Via Slog, Newsweek reports on a very bizarre incident in Iraq:
The colonel was furious. “Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers.” He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company.
This is amazing, isn’t it? Remember how the right-wing radio nuts etc. talk about how much they support the troops, and how awful anyone is who insults soldiers or wants them punished for actions against Iraqis etc. Well, not the nuts have a conflict of interest, because they want to support Blackwater too. I suppose they’ll just BS around it as usual.
Under the international protocols of war, mercenaries are unlawful combatants not entitled to POW status or repatriation, and may be tried and punished as common criminals.
If I were a U.S. Army officer and came upon a group of men not in U.S. military uniforms holding American troops prisoner at gunpoint, I would order my troops to surround them, demand they surrender their weapons, and if they refused I would order my men to fire upon them.
Newsweek sure is a giant of truth in todays MSM. Well gotta run, I have to flush my Quran down the toilet. roof roof.
@3…RR…
Under today’s restrictive rules of engagement, you may well then subject yourself to UCMJ prosecution and long imprisonment.
The Piper
Blackwater mercenaries taking U.S. soldiers prisoner … I’ll bet al Qaeda’s guys are laughing their asses off!
@5 Nope, an officer’s duty is to protect his men from hostiles.
Now watch the wingnut apologists for Republican-sanctioned terrorism come out of the woodwork and root for these thugs. See, e.g., #s 4, 5.
@5…RR…
Under the rules of engagement soldiers and Marines operate under these days, it’s not that cut and dried…ask the two Special Forces soldiers, on captain and one staff sergeant, who were criminally investigated recently at Fort Bragg.
The Piper
What was that G. Gordon Liddy said you need to do to guys like that?
I think it was: “Aim for their heads.”
8
Apologists? Never. I will never apologize for calling people moonbats when they take the MSM seriously. No, not this dog. roof roof.
Hey JBD, did you catch what General Sanchez, former commander of US forces in Iraq has to say today:
“There has been a glaring and unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders,” he said, adding that civilian officials have been “derelict in their duties” and guilty of a “lust for power.””
Why the hell are we arming a bunch of Security Guards with AK-47’s and telling the dumb bastards that no laws apply to them?
It’s nuts! Whoever thought of this should gargle with razor blades!!!!
And I’m a Goldwater Republican!!
What if the moonbats have been right all along and Bush is just a ‘tard like he seems to be? Maybe it’s not an act!!!!
Republican butt-sniffing mutt @ 11
You got a point mutt. We shouldn’t take the traditional media seriously when reporters like Judy Miller just write down and print whatever lying right wing administrations tell them.
From the NPR website:
“Blackwater has nearly 1,000 employees working in Iraq. (Former Navy Seal and company founder and owner, Eric) Prince said 30 of its contractors have been killed while protecting U.S. diplomats, and no Americans have died while under the company’s watch.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/s.....d=14895146
There’s no doubt that using civilian contractors to this extent in a war zone is a new thing…Still trying to figure it out, and mistakes – even tragic ones – will be made.
But in the Newsweek article you cite, Lee, the U.S. diplomatic personnel who are protected by Blackwater say they prefer the company’s personnel to less trained and experienced military personnel.
It’s in the nature of warzones for people to get pissed at each other; I’m sure I’d be pissed too. But since most all the Blackwater employees are former military personnel, I think the innate respect they have for the uniform and the soldiers and Marines who were it will count for me than what you give it credit.
Remember…I have a soldier son (Iraq War Vet with added service in Kuwait and Afghanistan) and a Marine son (on Okinawa, but wanting to go to Iraq)…
This isn’t an apologia for Blackwater, but a refutation of all you Johnny-come-lately “supporters of the troops” who really don’t understand what those guys are going through. I know…I hear it first hand.
@1…Neil B…
Your comment was dull and cliched…Those “right wing radio nuts” have a pretty much unblemished record of being on the side of the men and women in the military up and down the line since day one. Where have you been?
The Piper
Hey mutt,
<snicker>
If you need an alternative to the MSM you might look to outfits like the ACVR.. They always tell the truth.<snicker>
Ooops.. The ACVR doesn’t exist anymore. Any comment on why mutt?
@10 Well, that was lousy advice, because the head is a small and moving target. Anyone who knows what he’s doing aims for the torso.
@11 Dog, we’re not asking you for ANYTHING except to lay down and fucking DIE.
# 16 — Kevlar, Roger, Kevlar. You gotta hit these armed Security Guards where thay are unprotected. These guys aren’t U.S Soldiers. They’ve actually got the latest protective gear paid for at taxpayer expense.
Barry Goldwater never told us the free market worked like that!! Why is the ‘invisible hand’ always in the taxpayers’ wallet?
“Why is the ‘invisible hand’ always in the taxpayers’ wallet?”
That line would work well in a presidential debate. Begala can use for Hillary — no charge, Big Guy!!!
@5 &9
Considering that the man that writes those “rules of engagement” is the Republican President, Piper, and considering your boys are in the military as opposed to being in Blackwater, you might want to reconsider your strong support of how the Bush Administration is choosing to prosecute the war.
@18 That is why the Army uses full metal jacket bullets.
Brought to you by the Project for a New American Clusterfuck.
AF @ 23
Isn’t “Clusterfuck” a great word, or concept, or theorem, or all of the above?
Apologies for the OT, but the most recent Open Thread is getting a bit long of tooth.
I’m interested in hearing what our resident wingnuts have to say about this:
More at:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstrok.....not-a.html
@15 “There’s no doubt that using civilian contractors to this extent in a war zone is a new thing…Still trying to figure it out, and mistakes – even tragic ones – will be made.”
New? Mercenaries and soldiers of fortune (which is what these guys are) are older than Rome or Greece; humanity has had thousands of years of experience with the employment, training, deployment, command, and control of soldiers-for-hire.
@15 “There’s no doubt that using civilian contractors to this extent in a war zone is a new thing…Still trying to figure it out, and mistakes – even tragic ones – will be made.”
This is one of the most facile and vacuous apologiae for thuggery, atrocities, and mendacious war profiteering I’ve ever seen.
@1 “Those ‘right wing radio nuts’ have a pretty much unblemished record of being on the side of the men and women in the military up and down the line since day one.”
Not. They’ve never said anything about the Republican “caging” operations that deliberately (and illegally) targeted soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for voting disenfranchisement; and they’ve shamelessly defended not only an aimless war based on lies, but also an incompetent administration that has fumbled everything from body and vehicle armor to medical care for wounded troops. If your idea of “supporting the troops” is throwing their lives away in an unnecessary war, and fubaring every aspect of how the war was conducted, then the right wing radio nuts are your boys.
You also seem to forget (or intentionally overlook) the fact that one hell of a lot of Democrats and liberals have served in the wartime military. Among other things, most of the combat veterans in Congress are Democrats.
@19 “Kevlar, Roger, Kevlar.”
You don’t get it, do you? Assuming the target knows Kevlar can’t stop rifle bullets, and added SAPI plates to his tactical body armor, merely means you won’t get bullet penetration with your first shot. The function of the torso shot is to KNOCK HIM DOWN. Trust me, if you hit him square in the chest with an AK-47 or NATO round, he’s not going to stay on his feet. Then you put your second one straight up his chin.* This shot will remove the top of his skull and 98% of its contents.
* The advantage of this shot is that if you aim slightly too low, you get his gonads instead.
If you’re a good enough shot, there’s an even better two-shot tactic. You put your first round three inches above the ground. You put your second round three inches above the ground, too. The timing between the two shots is the key. The first round hits him in the ankle and he goes down — trust me, he will. The second round hits him, well, when he’s lying flat on his back, three inches above the ground is good pretty much anywhere but hitting the head gets you a score of “10”.
You have to allow enough time between Round 1 and Round 2 for Lardass to fall. 1.25 seconds should be sufficient.
@20 “Why is the ‘invisible hand’ always in the taxpayers’ wallet?”
I forwarded your question to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Big Spender. According to CBS News, he’s Congress’ earmark champ — by far.
Texas and New York get less than $100 per citizen in earmark funds; Alaska gets well over $4,000 per resident.
That’s YOUR money Stevens is spending.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....3037.shtml
Can anyone tell me what the mission is in Iraq? Is there a mission? Why are we there? Does anyone know?
“Remember…I have a soldier son (Iraq War Vet with added service in Kuwait and Afghanistan) and a Marine son (on Okinawa, but wanting to go to Iraq)…”
The Piper
10/12/2007 at 8:35 pm
I say they are just more of those PHONY SOLDIERS that I have been talking about on my wing nut radio program.
These mercenaries make mob hitmen look good in comparison.
@15
Those “right wing radio nuts” have a pretty much unblemished record of being on the side of the men and women in the military up and down the line since day one.
No, they don’t. They have an unblemished record of promoting a useless military occupation that has stretched our military to the breaking point, while also making the world less stable and all of America’s enemies stronger. That’s not “being on the side of the men and women in the military”. It’s the precise opposite of that. Right wing radio exists to support the bottom lines of the wealthiest Americans (as many of the hosts, like Limbaugh, are in that category). If that requires exploiting American troops, they don’t hesitate to do it.
@15
But in the Newsweek article you cite, Lee, the U.S. diplomatic personnel who are protected by Blackwater say they prefer the company’s personnel to less trained and experienced military personnel.
They fucking better. The mercenaries get paid a whole lot more. The problem isn’t necessarily that they’re there. The problem is that there’s no accountability for what they do. Once again, not that you’re smart enough to understand any of this.