc., a leading provider of security, support and advisory services to government, multinational corporations and international organizations operating in challenging environments around the world. Constellis Holdings was formed by the founders of Triple Canopy and the private equity investors who formed ACADEMI.

The transaction brings together a global team of industry leaders, including: Triple Canopy, Constellis Ltd., Strategic Social, Tidewater Global Services, National Strategic Protective Services, ACADEMI Training Center and International Development Solutions.

Operating under the oversight of a distinguished Board and an experienced management team, the combination of these companies will enable a significant expansion of services within the global security market, delivering mission support, integrated security solutions, training and advisory services at home and abroad.

“This move allows us to create a suite of services to better provide critical support capabilities for government and commercial clients and will utilize ACADEMI’s world-class training facility, the largest and most comprehensive private training center in the U.S.” said Jason DeYonker, Managing Director of Constellis Holdings, Inc.

Constellis Holdings’ Board of Directors includes: Red McCombs (Chairman), former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former White House Chief Counsel Jack Quinn, Admiral Bobby Inman (Ret.), Russ Robinson, Jason DeYonker, Dean Bosacki and Triple Canopy co-founder Tom Katis.

“This combination of companies shares our core values of integrity and transparency, ensuring our clients of our ongoing dedication to oversight and good governance through our award-winning compliance practices,” said former U.S. Attorney General and current Board member John Ashcroft.

Board member and Triple Canopy founder Tom Katis reinforces, “This combination will provide our customers with the best possible service at the most competitive price. We share a commitment to flawless delivery of mission critical services. We share a bond with our employees, who are mostly decorated veterans who continue to serve their country in the private sector. We share a willingness to do the toughest jobs in support of the efforts to make our world a better place.”

The combined ownership group will employ more than 6,000 of the industry’s most experienced and best-trained employees and will be led by CEO Craig Nixon.

Contact
Callie Wang

7033048940



Where is Erik Prince now?
http://www.businessinsider.com/erik-prince-frontier-resource-group-2012-11

Private Equity Firm my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssss!

There are several governments vying for power in the region, America most recently with the development of AFRICOM. It seems like the Chinese mining and natural resource companies have been hit pretty hard though — kidnapping, intimidation and attacks — and could use some "security and logistics."

Hoping to assuage those concerns comes Erik Prince, whose new private equity investment firm is an attempt to corner this new(ish) market. His firm hopes to render services to governments or companies that work in "Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea and South Sudan," among other areas or the continent.

It's no mistake that China's the nation with the most leverage in those three, and has the most to lose, it makes sense that they'll become Prince's biggest, newest client.

It'll be interesting to see exactly what kind of services Prince and his new firm will provide.


7wo7rees

(5,128 posts)
60. Thanks for this important link.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:18 AM
Jun 2014

Octafish, you are one amazing guy!!

Mercenaries legitimized in front of us, and we the people are left believing we are powerless to stop it. SO Incredibly sad.

Oh by the way, you are one of the DU community we would love to meet up with.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
71. Col. Ted Westhusing was a patriot who stood up to the traitors and warmongers.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 10:56 AM
Jun 2014

From 2007:

Know your BFEE: They kill good soldiers like Col. Ted Westhusing for profit...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x126094

PS: Same goes for you, 7wo7rees.

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
57. blackwater head threatening to kill state dept investigator
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 08:40 AM
Jun 2014

and nothing was done to this mercenary of the bush-cheney debacle in Iraq? Nothing!!!!!10,000 of these guns for hire ran around Iraq at that time. A whole division of cowboy, trigger happy mercenaries, creating a quagmire that only Obama could finally get us out of. SFA was signed by the dimson in 2008, this is one big reason it had to be signed. Iraq didn't want these highly paid cowboys doing any more damage that they already had. So much we don't know about that "environment full of liability and negligence" created by bush jr and his mentor, darth cheney. And these same 'creators of war' went on television in the last couple of weeks screaming for us to put boots on the ground there, again!!!???? What a lie the american people were fed. Even worse that I thought. PNAC manifesto at it's finest, Iraq.

Babel_17

(5,400 posts)
82. Starting to spread
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:15 PM
Jun 2014

I looked for "Blackwater" under "News" just now and see MSNBC, Fox, Daily Mail, Time, and some lesser knowns.

malaise

(267,823 posts)
64. Senate hearings immediately
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 09:51 AM
Jun 2014

That's how this must be dealt with - heads must roll. All contracts with these mercenaries must be terminated.
By the way they have changed their name and even have offices in Barbados Gray something or the other. I read recently they they were recruiting mercenaries for Ukraine.

 

The Second Stone

(2,900 posts)
81. Private armies are a law unto themselves
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:14 PM
Jun 2014

and this has been known about mercenaries for thousands of years.

LiberalLovinLug

(14,154 posts)
85. It infuriating
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 01:59 PM
Jun 2014

How the MSM ignores that it was because of the private contractor mercenaries that BushCo. employed, making former Generals in the MIC rich, that led to Bush feeling he was forced to leave and slinking out of Iraq. It was Bush that signed the agreement to leave. How the MSM continues to allow GOP reps to accuse Obama of "retreating" and not keeping troops in there (not that it would have done any good) is beyond maddening.

 

laserhaas

(7,805 posts)
94. Blackwater = USAG John Ashcroft = Romney/Bain
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:52 PM
Jun 2014

I've been warning people how dangerous these "organized" syndicates are becoming.

Romney = Bain = Clear Channel Communications = Red McCombs = Blackwater

and former USAG John Ashcroft

http://academi.com/pages/about-us/board-of-directors/red-mccombs-chairman

It ain't easy - taking down big sleazies (who rename themselves an hopeful innocuous "Academi&quot

bluesbassman

(19,310 posts)
97. And how many hearings has Issa held regarding Blackwater? Oh, yeah - ZERO.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 06:15 PM
Jun 2014

In fact, there have only been two by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and those were under Henry Waxman in 2007. Below is the conclusion reach in the hearing on the Fullujah incident.

CONCLUSION
On March 31, 2004, four Blackwater personnel were killed by insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq, and their bodies desecrated. Since then, there have been many unanswered questions about Blackwater’s role in triggering a major incident in the Iraq War with multiple adverse consequences for U.S. interests.

The documents reviewed by the Committee indicate that Blackwater embarked on this mission without sufficient preparation, resources, and support for its personnel. According to these documents, Blackwater took on the Fallujah mission before its contract officially began, and after being warned by its predecessor that it was too dangerous. It sent its team on the mission without properly armored vehicles and machine guns. And it cut the standard mission team by two members, thus depriving them of rear gunners. Blackwater took all of these actions before sending the team into an area known to be an insurgent stronghold. These actions raise serious questions about the consequences of engaging private, for-profit entities to engage in essentially military operations in a war zone.

http://psm.du.edu/national_regulation/united_states/congressional_hearings/house_oversight.html (Under "Reports&quot
 

laserhaas

(7,805 posts)
98. Of course Issa will bury Blackwater investigation and push forward on IRS
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 06:26 PM
Jun 2014

That's GOP playbook 101

Diffuse one's sins by hunting (even if you have to make stuff up) for sins of your opponent.

Like the Robin Williams movie and Louis Black saying

Accuse the other side of having sex with sheep;
I know he didn't - but it will be fun watching him deny it....

ancianita

(35,813 posts)
95. I'm thinking here that the chief investigator is calling out the do-nothing bureaucrats of
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 05:59 PM
Jun 2014

said State Dept, who appear to defer to ways that our civilian run government's foreign policy is compromised by the Pentagon's defense contractors.

 

laserhaas

(7,805 posts)
96. The Above the Law mentality of Washington D.C. must come to and end.
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 06:03 PM
Jun 2014

I'm doing my part to help...

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
99. The Bush administration’s ties to Blackwater
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 06:30 PM
Jun 2014

By Ben Van Heuvelen
Global Research, October 03, 2007
Salon.com 3 October 2007

Blamed in the deaths of Iraqi civilians, the private security firm has long ties to the White House and prominent Republicans, including Ken Starr.

Oct. 02, 2007 | When Blackwater contractors guarding a U.S. State Department convoy allegedly killed 11 unarmed Iraqi civilians on Sept. 16, it was only the latest in a series of controversial shooting incidents associated with the private security firm. Blackwater has a reputation for being quick on the draw. Since 2005, the North Carolina-based company, which has about 1,000 contractors in Iraq, has reported 195 “escalation of force incidents”; in 163 of those cases Blackwater guns fired first. According to the New York Times, Blackwater guards were twice as likely as employees of two other firms protecting State Department personnel in Iraq to be involved in shooting incidents.

SNIP...

The former Betsy Prince — Edgar and Elsa’s daughter, Erik’s sister — married into the DeVos family, one of the country’s biggest donors to Republican and conservative causes. (“I know a little something about soft money, as my family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican Party,” Betsy DeVos wrote in a 1997 Op-Ed in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.) She chaired the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000 and again from 2003 to 2005, and her husband, Dick, ran as the Republican candidate for Michigan governor in 2006.

Erik Prince himself is no slouch when it comes to giving to Republicans and cultivating relationships with important conservatives. He and his first and second wives have donated roughly $300,000 to Republican candidates and political action committees. Through his Freiheit Foundation, he also gave $500,000 to Prison Fellowship Ministries, run by former Nixon official Charles Colson, in 2000. In the same year, he contributed $30,000 to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. During college, he interned in George H.W. Bush’s White House, and also interned for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. Rohrabacher and fellow California Republican Rep. John Doolittle have visited Blackwater’s Moyock, N.C., compound, on a trip arranged by the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm founded by former aides of then House Majority Leader Tom Delay. ASG partner Paul Behrends is a longtime associate of Prince’s.

Prince’s connections seem to have paid off for Blackwater. Robert Young Pelton, author of “Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror,” has reported that one of Blackwater’s earliest contracts in the national arena was a no-bid $5.4 million deal to provide security guards in Afghanistan, which came after Prince made a call to then CIA executive director Buzzy Krongard. What’s more, Harper’s Ken Silverstein has reported that Prince has a security pass for CIA headquarters and “meets with senior people” inside the CIA. But Prince’s most important benefactor was fellow conservative Roman Catholic convert L. Paul Bremer, former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the American occupation government in Iraq. In August 2003, Blackwater won a $27.7 million contract to provide personal security for Bremer. In charge of the Blackwater team guarding Bremer was Frank Gallagher, who had provided personal security for former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger when Bremer was managing director of Kissinger’s consulting firm, Kissinger and Associates, in the 1990s.

By 2005, Blackwater was earning $353 million annually from federal contracts. Blackwater’s benefits from government largess haven’t ended with Iraq. The company was recently one of five awarded a Department of Defense counter-narcoterrorism contract that could reportedly be worth as much as $15 billion. Blackwater also became involved in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and profited handsomely. According to Jeremy Scahill, author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army,” Blackwater had made roughly $73 million for Katrina-related government work by June 2006, less than a year after the hurricane hit.

Joseph Schmitz, chief operating officer and general counsel: In 2002, President Bush nominated Schmitz to oversee and police the Pentagon’s military contracts as the Defense Department’s inspector general. Schmitz presided over the largest increase of military-contracting spending in history: As of 2005, 77 companies were awarded 149 “prime contracts” worth $42.1 billion, with hundreds of millions going to Blackwater. Unlike previous I.G.s, Schmitz reported directly to the secretary of defense — a setup that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers objected to, given Schmitz’s oversight responsibility. Schmitz even carried Rumsfeld’s “12 principles” for the Pentagon in his lapel pocket. The first principle read, “Do nothing that could raise questions about the credibility of DoD.”

Schmitz has many ties to the Republican Party establishment. His father, John G. Schmitz, was a two-term Republican congressman, and his brother, Patrick Schmitz, served as George H.W. Bush’s deputy counsel from 1985 to 1993. Joseph himself worked as a special assistant to Reagan-era Attorney General Edwin Meese.


CONTINUED...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-bush-administration-s-ties-to-blackwater/6974

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