State Department To Blackwater: You're Fired, Leave Iraq by May

Source: ABC News

$1.2 Billion Contract Won't Be Renewed Following Iraqi Refusal to License U.S. Firm

Blackwater has been fired by the State Department from its job protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq.

Executives of the controversial U.S. security company were notified today by the State Department that its five-year, $1.2 billion contract for services in Iraq will not be renewed in May, U.S. officials tell ABC News. The contract was signed last May and provided yearly options for cancellations.

In a statement, company spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "The company has always said that the security services we provide in Iraq would be temporary."

The move by the State Department follows the refusal of Iraqi officials to license Blackwater to operate in the country. Officials cited "lingering outrage" over the Sept. 2007 shooting by Blackwater guards that left 17 civilians dead.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6770489&page=1

K&R

Now they need to be prosecuted.

I keep reading that phrase here on DU and it will take a long time before I'm tired of

reading it.:evilgrin:

MS AL GA FL TN TX OK NC SC

...can go back to NC and count his profits for the rest of his miserable life. He's a self-professed Christian - which is the reason I'm not.

but that means little in light of his actions. Please do not slam all of us Christians because of a few liars.

which is the reason that, even if I were, I wouldn't say so out loud.

Name a group of human beings that doesn't include some assholes.

They call themselves republicans. :)

:)

WTG State Department (choke on that condi!) The Obama Administration is not letting ANY grass grow under it's feet at all!

:)

I doubt these violent, trigger-happy goons are capable of functioning within civilized society. Considering they're more closely associated with animals, lock 'em up in a zoo. The zoo patrons can toss chunks of raw meat to them to fight over for a quarter!

The psychopath population will double overnight. Just exactly what we need!

I just had a sudden flash of inspiration...you know those detention centers being prepared for a sudden influx of illegal aliens, or so they tell us? Lock up all the Blackwater goons, but let them KEEP their weapons! They are almost guaranteed to kill each other off in six months.

Those guys can just hang out in the states waiting for the end times when their weapons skills can be usefull once again. :sarcasm: :puke:

and their personal belongings are sent to them? Well, I'm just sayin.......

Why not just bring them back and prosecute them if they are found to have committed crimes?

David

Why not just bring them back and prosecute them if they are found to have committed crimes?

David

Beginning in State Department for hiring these goons to illegally participate in the assault on and the occupation of a foreign country (with US-granted immunity from Iraqi law-enforcement).

... .due process. I'm pretty sure that 4-5 of them are under indictment.

The State Dept. did not fire Blackwater -- the government of Iraq did. The State Dept. just passed it along as a formality.

the statement from their State Department would have been VERY different and less than subtle threats to the Iraqi government already in the works.

This is not a false headline at all, imo.

This isn't just a coincidence that this happened as soon as Obama got into office. Bush/Rice would've coerced the Iraqi government into allowing Blackwater to stay. Obama/Clinton respect the wishes of the Iraqi government.

You can be VERY sure if the repugnicans were in power, Iraq would've been threatened before the decision was made, and they would've renewed Blackwater's license.

Iraq refused to give Blackwater a license to operate in the country.

The State Department holds the contract (and is paying Blackwater) and will not renew it, thus in effect firing the company.

:eyes:

It's not that I blame the Iraqi government in the least, but that means all the Blackwater goons are COMING HOME!!! And I doubt if they can ever function in civilized society.

Near the Great Dismal Swamp about 2 hrs by car from where I live.
Unfortunately they fly over my house 2 or 4 times a week!
In fully armed choppers, I mean with 50cal machine cannon 20 mm machine guns and sidewinder missiles on the hard points under the fuselage of the choppers.
I know what that ordinance looks like I was air traffic control in the navy.
I have seen the ordinance and their choppers up close and too personal like.
They came through here on Monday about 8 of them no more than 20 feet above tree level, at high speed. Around 120 miles per hour. If I had not happened to be standing at the window and looking in the right direction I would have missed it.
It has become so regular that I recognise the sound of them.
Some times they are the larger Blackhawks or the smaller black bell type painted black and no tail or fuselage markings. I would not have known whose they were, but had seen them featured on the tv news, I would have suspected who they were any way.

Blackwater needs to be disarmed and disbanded. A private army, unconnected to any legitimate government, with its own armored vehicles and aircraft and thousands of "soldiers" with automatic and heavy weapons, has absolutely no place whatsoever inside the borders of the United States. None. I would like to see the administration move on this quickly, frankly.

We really need to let our government know what a danger the people of this country consider that blackwater bunch to be.

:hug:

Or someone has to come up with the idea to ask Europe to accept a fair number of them.
Like with the Guantanamo victims.
These days nothing would surprise me.

On a serious note: these wars will have consequences for decades to come.

Duende azul

Why should we in EUROPE take your goons?.. Why should we in EUROPE get a fair share of a new breed of weapons freak who would feel miserable in their new world, and more than possible go down in the criminal world, where they would revolutionized the skills the criminals are using, with more fighting skills than the criminals current hold in Europe - and I do not say that we do have our share of nut cases here in Europe - but thankfully we do tend to have a more strict gun control in most european country than back in the US...

The US created Blackwater and the US have to disband, and to get this nut cases into the fold again.. You have the responsibility to do it, not us in Europe. After 8 year with mr Bush, we might not be that found of helping out "Uncle Sam" all the time as we once would have been.... I for one would say that the US have to clean up Guantanamo Bay and the little "concentration camps" you have there on your own.. Either prosecute the inmates in real cort, or if not send them back to their home towns with a serious "paycheck" and the "deepest sorry" from your State Dept.

You broke it, you own it. And for the good of man, US have really broke it...

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english, not my native language.

Thanks for your response. Since I´m from Europe myself I probably feel the same way.
Since English isn´t my native language neither I may have left my post open to misinterpretation.

Isn´t it ironic that we meet on DU discussing these issues? (Despite my low post count lurking here since 2001)
I´m really thankful this forum exists, it helped not get completely mad the past eight years.

Duende azul

It might be that, some misinterpretation to what you really was feeling about the issue at hand:)..

Yes, it is little ironic that we meet at DU to discussing this issues, but somewhere we have to go you know. Have been at Du for a long, long time, the first 4-6 year just reading, specially the "idiot issue every monday" was something I was looking forward to, but after a while, it got interesting to not just read, but also to put myself into the fire.

True, DU have been a place where you can be "normal" when you was told you was mad, and where it looks for a while, that the right wingers, both in Europe, and also in the US was there to be forever... Now, that habit is been beaten, and we can once again be in charge, specially in US, where the "grown up" looks like the worst spoiled kids at kindergarten (The Bush administration and their "friends" in many places). They just HATE the fact, that mr Obama was elected, and that he might turn the last 8 year around, and maybe even work hard to clean up the mess mr Bush and the cronies have managed to give him.. The Right Wing is just mad, and it is enjoyable to read and se how mad they really are.. And they then claim mr Obama to be the devil himself.. They might not even understand that they have worshiped a man who have ruined the US and put the reputation of the US, to a pre-war level.. I mean the US civil war level... The reputation is almost in the gutter, and it Will take a long time to rebuild THAT reputation again...

Where in Europe are you from?.. I am from Norway, a Small country in the North of europe.

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english, not my native language

"somewhere you have to go."
:hi:
I´m happy for all the good folks here that somehow their nightmare seems to be over.
And Obama as a person just seems fine.

But some things are just starting to sort out.
Especially were I live (Germany) I´m concerned that in some aspects the worse is yet to come. With all the restrictions after WWII it was comforting to know, even if there was an army again, none of the soldiers you saw or met hadn´t killed anybody because the public here was very reluctant to go at war.
Nowadays you can´t be sure. In Afghanistan were getting sucked in this bogus war on terror.

But it´s late, have to sleep now.

Good night! See ya´

Duende azul

True, and Du have not been the worst place to came to, when everyone else are seen as plain madness. The nightmare is maybe over, but it is much hard work ahead. The Election of mr Obama was just the starting point of anything that have to been made the next 4 or 8 year.. And the Neo Cons of the world would not give up the fight, to treat Obama as worst they can possible do.. The Republican Party would do everything they can do, to fight him nail and foot every cm he might are going, to possible brake his will...

Germany of today, are not the Germany of past. Yes some german soldiers have might killed others, like in Afghanistan, but the german leaders have been reluctantly to put german military forces in the line of fire even in places who are been told to be "safe". Even that my old foster father, who was a young man when the Germans invaded Norway in 1940, never trusted germans again, and in fact doesn't shake a german mans hand before in 1989.. That is more than 40 year after the war...

I hope, in the end that NATO can get out of Afghanistan, and maybe start rebuild that country by other means.. Instead of bombs, they should send tractors, diggers, and the rest of what is necessary to rebuild that war torn country...

Diclotican

Sorry my bad english not my native language

to replace them either. Lots of countries
have Black Water Goons.
Black water is just the Haliburton
of Goons.

The fact that the US government ever allowed an unsupervised paramilitary group bordering on a private army to do business in our stead is just this side of crazy. Assign Army spec-ops to guarding our diplomats, if that's what it takes.

I don't want them around for any reason.

Put all of them on a ship in the mid-Atlantic and sink it.

:toast:

Now I don't condone any abuses by soldiers of any kind, let alone private contractors.

But I had a friend who was in the Special Forces. He had to go to Afghanistan. After his term was up, he went into the private defense business and was making like $75,000 a month, or every 6 months, or something - it was insane how much money he was making I remember that.

And I'm all for it. Soldiers get used up and spit out by our government. Dog help them if they ever actually try to take advantage of any of their benefits. VA medical service is a joke. The government is constantly trying to wiggle out of their obligations to them. They don't get paid jack for their service, and they are crapped on when they are done with their service.

I think it's great that these soldiers can go make a decent living off of their skills. Hopefully he made enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Your friend should get a "real job" like the rest of us. Bring back the draft! If a war is serious enough to be necessary, everyone should share equally in the sacrifices.

If soldiering isn't a real job, man, I don't know what is. Backbreaking labor, shitty hours, low pay, no respect, and no ability to quit when you feel like it.

right wing mercenary armies, sorry. Hopefully we will never employ another private army.

I like the idea of putting them all into one of those Halliburton camps & declaring the whole thing a sort of psychological Superfund site.

Bank on it.

This should not be swept under the rug.
These people need to be investigated,

their crimes in Iraq and New Orleans documented,

the people responsible prosecuted,

and precautions taken to ensure that "Mercenaries" are NEVER AGAIN allowed to KILL in the name of the US.

For murder & shoddy work & lying to US Govt as to their ability to perform work asked of them in the contracts.
They accepted millions from our Govt yet performed half-assed work, resulting in death to our own military.

:thumbsup:

Senators Request New KBR Investigation
Army Official's Claims To Be Investigated

Jan. 8, 2009 | by Laura Strickler

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:O3U9lFM0qcQJ:feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsIraqAfterSaddam/~3/506624862/main4708097.shtml+kbr+investigations&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

(snip)

KBR was awarded the Logisitics Civil Augmentation Program or LOGCAP contract to run logistics support, food and shelter for soldiers in Iraq. KBR has won military contracts from the US military valued at over $28 billion since the beginning of the Iraq war.

This is really wonderful news and a powerful statement.

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Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Blackwater currently protects State Department personnel in Iraq including many of the high profile visitors. Hillary and team now need to determine how they will provide security. I don't know if this is typical, although I would hardly consider Iraq typical in any sense. The closest analogy I can think of is what we did to protect similar staff during Vietnam.

So are private contractors used anywhere else in the world to protect State Dept staff? Why wouldn't we use the military? I know we don't have enough military to go around but why would you outsource this to a private company?

The U.S.Embassy in Bahrain was guarded by an outfit called Gulf Security in the early 90s. This was a British outfit using ex Ghurka soldiers. The owners were ex British Army Officers.

Maybe they can apply for asylum in Paraguay which is where the Bushes may move if someone actually does start seeking indictments and they can just protect the Bushes. And quite a few others.

I would think there are probably other private contractors (including mercenaries) who will remain in Iraq.

As taxpayers who pay the wages of these private contractors we should insist on knowing how many Blackwater mercs are operating now and in the near future in Afghanistan/Pakistan, in Africa, in Mexico, in South America, in Southern Asia, and the U.S.

but that shouldn't stop Blackwater from being used elsewhere in the world.

The story only mentions the Iraq contract. This doesn't fold the company of Blackwater.

These nasty little vipers will still be around. I personally worry that Eric Prince has arranged around him his own little fundamentalist praetorian guard to help him seize power in a Ceaseresque fashion.

I thought that Blackwater and other mercenaries accounted for have of the manpower
on the ground in Iraq?

Im with you about not trusting this Soldier of Fortune.

The same people will simply be hired by another company to do the same job. Odds are the "other" company will be a spin off of Blackwater and more than likely run by "former" Blackwater employees. It is just a shell game.

under the name Falcon- still plenty of work for mercenaries.

...Turn over their first, second and third born as barter.

But hey, maybe dems will reach across the isle on this issue.

~

that this is the beginning of the end of private armies.

as long as they're off the taxpayer's payroll. KBR stole billions too and should be audited to the max..a shoddy crooked company.


The move by the State Department follows the refusal of Iraqi officials to license Blackwater to operate in the country. Officials cited "lingering outrage" over the Sept. 2007 shooting by Blackwater guards that left 17 civilians dead.

Glad they're being kicked out of Iraq, but is there a real shift in U.S. policy regarding the use of mercenaries? Iraq is only one contract that Blackwater holds, and the U.S. has other contractors who operate with damned near total impunity. Is that changing?

Fuck off Blackwater, now let the door not only hit you, but crush you to death on your miserable way out. Maybe the remainder of you can finally get the jobs you so richly deserve. Septic Tank shit Haulers.

I hope the whole operation goes down the fucking toilet!

:patriot: :hi: :applause: :headbang: :yourock: :headbang: :applause: :hi: :patriot:

:scared:

Let alone these murderous mercs.

if they do a good job there will a lot more openings in the near future :hide:

We free thinking liberals will be the first to go.

Prince and his minions will take this as a personal affront.

The news went from making me seething mad to laughing with delight in the past couple weeks.

Yeah, that somebody was me, baby <+66,882,229 (probably more) of my friends>!!!

Bushies just IGNORED them and re-upped the
contract.

Fuller story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/world/middleeast/30blackwater.html

would break the back of most firms I would think.

for police in swat and anti-terrorism tactics. Most of the PD in Virginia and NC have sent personnel to the Blackwater weapons ranges for training.

another bailout is needed pronto. :eyes:

Really. Wait for it. At least on Faux.

edit: header

Let's just say what they really are and not how they want to be called:

A mercenaries and assassins providing sociopathic corporation.You're Fired assholes!

They kill and wage war for money. That's the "M" word.

Next to Obama being our President, that is !!!!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, HA !!!!!! Go back to your swamp. You'll never be like the Foreign Legion of viva le France!!!!!!

:evilgrin:

:evilgrin:

I'm glad to hear that Blackwater is being tossed out on their asses. Hopefully Obama has ordered the DoD to get to work on doing the same with Halliburton/KBR.

nt

Let's see if there home based operations fade or morf into another name as well.

Iraq's government says it won't give Blackwater a license to operate in the country. So does that mean the firm's cadre of tattooed gunslingers will be gone from Iraq, forever? Not exactly.

Sure, Blackwater as a corporate entity probably won't be roaming the streets of Baghdad or Mosul for much longer. But the individual mercenaries who've been working for years in Iraq, serving as a Praetorian Guard for the State Department's diplomats — those guys likely will be able to stay.

The State Department has a contract for "worldwide personal protective services" with three firms: Blackwater, DynCorp, and Triple Canopy. If Blackwater is no longer allowed to operate in Iraq, a lawyer steeped in the field tells Danger Room, there's no legal reason why the other two firms can't scoop up Blackwater's employees. "State simply issues a new task order to DynCorp or Triple Canopy, who turn around and hire some or all of Blackwater's employees," he says.

Which could prove to be more than a little problematic. More than any other private military firm in Iraq, Blackwater had a reputation for recklessness and violence. Think about the drunken Blackwater contractor, who killed a bodyguard of Iraq's vice president on Christmas Eve, 2007. Or the car full of people a Blackwater detail ran off the road, in September 2006. Or the Nisour Square shooting that left 17 dead, in September 2007. "If you think Blackwater culture is to blame, this kind of confounds that," the lawyer observes. morehttp://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/01/blackwater-bann.html

yes.

Now, indict the slimy bastids.

They were in there based on no bid bullshit contracts and abused the powers the bu$h regime bestowed upon them.

They were hired thugs.

Raiding marijuana dispensaries since the local authorities will not comply with helping out the DEA.
The issue has been posted before on here. You should know that the LA Times pulled the photo of this Blackwater paramilitary operative from their story. Does this surprise anyone?

http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=130

of a private military.

There's been a lot of good news since Obama took office.

K&R.

as long as our traitorous, profiteering buddies are in charge of the US government.

just got home from a shitty day at an under-paid part time job. This is the BEST NEWS!

in the states by the government. (Just a prediction)

So where does that leave them? I predict that we will see clashes with Blackwater and local police now that they will not be protected by the new Administration.

numbers so they can protect State Dept personnel.

I'm sure Obama supporters of college age will flock to Marine recruiters and volunteer for Marine duty -- won't they?

Good bye and good ridence!

Or maybe we could just say, There Is A God!

Will take their place. The military doesn't offer bodyguard services for everyone traveling to Iraq.

Mercenaries, contractors, private armies should be constitutionally banned. They are among the most severe threats to our republic. In addition to foreign wars, they can be brought home for "security", (e.g; Katrina) or to break strikes and put down labor unrest as the Pinkertons did decades ago. Mercenaries can be used to get around the posse comitatus act.

Rome fell in large part to the hiring of mercenaries to fill out their legions. No loyalty except to the almighty dollar. Hitler's Third Reich was in large part sustained by a private army of mercenaries, the SS, which he founded and made part of the the German military not subject to the German High Command.

Ban them.

We don't need them. They are a threat to our freedom. This is how it started in 1930s Germany with the brownshirts.

Those thugs should be packing it in immediately.

someone else to take over... hopefully not a private company. id imagine they are treating it like troops, with a gradual but swift draw down

You GO, Ms. Clinton! I hoped they'd do that! This is awesome news!

now if we can just get rid of halliburton and its dog and pony show KBR(sorry if this is wrong)...

im tired of paying for their intentional screw ups.
tired of payin almost a hundred bucks for a load of laundry
tired of watchin them drive around iraq in empty convoys so they can get more money
tired of watchin em light trucks on fire just because it had a flat tire

Excellent news!

On the other, let's just hope they don't come back home (here) and decide to go to work for the right wing Christian conservatives to reclaim the nation for Christ in the upcoming civil war.

:patriot: