Charges against Blackwater...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Charges against Blackwater...
1
Fri, 08-07-2009 - 11:22am
Bush Admin. passed laws in Iraq that made it illegal for Iraqis to prosecute US citizens for any crime committed in that country.

Blackwater's license was removed for the company to operate in Iraq... The company's name was changed to Xe.


What do you think about mercenaries operating in the name of the USA?


The Blackwater Charges: What's Being Alleged?

Complete article at link.....


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/the_blackwater_charges_whats_being_alleged.php


A series of shocking and lurid charges have been made against Erik Prince and Blackwater, the defense contracting behemoth he founded, in sworn statements filed in federal court Monday. Prince and or his company are variously accused of being motivated by an apocalyptic Christian worldview which glorified killing Muslims; of "encourag and reward the destruction of Iraqi life;" of illegally smuggling weapons into Iraq; of destroying incriminating evidence; of using child prostitutes; and even of murdering government informants.


The charges -- which come from a former Blackwater employee, and a former US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company -- appear to be largely unsubstantiated. Their existence was first reported by The Nation, and has since been covered by numerous blogs and a few mainstream outlets.


The allegations are made in sworn affidavits, given under penalty of perjury,
that were filed in a federal court Monday, by human-rights lawyers suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. A group of former Blackwater employees is awaiting trial on manslaughter charges for a 2007 shooting incident in a Baghdad square that left 17 Iraqis dead.


Conservative British news source.......









Iraqis speak of random killings committed by private Blackwater guards


 

Real concerns about Afganistan......


Private Security Contractors and Mercenaries Come Under Examination for Human Rights Violations

Complete article see link......


http://www.examiner.com/x-16503-LA-County-Foreign-Policy-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Private-Security-Contractors-and-Mercenaries-Come-Under-Examination-for-Human-Rights-Violations


>"The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries expressed concern at the trend towards extensive privatization of the war in Afghanistan, at the end of an official two-week visit to the United States on August 3, 2009.

Expressing concern over the stated US intention to increase the number of private security contractors to match the surge in troops in Afghanistan, the leader of the Working Group delegation, Ms. Shaista Shameem said, "We are particularly alarmed that the use of private military and security companies to protect US forward operating bases in most places in Afghanistan may further dilute the distinction between military and civilian personnel, an obligation under international humanitarian law.""<


Edited to add link for complete story below........


http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=3081


Reports suggest Pakistan has expelled a US Blackwater mercenary, but Pakistanis ask,  'Who rules our streets, the Pakistani government or the Americans?' And who let them in?



>"In May, a US diplomat was caught arranging a meeting between a suspected Indian spy and senior Pakistani officials in the privacy of her house.  In June when Pakistani officials confronted Washington with evidence that terrorists in Pakistan were using sophisticated American weapons, US media quickly leaked stories about American weapons missing from the US-trained Afghan army.  And now reports confirm that the dirty secret arm of the US government – the mercenaries of Blackwater – have infiltrated sensitive regions of Pakistan.  Blackwater works as an extension of the US military and CIA, taking care of dirty jobs that the US government cannot associate itself with in faraway strategic places.  The question: Who let them in?  And who deported one of them, if at all?"<


 


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Edited 8/7/2009 11:28 am ET by libraone

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 08-21-2009 - 8:22am

Note this article is about contractors used in intelligence. (Contractors used in Iraq/Afghanistan are of equal numbers to that of

 


Photobucket&nbs