Posted on 10/02/2007 8:23:50 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
FReep This Poll!
This is the actual poll question:
Do you think the U.S. government should employ private security firms like Blackwater?
Yes
No
Not sure
Go to the North County Times/The Californain link provided. Scroll down a bit and look for the poll on the right hand side.
Vote your choice.
Note: This poll should remain active until Wednesday evening (October 2.)
(Excerpt) Read more at nctimes.com ...
Yes - (15 Votes, 33%)
No - (26 Votes, 58%)
Not sure - (4 Votes, 9%)
yes, of course.
but don’t ask me to defend blackwater if they did wrong.
Related news articles:
“Blackwater Chairman Defends His Company”
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/03/ap/headlines/d8s1frh03.txt
“Blackwater terminated 122 security personnel for weapons violations, drugs, alcohol”
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/02/news/nation/7_22_5210_1_07.txt
ping
24 yes votes now.
Do you think the U.S. government should employ private security firms like Blackwater?
More
Yes (27 Votes, 47%)
No (27 Votes, 47%)
Not sure (4 Votes, 7%)
Yes |
|
No |
|
Not sure |
I would vote NO. Why should “diplomatic personnel” get bodyguard treatment? Let them get a real feel for the situation by issuing them a weapon and a vest and let them fend for themselves. Just a thought.
The truth is I don't know, but I do think that they have a can of worms on their hands, and these people should never be allowed to work security are law enforcement in this country.
Which people? Anybody who works for Blackwater?
“yes, of course.
but dont ask me to defend blackwater if they did wrong.”
—
You weren’t in a war zone, were you?
what’s that got to do with whether blackwater did right or wrong?
listen, “hooray-for-our-side” people do as much damage as the left attacking us.
I must have missed the email, what date did Jim put you in charge?
Two to one FOR as of 2400hrs.
Nope.
Bears repeating:
listen, hooray-for-our-side people do as much damage as the left attacking us.
No, they do not.
Generally I’d say no, except the alternative would be to put more troops in harm’s way to guard these self-important politicians.
No because hiring forces like this generally makes me think of a hired mercenary army, and we already have an Army. I’d hate to see a slippery slope where more of the job of the soldier is taken over by hired guns driven by money rather than loyalty and honor. IIRC, going this direction helped the downfall of the Roman Empire.
Heh! Federalize them, and bring the compentance and professionalism of TSA to Iraq!! (That would be SURE to win some hearts and minds!)
I'm just in charge of asking questions.
Yes and no. DOS shouldn't. The USMC should be guarding our diplomats and as an auxiliary force, our diplomats should be guarding themselves. In an ideal world American diplomats would be able to trade places with any member of the United States Military during wartime. I believe it would assist them in understanding the full scope of the political decisions they are making and or advising. DOS diplomats should put themselves in positions of conflict in order to resolve them, not exacerbate them with excessive security.
Case in point: It has been argued that the DOS willfully misunderstood the dynamics of the Middle East prior to 9-11-2001, to the point of neglect. It could be argued now that the United States Army has had to do diplomacy as well as security in Iraq. To be honest, I don't think Blackwater is helping the DOS do its job, even though it has done exactly what the DOS asked them to do. The job of the DOS is to glue local policy to America's global policy and in the process, keep as many people alive as they can.
As an alternative to what they are doing now for DOS, I would like to see Blackwater working as an auxiliary force for U.S. Special Forces and or protecting sensitive infrastructure in Iraq such as pipelines, power lines and water mains. Each Blackwater employee operating in theater at 400K a year should have between two and twenty Iraqi employees who they live with, train, and if necessary, die with. Right now, the U.S. Military and Diplomatic Corp need qualified counter insurgents and I believe Blackwater could fill some of that need, if asked...
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