Blackwater Is To War As WalMart Is To Mass Consumerism

WalMart has been so successful (for itself, not employees or consumers) because they sell everything under the sun as cheaply as they possibly can. The store is diversified through and through to appeal to anyone that doesn't know how their operation impoverishes their workers and decimates small businesses in the communities they enter.

Blackwater Worldwide is also on the path of diversification. The only difference is instead of profiting off the misery of American communities, they are merchants of death and destruction. Blackwater made headlines for their murderous security guards and gigantic government contracts. Now they want to expand into anything and everything that a government could possibly need to fight a war.

From SpaceWar:

While most attention is focused on Blackwater Security Consulting, the unit that provides contractors for work in Iraq and elsewhere, there is far more to it than that. Blackwater has long sought to be a one-stop shopping center, a sort of Wal-Mart for all the U.S. government's military outsourcing needs, and a review of its business units shows it has gone a long way toward meeting that goal.

Consider Greystone Ltd., which is a Blackwater entity. A private security service, it is registered in Barbados and employs third-country nationals for offshore security work. Its Web site advertises its ability to maintain and train "a workforce drawn from a diverse base of former special operations, defense, intelligence, and law enforcement professionals ready on a moment's notice for global deployment." Tasks can be from very small-scale up to major operations to facilitate large-scale stability operations requiring large numbers of people to assist in securing a region.

Need something delivered by air? Look no further than Aviation Worldwide Services. AWS was founded by Richard Pere and Tim Childrey, and is based in Melbourne, Fla. Several of the MD-530 helicopters used by Blackwater Security Consulting in Iraq are also operated by AWS.

And the list of things go on and on. They have received contracts from the government for myriad projects and training exercises. There has been no accountability in terms of Congressional oversight, only contracts approved by the Pentagon. Those contracts are eased through because many higher-ups at Blackwater Worldwide are former military brass themselves. Combined with the neo-cons, Blackwater has become the most powerful mercenary company out there....and despite all the bad press, no one has been able to stop them.

Bush Lets Blackwater Gets Away With Murder

Except for Halliburton, Blackwater Worldwide is the poster child for mercenaries in Iraq and for taking advantage of American soldiers and everyone else who pays taxes for that war (not to mention foreign creditors of course). Blackwater is responsible for numerous crimes, both against our own troops and Iraqi civilians. Despite enormous proof of their responsibility in illegal actions, they are getting off scot-free.

From The NY Times:

Guards for the security company were involved in a shooting in September that left at least 17 Iraqis dead at a Baghdad intersection. Outrage over the killings prompted the Iraqi government to demand Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and led to a criminal investigation by the F.B.I., a series of internal investigations by the State Department and the Pentagon, and high-profile Congressional hearings.

But after an intense public and private lobbying campaign, Blackwater appears to be back to business as usual.

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

Why would our government let this happen? Well because they claim that no one else can do their job. As one State Dept puke said, "We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq. If the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq.” Well oh my, wouldn't that be just terrible. In the meantime, why don't we shift the responsibility to our own troops instead of letting us be ripped off by a bunch of bloodthirsty mercenaries?

Blackwater Is Still Up To No Good In San Diego

Except for maybe Halliburton, Blackwater Worldwide is one of the biggest symbols for war profiteering in America during this on-going war in Iraq. Both make money by exploiting the troops and the American taxpayer. After five years of this mess, people are starting to understand who the main culprits are and Blackwater has been marked. That goes double for San Diego, where residents successfully blocked an outdoor facility on the east side of the county. Well now they are going after another one of Blackwater's attempts at installing more facilities in the area.

From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

OTAY MESA – San Diego officials will challenge Blackwater Worldwide's permit for an indoor military training facility in South County, saying the public didn't know about the plan. “Residents deserve to know when a facility like this is approved – before it is approved,” San Diego City Council President Scott Peters said.

The North Carolina company received a permit in March for a training site in Otay Mesa, an industrial section of south San Diego, shortly after abandoning its controversial proposal to build a larger facility in Potrero in East County.

The city Development Services Department granted the permit without public hearings. The site was already permitted for a vocational school, and city staff members decided Blackwater's training of Navy personnel qualified. The facility will have a shooting range, a simulated Navy ship and classrooms.

Brian Bonfiglio, a Blackwater vice president, said the opposition seems to originate from anti-war sentiment, not animosity toward the facility itself.

First of all approval permits need to be shown to the public before they get the official go-ahead, regardless of who is building what. The fact that Blackwater applied for the permit under a sub-contractors name shows their deceptiveness. Second, A place to train mercenaries isn't exactly what one would call a vocational school. Technically you are learning how to kill for profit, but I doubt that is what the citizens of San Diego have in mind when they think of a place for people to learn a skill. Finally, as for Bonfiglio's remark that this isn't animosity towards the site, he's wrong about that. The site is a symbol of the recklessness that is Blackwater Worldwide's operations and if that happens to be fueled by anti-war sentiment, so be it. Even those that oppose war do not look kindly upon mercenary groups. We are supposed to be supporting soldiers, not for-hire killers.