http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20071003
October 3, 2007 -- Blackwater testimony reveals open and hidden
agendas - PART I
publication date: Oct 3, 2007
Download Print
Previous | Next
October 3, 2007 -- Blackwater testimony reveals open and hidden
agendas - PART I
In yesterday's House hearing about Blackwater's operations in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and other countries, GOP members of Chairman Henry
Waxman's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee engaged in
juvenile antics as Democrats and one sole Republican raised
legitimate questions about the propriety of the government's use of
private military contractors in Iraq and elsewhere.
Massachusetts Democrat John Tierney said there must be a re-
evaluation of private military contractors (PMCs). Tierney said that
none civilian contractors a week are dying in Iraq, adding that PMCs
"harm the counter-insurgency effort."
Carolyn Maloney, Democrat of New York, said contracting out military
work "does not save the government money." Maryland Democrat Elijah
Cummings declared, "a shadow military of mercenary forces not
accountable to the U.S. government or anyone else negatively affects
U.S. relations with other nations in the Middle East."
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich said that according to a British
polling agency, more than one million Iraqi citizens have died as a
direct result of the war. He linked some of these deaths to
Blackwater's "outrageous behavior." Kucinich also said he is
concerned that the State Department has covered up Blackwater's
killing of Iraqi citizens and he questioned Blackwater's "shoot first
and don't ask questions approach."
Meanwhile, committee Republicans engaged in diversionary tactics and
gimmicks to show their support for Prince, a major GOP personal donor
and funder of right-wing causes through his Freiheit Foundation.
North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry said it was
irresponsible to investigate Blackwater during ongoing State and
Justice Department investigations of a September 16 incident
involving the killing of Iraqi civilians in Baghdad by Blackwater
security personnel. McHenry said he is "grateful for Blackwater's
service," adding that the Waxman hearings were a "knee jerk reaction"
to the "liberal cause du jour."
Indiana's Dan Burton called the Blackwater investigation a "rush to
judgement." California's Darrell Issa produced a gimmicky chart
showing the names of House Democrats who supported MoveOn.org in the
controversy about its New York Times advertisement criticizing
General David Petraeus. California Democratic Congresswoman Diane
Watson objected to the chart and had it removed from the hearings
room in the Rayburn House Office building.
Florida Republican Dan Mica said the series of Waxman's committee
hearings were trying to discredit President Bush, Ambassador Ryan
Crocker, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and were "now discrediting
contractors." Mica said the committee was interfering with Justice
and State Department investigations of Blackwater. Mica then moved to
adjourn the hearings. The motion was roundly defeated on a voice vote.
The committee agreed with a request from the Justice Department to
withhold asking Prince or State Department officials about the
September 16 shooting incident in Baghdad because it is currently the
subject of a Justice Department and FBI criminal investigation. After
being sworn in, Prince testified that Blackwater does not engage in
"military or offensive missions." He stated that Blackwater "acted
appropriately at all times." Prince said that after 9/11, Blackwater
supported "U.S. stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Waxman noted that Blackwater profited greatly in the aftermath of
9/11. In 2001, Blackwater had over $200,000 in federal contracts,
after 9/11 that skyrocketed to now over $1 billion in federal contracts.
When Waxman brought up the crash in Afghanistan of a Blackwater
Aviation plane, Blackwater 61, that killed three active duty U.S.
military personnel and three Blackwater employees, he cited the
Blackwater crew's lack of training when they plowed the aircraft into
a canyon wall. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
investigation concluded that the pilot and first officer acted
unprofessionally and flew the dangerous canyon route "for fun."
Prince responded that he disagreed with Waxman's assertions. Waxman
replied that Blackwater violated its own policies because the crew
lacked the required one month flight experience in Afghanistan when
the crash occurred. Prince sought to blame the military for the crash
because it used the Blackwater flight to transport ammunition.
Waxman said the NTSB concluded that the Blackwater pilot failed to
file a flight plan. One passenger managed to survive for 10 hours
after the crash but died from the elements because, without a flight
plan, searchers were not able to locate the plane quickly.
Issa countered with a diversionary tactic of questioning the Clinton
administration's investigation of the crash in Croatia that killed
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and the other passengers, as well as the
crew.
Mica added that Prince was the "next in the chain of command" to be
attacked by Democrats. Mica compared the Blackwater crash in
Afghanistan to the Comair crash in Kentucky and cited similar NTSB
conclusions about the Comair crew. And he added that searchers have
not been able to find aviator Steve Fossett in Nevada and compared
the search for the Blackwater plane in Afghanistan to the search for
Fossett's plane in Nevada, which he and Prince said had similar terrain.
Related Articles:
* October 1, 2007 -- House Committee discovers new details about
Blackwater
* Sept. 27, 2007 -- Waxman releases report on private security
contractors in Iraq
* JUNE 13, 2005 --UNFRIENDLY FIRE: HOSTILE INCIDENTS INCREASING
BETWEEN US MILITARY AND PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS IN IRAQ
* October 2, 2007 -- Biggest decision for a fired Blackwater
employee in Iraq
* Sept. 28-30, 2007 -- State Dept. IG Howard Krongard threatened
State investigators if they cooperated with Congress
* October 4, 2007 -- State Department official involved in
Blackwater scandal also named in AIPAC espionage probe
* October 3, 2007 -- Blackwater testimony reveals open and
hidden agendas --- PART II
* October 4, 2007 -- Blackwater Aviation and its X-Wing Star
Wars pilots
Comments
Kait (Michigan)
The Bush administration's ties to Blackwater
The private security firm has long ties to the White House and
prominent Republicans, including Ken Starr.
By Ben Van Heuvelen
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/10/02/blackwater_bush/
Kait (Michigan)
Some of the Bush Blackwater links as reported by Ben Von
Heuvelen at the above link.
Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder, who has donated "roughly
$300,000 to Republican candidates and political action committees.
Through his Freiheit Foundation, he also gave $500,000 to Prison
Fellowship Ministries, run by former Nixon official Charles Colson,
in 2000."
J. Cofer Black, Blackwater Vice Chairman, a 28-year veteran of
the CIA Van Heuvelen describes as "one of the more prominent faces
associated with the Bush administration's interrogation and
extraordinary rendition policies." Black is also a senior adviser to
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Rob Richer, Vice President for Intelligence, who is the former
head of the CIA Near East Division. "In 2003," according to Salon "he
briefed President Bush on the nascent Iraqi insurgency. In late 2004,
he became the associate deputy director in the CIA's Directorate of
Operations, making him the second-ranking official for clandestine
operations."
Fred Fielding, a former outside counsel for the firm, who "has
had a long career as a lawyer to prominent Republicans. From 1970 to
1972, he was an associate White House counsel in the Nixon
administration; from 1972 to 1974, he was present for the denouement
of that administration as deputy White House counsel." Fielding is a
former counsel to President Reagan and current White House counsel to
President Bush.
Ken Starr, another counsel to Blackwater, who was hired by the
firm in 2006, is best known "as the Independent Counsel who
investigated Bill Clinton. He revealed the intimate details of
Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky in the infamous Starr
Report and set in motion Clinton's impeachment by Congress."
Arthur T. Murray (Seattle, WA)
The Blackwater episodes are showing our native-born terrorist
American Republicans at their worst. The day will come when admitting
to having been an American Republican will be like a German admitting
to having been a Nazi. The rogue Blackwater employees should be
prosecuted, and the American military officers who invaded Iraq
should be prosecuted.
liberty antigone (?)
Kait, you rock! in providing great links.
Susan Modikoane (Houston/TX)
Why not tell Blackwater what America thinks of them? I did.
MOYOCK, NC MOUNT CARROLL, IL
Primary Number 252.435.2488 Primary Number 815.244.2900
Fax Number 252.435.6388
Mailing Address: Mailing Address:
Blackwater Blackwater USA North
PO Box 1029 PO Box 33
Moyock, NC 27958 Mount Carroll, IL 61053
Public Relations
Anne Tyrrell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Telephone: (703) 852-4320
Email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Training Center [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blackwater North Training Center [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Target Systems [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Employment/Careers [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blackwater ProShop [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Media Relations [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Diane Bourdeau (Winnetka)
Right on Susan, I will also be writing our favorite Mercenaries
to tell them what I think of them. Thank you!
Kait (Michigan)
Thanks Liberty and Susan for all your great links!
