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.
Thank you. It’s good to hear that from someone who has actually dealt with them.
Now, THAT is funny:-)
You take carfe and stay away from those types. We never had them at D-17, but we did have the Ugandans.....