Running Blackwater
Private military group Blackwater USA have been quoted as 'the world’s most powerful mercenary army.' Heavily involved in the Iraq and Afghan wars, Blackwater has been part of many ignored controversies over the recent years. The Blackwater issue has mainly been brought forward by Author Jeremy Scahill.
Originally named and now renamed Xe Services LLC, the group began in 1997 started by two former US militants, Erik Prince and Al Clark. Funded by the US government in Iraq, the group is mainly made up of former militants. Nowadays, no matter what private military group ex-soldiers join, the switch from soldier to private mercenary is known as “going Blackwater.”
Iraq is the main subject; the use of these groups in the war zones has been a constant concern throughout the war, but the current issue is that Blackwater and many other private military groups are still being used by the US government nearly a year on from the inauguration of President Barack Obama. This actually comes as no surprise considering Obama’s teams opinion on the use of private military groups before he was president which quoted by a senior adviser was as follows, “I can’t rule out, I won’t rule out, private security contractors. I will rule out private security contractors that are not accountable to US law.” The latter is the more important point to mention because currently there is no law to hold companies like Blackwater responsible for their actions. One positive is that Order 17 of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which granted immunity for companies like Blackwater in Iraq is no longer active. But there were horrifying incidents committed by Blackwater when this Law was in place that the company has still not been held accountable for.
In Iraq, Private Military groups are hired to act as protection for Politicians and Ambassadors alike. Blackwater especially worm away from this role if likely claims are to be true. Iraq’s government has now cancelled Blackwater’s license in Iraq but the group is still operating in the country under the name of the “US Training Centre.” The fact that Blackwater are still operating in Iraq contradicts Obama’s original policy. Blackwater are not accountable. The reason for this unaccountability is the number of tragedies Blackwater is liable for. Blackwater have been involved in nearly 200 shootings between 2005 and 2007.
One incident on September 16th 2007 which resulted in the death of 11 Iraqis, led to an investigation of the company and release of Blackwater’s own reports and memorandum by American Politician and House of Congress Representative Henry Waxman. When commenting on the shooting Waxman said, "In 32 of those incidents, Blackwater were returning fire after an attack while on 163 occasions, Blackwater personnel were the first to fire." Another significant event involving Blackwater was the alleged killing of a security guard who worked for the Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi by a drunk Blackwater employee. This individual has faced no consequences after the incident and was conveniently flown out of the country and no longer works for Blackwater.
US officials involved in the war have their own opinions on Blackwater’s behaviour in Iraq. When talking about the firm, Colonel Thomas Hammes who was at one time in charge of the new Iraqi army said "They were running me off the road. We were threatened and intimidated." Brigadier General Karl Horst said, "These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force, they shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."
The company’s owner Erik Prince has more recently been in the headlines due to two his former employees who in sworn statements said that Prince, “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the Globe.”
Blackwater is funded by the US taxpayer and has been paid billions over the years of operation in Iraq. President Obama continues to use Blackwater even though his original policy was to only use companies that were accountable. The fact is that Blackwater are not accountable and have been involved in many events that resulted in the deaths of innocent Iraqi civilians. In August, the Obama administration extended Blackwater’s contract for $20 million in security services, which was supposed to run till 3rd September but they still continue to use the company today. The question is, how can the Obama administration use a slogan that asks for “change” when in this case nothing has?
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