The State Department’s IG report in early 2005 noted that, “that Blackwater cited its profit from the contract as a cost it incurred, and billed the government for it — resulting in what the report called “a pyramiding of profit.”
This is the second most blatant bit of account theft that I have ever heard of, the first being a guy who noted change as an expense for a non-profit group called the MSR.
He did time, and so should the execs at Blackwater.
It’s our fault.
All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 19, 2007; Page A14Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of “occupying forces” as the key to national reconciliation, according to focus groups conducted for the U.S. military last month.
…
To quote Billy Joel (and of course, Alvin and the Chipmunks, who did the definitive cover), you may be right.
Lets be clear, the soldiers in ‘Not us. We’re not going.’ are heros. They knew that if they went out, then they would kill innocent people.
They served the military, the country, and the Iraqi people in the best way they knew.
These guys are heros…Read…And Cry.
Raises a chicken-egg question, is this a product of Dick Cheney being CEO of Halliburton, or did they hire Dick Cheney because they were objective pro rape to start with.
In either case, this company is lawless and should be gone after the same way Elliot Ness went after Al Capone.
I mean, of course, the Democrats, particularly the DSCC and DLCC.
There are two very good posts on open left (here and here) discussing the losses in the special elections in Virginia and Ohio yesterday.
The basic point is that the candidates, and the DCCC which backed them made no mention of the war.
These guys are still running away from ending the war. The Democrats took control of congress on this issue, despite these guys ducking covering on this issue in 2006, and they are doing it again.
It’s the war stupid, no matter how much these guys, largely ex-Clintonistas, want to make it the 1992 election.
No money to the DSCC or DCCC. When I give, it’s only to candidates who are clear and vocal about their opinion on the war. It does not have to be the centerpiece of their campaign, but it has to be out there and clearly visible.
‘Nuff said.
Let’s see, a 22 year old girl, one of their employees is gang raped bo other Halliburton employees, and Halliburton’s response is to keep her prisoner in a shipping container, and when the Army doctor turned over the rape kit, they “lost” it.
I used to wonder why Halliburton hired Dick Cheney, and continued to employ him after his disasterous decisions (he bought a company that made them liable for asbestos law suits). Now I think I know why, they simply came from the same place value wise.
Democrats now are expected to allow Senate Republicans to attach tens of billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a $500 billion-plus government-wide spending bill. That move would be in exchange for GOP support on the huge spending measure.
The war money would not be tied to troop withdrawals, as Democrats want. But it would let Democrats wrap up their long-unfinished budget work and go on vacation before Christmas. It also would spare them from criticism during the holiday recess by President Bush for leaving work without providing money for the troops.
If they want to filibuster, make them talk. No more of this courtesy of withdrawing the bill because you can’t get cloture. MAKE THEM TALK.
What’s more, make them talk on Christmas day.
In an interview with the Grayson County News-Gazette, he said the following:
“I won’t tell you everything is great in Iraq; it is not. But we want to keep a steady flow of funds so that we don’t disrupt the military,” said McConnell. “Unfortunately, most of our friends on the other isle are having a hard time admitting things are getting better; some days I almost think the critics of this war don’t want us to win. Nobody is happy about losing lives but remember these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.
Gee…So I guess he thinks that “full-time professional soldiers” don’t have parents, or wives, or Fiancées, or children, or girl friends.
Or maybe he’s trying to say that it was OK for him, as a draftee in the late 1960s, do give another soldier a hand job in the shower to get out, because he was a draftee, nto a “full-time professional soldier”.
Oh, well.
Big surprise there, bombs are not going off daily, nor are death squads roaming the street. All we have is an occasional mall shooter.
So, we train them there, then take the most promising back to the US for more estensive training, and they go missing.
They desert, they seek asylum, or they seek asylum in Canada, as a brigadier general did earlier this year.
Things have to be going swimmingly there.
Note that this guy is not career State Department.
State Dept. retains manager of troubled embassy project
Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: December 06, 2007 08:22:34 PM
WASHINGTON — A State Department project manager banished from Iraq by the U.S. ambassador and under scrutiny by the Justice Department continues to oversee the construction of the much-delayed new American embassy in Baghdad from nearby Kuwait, State Department officials disclosed Thursday.
James L. Golden, a contract employee, is still managing the $740 million project, said Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, the department’s top management official.
“Mr. Golden is still . . . our project manager, and still is working with the contractor, at their base in Kuwait,” Kennedy said.
One State Department official with detailed knowledge of the unopened embassy expressed outrage that his superiors haven’t replaced Golden.
…
(Emphasis mine)
So, this guy is so bad at what he does, that he got thrown out of the Green Zone, but he’s still managing construction.
When one considers the shoddy and unsafe construction, and allegations of corruption and slavery, one wonders why this guy is still getting paid.
So, which company does he work for, and what sort of political connection with Bush and His Evil Minions™ is keeping him on the job?
I should note that the inestimable Paul Krugman puts in his two cents on this too:
Back when Hillary Clinton described Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, a number of people pointed out that this was an unfair comparison. For example, Darth Vader once served in the military.
Here’s another reason the comparison is invalid: the contractors Darth Vader hired to build the Death Star actually got the job done.
Basically, it was attached to an emergency spending bill funding Iraq, could not get the votes in the house, because about 30 Dems would not vote for a war funding bill under any circumstances.
This means that the bill is dead for this year, though I think that it will come up again next year.
I can’t help but think that this is a shot across the bow of Pelosi, who has been rather timid compared to Reid on challenging Bush on Iraq.
Expanding the law to cover hate crimes against gays has to be a huge issue in her district, and it being pulled is going to result in her office catching hell from her constituents.
Honestly, I think the that Bush will veto anything that this is attached to anyway, so we need to wait for a Dem president, so the anti-war congressmen have made the right decision.
The military has basically taken control of oversight of contractors, “The agreement requires all State Department convoys in Iraq to coordinate their movements with the military’s main operations center in Baghdad, sets minimum standards for training the contractors and outlines when armed guards may use force in self-defense.”.
In related news, “two key deputies who worked closely with the security contractors, Kevin Barry and Justine Sincavage, received quiet promotions“, and “On November 20, an internal cable, listed as State 158575, went out to State employees announcing the recipients of bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 for “outstanding performance.” Among them: Kevin Barry and Justine Sincavage.”
My head hurts.
I agree on both counts.
Well, this throws a kink in bush’s Iraq forever plans. It appears that Article 58, Section 4 of the Iraqi constitution requires the Iraqi parliament to “international treaties and agreements by a two-thirds majority.”
Good.
The White House and the genocidal ethnic cleansers Iraqi government have released a statement of principles that amounts to an agreement to have US troops in Iraq FOREVER.
Chris Dodd has released a statement vehemently disagreeing with this:
Frankly, it’s hard to believe that the Administration is just beginning to figure out what the future bilateral relationship with Iraq should look like after more than four years of military occupation. But, this declaration of principles is more notable for what it doesn’t say than what it does. It does not require Iraqi leaders to make substantive progress on their political benchmarks nor does it end US military involvement in Iraq. Indeed, Senator Dodd is fearful that the lack of clarity on the long-term presence will be used as a justification by this Administration for a permanent military presence in Iraq, at precisely the time when we should be declaring the opposite. In a Dodd Adminsitration, there will be no permanent bases in Iraq.
Update:
Obama and Clinton have now declared themselves to be members of the “No Permanent Bases” caucus too.
French prosecutors have dismissed a torture case against Donald Rumsfeld based on “customary immunity”…Funny thing though…I’ve never heard them claim this immunity with Israelis. (FWIW, I do believe that Sharon should have spent some time in the clink for his roll in the Sabra and Shatila massacres, because he was at the very least criminally negligent).
My guess is that this came straight from Sarkosy.
Bush’s best friend in the South Pacific, and a race baiting demagogue, John Howard, has gone down to defeat in Australia. He placed combat troops in Iraq, and endorsed the politics of fear with a zeal that rivals that of Bush and His Evil Minions™.
What’s more, John Howard will lose his own seat, and his party is in opposition in every state and territory.
The Australian people were sick and tired of a government that was more frightening them than it was in serving then.
Would that we had a parliamentary system here.
The New York Times is reporting that 43 Contractors have been taken into custody. It appears that the contract that they had was for resupply, and that these guards covered the resupply contract, and were not a part of any American security contract.
At this point, none of the detained are believed to be American.
I think that this is a shot across the bow of all the contractors by the Iraqi army.
Finally, but given the degree to which the State Department has sabotaged this investigation from the beginning, I do not expect any indictments to come of it.
Update: We now have reports that the Gand Jury is investigating other Mercenaries Security Contractors in addition to Blackwater:
The Washington grand jury has issued subpoenas to several private security firms, including Blackwater, a legal source briefed on the probe said yesterday. Authorities are seeking company “after-action” reports and other documents that may shed light on specific incidents, he said.
The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, declined to say which incidents have been targeted, but he said the investigation ranges well beyond Blackwater. Private security companies in Iraq “have been shooting a lot of people,” he said.
Emphasis mine.
I think that if there is ever a fair accounting of the actions of the mercs in Iraq, a lot of people are going to be called to account.
CQ is reporting that Carl Levin, Daniel Inouye are floating a spending bill without restrictions.
This is wrong, and worse, it is a mistake.
Voting against the war is the right thing to do morally and politically, and these morons can’t seem to get it through their heads that caving to Bush hurts the country and the Democratic party.
Don’t back down, make it harder on the Republicans. Make them really filibuster. Declare on every talk show that the Republicans are filibustering money for the troops.
Not one step back.