No offense, but the Blackwater guys weren’t “asked” to do ANYTHING.
Their company is a for-profit entity which bid on and entered into a CONTRACT to do certain things for the U.S. government.
They actually ASKED to go to Iraq. They are quite different from U.S. military personnel.
With that said, I hope they are not found guilty, but I also hope our government gets out of the business of hiring mercenaries to do the job our military is supposed to be tasked with doing.
Re: but I also hope our government gets out of the business of hiring mercenaries to do the job our military is supposed to be tasked with doing.
Agree with this 100%.
I'm all for innocent people not getting hurt or killed but my lord, why is it that we expect our bravest to fight with one hand behind their back? Like you, I hope it's proven that they didn't indiscriminately fire on civilians.
I see very little difference in the results of this action than occurred with Haditha. Our guys in very difficult circumstances doing what they're trained to do and then we prosecute them...
The government put out a RFP (or some similar acronym) which is a request for somebody to do the job. They probably didn't ask Blackwater directly, but they did ask. And Blackwater asked for employees willing to go.
So they did ask. And guess what, we have a volunteer army too. Both groups volunteered, though the Army folks might not have know specifically what they were volunteering for if they signed up on 9/10/2001. Since then, Army volunteers know they are likely to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and we still get volunteers.
Maybe using mercenaries isn't a good idea, but you are on the wrong track arguing that they weren't asked.
I agree with you on this. The use of these mercenaries in military capacities in foreign countries has presented serious legal questions that places those involved on pretty shaky ground, in my opinion.
“I also hope our government gets out of the business of hiring mercenaries to do the job our military is supposed to be tasked with doing.”
You need to read the article more closely. Blackwater is contracted to protect State Department personnel. Civilians. The military doesn’t even protect the President directly. The Secret Service does.
Mercenaries are paid to fight a war. The Blackwater folks are there to protect civilian dignitaries like the US Ambassador.
So Blackwater ASKED the US Government to issue a contract? No, the government ASKED qualified contractors to go, and Blackwater answered the call.
Yes, they have a mission that is quite different from military personnel. There are good and sound reason why the government issues these contracts, and not all of their missions are stuff the military should be doing, given current staffing levels.
Their company is a for-profit entity which bid on and entered into a CONTRACT to do certain things for the U.S. government.
They actually ASKED to go to Iraq. They are quite different from U.S. military personnel.
You're absolutely right.
And while there are plenty of good, decent PSDs who work for Blackwater, unfortunately there are enough steroid-pumped, chest-thumping Rambo-wannabes among their ranks to have earned Blackwater their bad standing with the Iraqis.
This became a diplomatic mission in conjunction with the war around June of 2003 and Blackwater has been a detriment.
The incident where 14 Iraqis were killed is often mentioned, but there are several incidents which are not. Every time Blackwater pulled one of their shenanigans, anti-American sentiment was stoked and hostile events saw a brief spike, putting every one of us at increased risk.
They have long been a source of scorn and derision among other contractors in Iraq. When their "little birds" are buzzing around with Rambo's legs hanging out of them (oh, snap!), you'll hear military guys making sarcastic remarks like "Oh, good, we're all safe now. Blackwater's out there protecting all of us."
I even saw three guys dressed as Blackwater PSDs at a Halloween party here last fall, replete with bodybuilder.com T-shirts, Blackwater hats and fake muscle bulges under their shirts, swaggering around and hilariously acting the part. They had us all in stitches.
The reason Blackwater is used by State Department wusses is because the contract soldiers do not have to follow the same sick "rules of engagement" that our military has been burdened with by Bush and the hordes of scumbag lawyers he has placed in charge of the war effort. Hopefully these guys struck a deal to be tried in Utah by real Americans before they voluntarily turned themselves in.