Brian Ross at ABC has aired the results of his investigation into the use of alleged mercenaries by the United States. I was interviewed on the story, though I was obviously not at liberty to discuss it before it aired yesterday. Ross found evidence that private contractors were being used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq for combat missions — a role that raises very disturbing legal and policy questions.
The ABC storyis based on four current and former U.S. military and intelligence officers. The New York Times has also reported that raids against Iraqi insurgents were conducted “almost nightly” between 2004 and 2006, and “the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred.”
Congress has historically moved against the use of private contractors for such purposes. The Defense Department bars the use of private security contractors (PSCs) for combat operations. In the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress required full reporting on the use and weaponry of PSCs. Such contractors have been involved in controversial shootings such as the shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in Nisoor Square by Blackwater employees.
The debate over PSCs has been over their use in combat areas, not just their use in combat — a role restricted for our regular forces. However, even their use in combat areas is viewed as inimical by military professionals. The executive summary for the U.S. Naval Academy’s 9th Annual McCain Conference on Ethics and Military Leadership stated this position recently:
We therefore conclude that contractors should not be deployed as security guards, sentries, or even prison guards within combat areas. APSCs should be restricted to appropriate support functions and those geographic areas where the rule of law prevails. In irregular warfare (IW) environments, where civilian cooperation is crucial, this restriction is both ethically and
strategically necessary.
This, however, is not a new position. Congress moved against the use of the Pinkerton Detective Agency after abuses found in crackdown against union organizers. The Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893 (5 U.S.C. § 3108) barred the government from using private police companies and courts in cases like United States ex rel. Weinberger v. Equifax, 557 F.2d 456, 462 (5th Cir. 1977,) have interpreted this law as barring mercenary contracts. However, the government has blurred the line in Iraq and Afghanistan by defining companies like Blackwater as “guards” and security staff who are allowed to use lethal force in self-defense. See 71 Fed. Reg. 34826.
The CIA has always worked on the principle that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. However, this may have gone too far. As I stated to ABC, the descriptions given by its sources indicate the use of private contractors in clear combat operations. That would, in my opinion, raise serious legal questions.
The New York Times is also reporting that contracts with Blackwater have been cancelled and that there has been significant complaints about the work of a company called Xe Services, which was run by a division of the company called Blackwater Select.
The Pentagon has denied the use of contractors in combat missions despite the ABC sources. It, however, has refused to discuss the use of such private soldiers in the Vibrant Fury operation in 2006.
The use of mercenaries by the United States could have terrible consequences. Such soldiers are not covered by such things as the Geneva conventions and would have little protection if captured. Moreover, regular soldiers could be treated as mercenaries when captured if we blur the distinction. Finally, there was once a robust market for mercenaries that the United States played a major role in shutting down. If we are seen as now employing mercenaries, it could encourage other nations to expand their own use of such private soldiers.
For the video of the segment, click here.
For the Xe story, click here.
If you wiki Blackwater their entry, at the bottom of a long page states that Blackwater is also involved in the CIA secret assassination program detailed in postings above. I’m wondering if Blackwater is also involve in the secret Pentagon funded assassination ring that has it’s chain of command going up to the Vice President’s office? When I looked up the genealogy of this particular group it seemed to be a stand alone operation, not connected to the regular black ops groups run out of the CIA and with a much more broad mandate. That is to say they did not have the prohibition against acting domestically.
Original Sy Hersh comments:
http://www.minnpost.com/ericblackblog/2009/03/11/7310/investigative_reporter_seymour_hersh_describes_executive_assassination_ring
This is a good article about it and includes this exerpt:
“Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a former top aide to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell hints that the program was in a “somewhat more operational phase” years earlier, despite repeated denials by CIA officials and congressional staffers.
Wilkerson told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show July 14, “What I suspect has happened is what began to happen while I was still in the government, and that was we’re killing the wrong people. And we’re killing the wrong people in the wrong countries. And the countries are finding out about it, or at least there was a suspicion that the countries might find out about it, and so it was shut down. That’s my strong suspicion.”
http://isiria.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/dick-cheneys-executive-assassination-ring/
I do not believe for a minute it was shut down.
Mercenary forces also, by their nature, have no incentive to cull their ranks of bad actors and every reason to seek out recruits who don’t mind doing a dirty job. Consequently a mercenary life is appealing to a whole range of the criminal element as this story illustrates. It details how Blackwater employed a number of Pinochet’s old torturers.
Yes, it’s a LaRouche site- don’t freak, I’ve read these stories from several sources but this article is long and pulls the info together nicely:
http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2007/10/05/blackwaters-ss-recruited-pinochets-nazi-war-criminals.html
Here’s a video for you from Headzup:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU3q6vCxN3w&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
However, this is the main theme from ‘Dark Shadows’ that clearly fits Blackwater’s Theme of murder, destruction. and mayhem for dollars.
From Dark Shadows the Theme Song ‘Shadows of the Night’ (Quentin’s Theme)
One of my all time songs (I prefer the instumental v. the lyrical versions); however, those with tin tympanic membranes (I shant mention names) might dislike this song as the did my posting of Time (If I Only had Time) here:
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/10/01/heart-stopper-california-doctor-accused-of-abandoning-effort-to-resuscitate-man-in-order-to-steal-his-rolex/
There are many aspects of a democratic Republic that must inherently fall within the strictest solitary purview of government; militaristic warring is the most important of those aspects.
Much like privatizing the management of correctional institutions, the incentives for financial and civil rights abuses by private mercenary soldiers are rampant. War is inherently a function government.
It’s an old story: what one cannot do directly lawfully or safely must be done indirectly. In 475 CE the Roman general Orestes employed the Skiri tribesman, Odoacer, to head a group of mercenaries known as the Foederati. Orestes wishing to depose the Western Roman Emperor, Julius Nepos, promised the mercenaries one third of Italy to lead a revolt which they promptly did. Nepos was defeated and Orestes elevated his son to the job of emperor and then predictably rescinded his pledge to Odoacer. The battle tested mercenaries exacted their revenge on the duplicitous general and on his son whom they forced to abdicate. Odoacer became the first non-Roman emperor of the Western Empire.
“The longer you can look back, the farther you can look forward.”
~Winston S. Churchill
Scahill:
“At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.”
(excerpt from The Nation)
Lack of surprise is irrelevant to the law.
Artist Formerly Known As FFN,
Like Jill, I’m not surprised and have been following the Blackwater/civilian contractors story for a couple of years–since I first heard about it and read Scahill’s book on the subject.
I’m not surprised, I’ve followed this story for years. My lack of surprise isn’t relevant. This is an illegal operation. It was illegal under Bush and it is illegal under Obama. I don’t believe the public at large is all that aware of this story.
More signifaicantly, as Scahill pointed out, this story, while important, is hiding another, even worse story. That is the DOD is conducting illegal wartime activities inside of Pakistan with whom we are not at war. This is a violation of US and international law.
Call it mercenary creep, slipper slope policy, or whatever you like, but this Blackwater-Xe story is one more indication of an empire in decline because of rogue governing dominated by the military oil complex (a.k.a. military industrial complex).
For the past 28 years every president has been a war president, so we are deep into an imperialistic era.
The last 28 seasons of peace (Christmas, etc) we have had a wartime president.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/12/warless-commander-in-chief-president.html
I don’t think anyone here can claim to be surprised about this.
Blackwater mercenaries act in self defense just like the US acted in self defense by invading another country.
Two things that Scahill has repeated a number of times:
1. Using Blackwater and other civilian contractors like them gave the Bush–and now Obama–Administration and the CIA “plausible deniabilty.” Evidently, Prince has even conducted some missions for our government gratis.
2. There’s a term called “going Blackwater.” People leave the military to work for civilian contractors where they can make a lot more money.
Why don’t we just pay our soldiers and others in the military better salaries??? Why give taxpayers’ money to multimillionaires like Eric Prince and others who are making so much money off war?
I wonder: Would companies like Blackwater/Xe want to see an end to our wars when they’re reaping such monetary rewards from them?
John,
That State Dept. is still deploying Blackwater with Obama’s knowledge and consent. I am guessing that both president Bush and Obama do/did so for the same reasons that you pointed out.
For ongoing coverage of the Blackwater/Xe saga see Scahill’s website: http://rebelreports.com/
His Nov 25 entry re-iterates the point I remembered upon reading the above post: the Bush administration likely employed Blackwater through the State Dept, presumably to deflect objections to the use of private contractors in combat or combat areas. (I wonder who wrote the memo who that suggested this ploy.)
The only clear remembrance of my first encounter with the history of our Revolutionary War was that the British used mercenaries against the colonists.
This was the height of abomination, we were taught. In the ensuing 50+ years, the American myth has degenerated continually ever since.
I’m really glad you brought that up Elaine. Scahill has documented our special forces going into Pakistan (with whom we have no declaration of war) and calling down drone strikes on their population. The is not being done by the CIA, but under the auspices of the DOD. Completely illegal. Mr. Peace Prize didn’t mention his illegal escalation in Pakistan. Pakistan is where we have moved “the war on terror” now.
Further the use of Contractors in combat is a disaster from a number of angles. First of all, mercenaries make money off war, they aren’t going to call for peace. They are connected to the very top of our govt. and they contributed significant sums to Mr. Peace Prize. So far he has paid off handsomely for them.
They also hire people from dictatorships and other countries who oppose the war to fill their ranks. This skirts our and the other nations’ laws.
Blackwater isn’t gone, it just keeps changing front companies. They continue to be hired under these front companies by our got.
The reckless and ruthless nature of contractors has put our troops in harms way. No one distinguishes between them and our military. The brutality of their acts has brought retaliation on our regular forces.
Finally, mercenaries are being used as a praetorian guard for our president and his ruling elites. A praetorian guard has no place in the US Constitution or society. They take no oath to our Constitution or our citizens. They are the president’s private army, designed specifically to skirt the law of the United States.
Obama should be impeached, just as Bush should have been. I’m glad this information is finally coming to light.
Jeremy Scahill on the Ed Schultz Show last night:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34386201#34386201
Before going on the Schultz Show, Scahill tweeted the following: #Blackwater is leaking the CIA ops for a reason. It also distracts from ongoing ops that are not CIA.
Scahill has said that what isn’t getting much attention and should be investigated more seriously are the missions Blackwater has been doing in conjunction with JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command).
The Secret War in Pakistan (The Nation, 11/23/2009)
by Jeremy Scahill
Excerpts:
At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.
**********
One of the concerns raised by the military intelligence source is that some Blackwater personnel are being given rolling security clearances above their approved clearances. Using Alternative Compartmentalized Control Measures (ACCMs), he said, the Blackwater personnel are granted clearance to a Special Access Program, the bureaucratic term used to describe highly classified “black” operations. “With an ACCM, the security manager can grant access to you to be exposed to and operate within compartmentalized programs far above ‘secret’–even though you have no business doing so,” said the source. It allows Blackwater personnel that “do not have the requisite security clearance or do not hold a security clearance whatsoever to participate in classified operations by virtue of trust,” he added. “Think of it as an ultra-exclusive level above top secret. That’s exactly what it is: a circle of love.” Blackwater, therefore, has access to “all source” reports that are culled in part from JSOC units in the field. “That’s how a lot of things over the years have been conducted with contractors,” said the source. “We have contractors that regularly see things that top policy-makers don’t unless they ask.”
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill
There’s a couple of old sayings that come to mind after reading this article.
“Kill or be killed” and “By any means necessary”
“and thats all have to say bout that”
Don’t forget that Pinkerton has its roots strongly embedded to Lincoln and the personal security efforts. They were thugs and have cleaned up the act a bit now they protect mostly, the money.
Blackwater/Xe has it roots in another enigmatic evil empire call AmWay. The Owner of Blackwater is the Brother in Law of DeVoss.
Professor does this really surprise you of the CIA using mercenaries? The only casualties counted are the American Soldiers. Private contractors have lost many more that it why the numbers are screwed up. You may have 24 aboard a helicopter that get shot down and only 2 soldiers counted for and a number of others not named. This has run within the thread already.
Now someone is finally doing MSM job. Wow is all I can say….
I can add this also:
Report: Blackwater guards linked to CIA raids
http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=65232946&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281