Blackwater Ousted from Iraq

[Screamtruth]

Just for the record ... Erik Prince is a GOOD guy, a former member of the teams; he left the Navy to take over the family business -- he's clean-cut, all-American, a conservative, and a professing Christian.

Now .... I wonder why Henry Waxman and CO. doesn't like him .... ???

At the start ... Blackwater ONLY hired guys who were former members of the teams or Marine Recon or Army SF's .... guys who were "known quantities" and had a history .... then the bureaucrats at State decided that they wanted more than the military would/could provide .... so the hiring standards @ Blackwater went down ... like everything else does when you lower the bar ... and there have been some "problems" as a result.

OUT.

You know A4's,

I did a Google search on Erik, and the majority came up negative. Everyone is calling him a war profiteer, amongst other things. The fact that he is Conservative and a professing Christian..........along with his business...........makes him a target.

It just pisses me off that he gets all the bad publicity......

The media sucks.

 

[ChuckMK23]

This will be a liberal media pile-on. If any of you watched the coverage on CSPAN of testimony by Mr. Prince - you can see the writing on the wall. It's not fair at all but washington and the media never learned the worrds fair when it comes to extreme liberal doctrine.

My opinion - and prediction - this will get ugly.

 

[Flash]

At the start ... Blackwater ONLY hired guys who were former members of the teams or Marine Recon or Army SF's .... guys who were "known quantities" and had a history .... then the bureaucrats at State decided that they wanted more than the military would/could provide .... so the hiring standards @ Blackwater went down ... like everything else does when you lower the bar ... and there have been some "problems" as a result.

OUT.

It was and still is Blackwater's choice to compete and fufill the contracts it puts in for. No one is forcing them to take them, so the choice to lower standards is Blackwater's choice and theirs alone, not State's (as stupid as State is sometimes.....).

From what little you said, it sounds more like Blackwater has overextended itself in the interest of getting contracts more than anything else. Am I wrong? I am sure you will tell me why.......

 

[Flash]

I thought the United Nations did... Didn't they dismantle that private mercenary army Executive Decisions, Inc.? I read somewhere that they were doing almost too good of a job at fighting rebels at the behest of a legitimate government that the UN thought that the idea of a modern, competent and lethal corporate army was very scary and ultimately, too threatening. (I'm not quite sure it was Sierra Leone, I read it three years ago)

That would be Executive Outcomes.......

 

[WVUBetaHornet]

...it sounds more like Blackwater has overextended itself in the interest of getting contracts more than anything else.

From what I understand, that's on target.

...Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq expired on June 2, 2006, meaning it had no immunity from prosecution under Iraqi laws set down after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003...

They're now susceptible to charges based on crimes committed, from the Iraqi courts. The Iraqi government report said it's courts were the proper venue in which to bring charges to Blackwater agents.

 

[Flash]

Erik Prince was a millionare's kid that did his time and served as a SEAL. I've never heard a bad thing about his service. The biggest complaint is that he heavily supports the republican party... BFD. If anything I can see companies like Blackwater staying after we leave to train/maintain peace/guard personel, as it offers us the ability to distance ourselves from the war while seeing that our interest are upheld. Once AD military leaves Iraq is the public really going to care to much about contractors still in the area? Did they care in Sierra Leon?

The BFD is that there is the appearance of impropriety when it comes to some of Mr Prince's private political activity and his business.

Why do they continually win no-bid contracts? Maybe they are good, but the fact that Mr Prince contributes so much to the party that holds the Presidency does make you think. Same with his familial connections.

Oh, and few of the guys who I work with (and have been 'over there') have a very high opinion of security contractors. I would tend to trust their judgement and opinions.......

 

[A4sForever]

.....From what little you said, it sounds more like Blackwater has overextended itself in the interest of getting contracts more than anything else. Am I wrong? I am sure you will tell me why.......

Ummmmmm ..... $$$$$$$$$ ???? Could that be it ... ????

Sooooo .... taking on more work that is available to make more money--- is that right or wrong?? That's your question???

State wanted more Blackwater bodies for more jobs that "policy" dictated --- as a result, the company needed more bodies and hiring standards slipped to the degree needed to fill the added requirements .... and p.s.: that's why some of the "original" guys have left.

Your question kinda reminds me of a similar query many years ago: i.e., why some guys get out of the military instead of "staying in" and "eating it" -- you know; "staying in" just for a job and a paycheck.

None of the above changes my opinion of Erik Prince specifically nor Blackwater's work overall ...

 

[Flash]

Ummmmmm ..... $$$$$$$$$ ???? Could that be it ... ????

Sooooo .... taking on more work that is available to make more money--- is that right or wrong?? That's your question???

State wanted more Blackwater bodies for more jobs that "policy" dictated --- as a result, the company needed more bodies and hiring standards slipped to the degree needed to fill the added requirements .... and p.s.: that's why some of the "original" guys have left.

Your question kinda reminds me of a similar query many years ago: i.e., why some guys get out of the military instead of "staying in" and "eating it" -- you know; "staying in" just for a job and a paycheck.

None of the above changes my opinion of Erik Prince specifically nor Blackwater's work overall ...

So a private company put profit ahead of other considerations. Not suprising, since that is waht companies do.......but should profit be the primary concern fighting a war? I don't think so.........do you? Still don't see a problem with the perponderance of security contractors in Iraq?

 

[A4sForever]

..........but should profit be the primary concern fighting a war? I don't think so.........do you? Still don't see a problem with the perponderance of security contractors in Iraq?

Of course not ... silly question, eh??? But since our government won't "fight" a war??? You know; since it won't do what has to be done to prevail and win -- and since the military's end strength is not sufficient for all the responsibilities we take on worldwide --- then what??

When that happens, the door opens for contractors to enter in, that's what ... I guess Shinseki was right.

 

[TEFKART02]

Didnt Aegis Defense, Blackwaters' main competion, win a 247 mil contract in Iraq recently?????

 

[raptor10]

Check out Stratfor's take on The Geopolitical Foundations of Blackwater

 

[llnick2001]

That was a good read.

 

[A4sForever]

Check out Stratfor's take on The Geopolitical Foundations of Blackwater

From the article @ stratfor.com: " .... The important point is that the U.S. military went to war with the Army the country gave it. We recall no great objections to the downsizing of the military in the 1990s, and no criticisms of the concepts that lay behind the new force structure. The volunteer force, downsized because long-term conflicts were not going to occur, supported by the Reserve/Guard and backfilled by civilian contractors, was not a controversial issue. Only tiresome cranks made waves, challenging the idea that wars would be sparse and short. They objected to the redefinition of noncombat roles and said the downsized force would be insufficient for the 21st century...."

Huh. Now ..... I wonder where I've heard THAT before ???

.... tiresome crank OUT.

 

[raptor10]

Stratfor just released a supplement to the above article
Security Contractors in Iraq: Tactical -- and Practical -- Considerations

 

[llnick2001]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071010/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_blackwater

The latest.