Posted on 11/10/2007 12:55:36 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Respect Blackwater
The firm's operations in Iraq are not sordid -- they're just business
Monday, November 5, 2007
By ROGER ROLAND
The frenzied debate over the role of Blackwater USA in Iraq has resulted in more misconceptions than truths.
The most common myth, propagated by the media and some politicians, is that Blackwater's private security contractors are mercenaries working for the United States military. This simply is not the case.
Blackwater's contractors do not support U.S. armed forces in battle against terrorists and insurgents. They are not soldiers, but rather a corps of professionals who provide personal security to American businessmen and government personnel.
Think of the U.S. Secret Service and the protection it provides the president and other officials. That is the service Blackwater provides these key personnel in Iraq.
Unfortunately, the recent hearings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, spurred by Blackwater's involvement in a Sept. 16 firefight that resulted in 17 Iraqi deaths, only added to the public confusion. During testimony by Blackwater President and CEO Erik Prince, committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, and other members of Congress suggested that since Blackwater contractors are mercenaries performing a military mission, they should be subject to military regulations and pay rates.
Avoiding the Enemy
What military mission? The Department of Defense deploys American soldiers to Iraq to destroy the enemy. That mission is one of a military nature. By contrast, most of Blackwater's work in Iraq -- including the much-discussed firefight -- has been for the protection of State Department civilians. In contrast to the military's mission to search out the enemy, Blackwater's mission is to keep its clients as far away from the enemy as possible.
That said, Iraq is an extremely dangerous environment -- one where terrorists are actively seeking to kill American diplomats or capture them as trophies of war. Despite this obvious reality, some Blackwater detractors have suggested that private contractors should fire only when fired upon. But in Iraq, this policy would be suicidal.
Traveling on the country's roads is especially hazardous. There is a constant threat of ambush, and any approaching vehicle might contain an explosive device. For a motorcade, speed is life.
To prevent traffic from approaching or hindering a convoy, Blackwater and other contractors abide by clear rules.
First, the convoys are equipped with flashing lights and signs warning drivers, in Arabic and English, to keep their distance. If a vehicle comes too close too quickly, security contractors first attempt to get the driver's attention with lights and hand signals.
Then they fire a bright but harmless pen flare, or perhaps throw a water bottle at the car. If these attempts fail, they must assume the vehicle is approaching with deadly purpose. As a last resort, the security contractors open fire.
These procedures work. As Prince pointed out in congressional testimony, no individual protected by Blackwater has ever been killed or seriously injured.
Yet Blackwater personnel have paid the ultimate price: Thirty people working for the company and its affiliates have been killed while protecting Americans. With statistics like that, should Blackwater be ashamed about earning a profit?
Let Capitalism Work
Some people in Congress apparently think so. A majority staff report to the House oversight committee noted with obvious disapproval that Blackwater has received more than $1 billion from the federal government during fiscal years 2001 to 2006. Of this amount, the report continued, 51 percent "was awarded without full and open competition." The Congress members who grilled Prince on this point demonstrate their ignorance of the law.
Blackwater does not tell the government how to write or award its contracts. In fact, federal acquisition regulations stipulate that all government contracts signed without an open bid must be justified and submitted for review at the responsible agency's highest level.
The State Department, in separate testimony before the committee, stated that it had followed that procedure and decided that Blackwater was the most qualified for the job.
Blackwater and other private security contractors act like any other business. They tell the government what services they can provide. They negotiate a fee. And they sign a contract.
There's nothing sordid about the process -- it's business. It's capitalism. It's free enterprise. It's legal, and it's working.
Roger Roland is a retired Marine officer who lives and works in Palmdale.
More than I knew before ...much obliged, Roger and DogByte6RER
The left still wants us to lose. Blackwater is just another front in that fight.
My son is with the Navy and Seals. Friends of his know some of the terrible Blackwater heros. They were told shots were fired at them from the crowds first. There is no doubt the terrorists shot first and the scene was chaotic, but the Blackwater was responding to fire. Imagine Iraqis lying to try to make these men look bad and our politicians jumping on board with our enemies.
I cannot understand why US Congressmen and Senators are always against the troops and contractors. They are anti- America and do not want to win. Blackwater men are the best of the best, former Navy Seals, Delta Force, etc. They are incredibly talented and the damn president and congress tie their hands behind their backs with crazy rules of engagement. These men are needed to protect the state department employees because there are not enough men in the military.
It is just simply bizarre that these showboating political hacks in Congress would make these partisan attacks against Blackwater. Talk about biting the hand that feeds (or rather protects) you. How asinine!
If I was a high ranking US legilslator touring Iraq I would want highly qualified people protecting me. Blackwater USA seems to recruit the best of the best.
The a$$hole Congressmen and Senators who are beating up on Blackwater deserve to have Deputy Barney Fife providing their personal protection whenever they tour hostile international zones for their fact finding missions.
All these left wing American hating politicians go over there to protest the war, and who do they need to protect them? Blackwater.
Your ignorance is showing. These guys are mostly former Special Ops guys. If they shoot first its to stop from being shot. And painting them with the broad brush that they don’t care about civilians is defamatory at best. You’ve obviously never been in the military, and you actually read like a liberal from my point of view. I’ve been to Iraq, I’ve worked with Blackwater and Erinys, and you have no idea what you are talking about.
I think “George W. Bush” is a moonbat from the DU or the MoveOn.org crowd who has infiltrated FR to stir things up....
I am sick to death of people like you. You sit behind your computer in the safety of your own home and pass judgement on men who put their asses on the line every time they leave the Green Zone to protect somebody elses butt. 16,000+ missions they have ran and have never lost anybody. How many have they saved? I’m sure the Polish ambassador that was caught in an ambush sure liked having them there. You will never hear about the lives they have saved but, you will believe all that the NYT’s has to say about them. I have family and friends that are fighting this war both as PSC’s and military and I go by their input not what the MSM says. As far as I’m concerned 90% of the news that comes out of there by OUR media is BS. Who is your source, Jeremy Scahill?
I’m waiting for the expansion of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act to include contractors including those working for State.
The MEJA already covers all contractors. There is no difference between them other than who they ultimately work for.
And I’m waiting for you to tell me where your armchair military quarterback expertise comes from. I’ve employed weapons in Iraq. Having some f’ing O-6 review my tapes (who’s not even qual’d in a combat aircraft) to see if I followed ROE when killing bad guys who were trying to kill coalition forces was about as galling as having to read your posts about stuff you know nothing about, commenting on people who are your better.
The MEJA implementation is not going to solve any problems in Iraq, winning there faster will. If they want to pass another law to back up all the other laws that prohibit inhumane acts, have at it. Nobody goes out in the Iraq and says “I want to kill women and children today” other than Al Quaeda and JAM. Where is your outrage at the ass-hats who bring 2000lbs of explosives to a market to blow up people trying to buy bread? Are you next going to whine about the supposed torture of water boarding of our Al Quaeda prisoners? Compare and contrast this with my future if I eject and get captured where I will at best be beheaded, at worst have true torture then beheading? The enemy is not Blackwater or the US military. Its Al Quaeda, and there’s plenty of them left in Iraq.
Based on your post history you are a fanatical Ron Paul supporter, which explains quite a bit. Try to stick with facts from people who’ve been there, not the words of your new messiah who I personally think is deranged based on the comments he’s made about Iraq.
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