Here's a bit of good news coming from Washington today. After years of enduring incompetence, cost overruns and multiple murders by Blackwater USA, decision-makers are finally understanding how bad the mercenary companies are. Although it isn't official policy yet, the agency has determined that, surprise, Blackwater should not be dealt with.
From TPM:
A senior official familiar with a report commissioned by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the AP on Wednesday that the panel has called for Blackwater's contract not to be renewed when it expires next year. A decision on the recommendation will be left to the Obama administration, which will be in place when the contract comes up for renewal in the spring.
Rice ordered a review of the department's use of private security firms last September after an incident in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. Five guards have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from that incident. The company was not implicated.
It is not clear how the State Department would replace Blackwater if the recommendation is accepted. The department relies heavily on private contractors, including Blackwater, to protect diplomats in Iraq as its own security service does not have the manpower or equipment to do so.
Well, they could invest more in the military and enlist more soldiers with better wages instead of giving such enormous amounts of business to private contractors. These mercenaries have had little accountability these past five years and (at least at the moment) have gotten away with murder, among other things. It's great that the State Dept. is getting ready to do this, and that it will not be Bush, but Obama's decision to make in a few short months.
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