He is already Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, the most lethal military on this planet. So why does he also need a mercenary army?
The very definition of, and operating by and under no other name but the evil twins of tyranny and police state:
"A shadow army within an army. A shadow chain of command within a chain of command. Plans within plans. Above United States local, state, and federal law. Above international laws. Above Iraqi laws. Above US military law".
Who are these Blackwater mercenaries, and from whence did they come? A little precursory history lesson is required.
Enter "The Rumsfeld Doctrine":
"On September 10, 2001, before most Americans had heard of Al Qaeda or imagined the possibility of a "war on terror," Donald Rumsfeld stepped to the podium at the Pentagon to deliver one of his first major addresses as Defense Secretary under President George W. Bush. Standing before the former corporate executives he had tapped as his top deputies overseeing the high-stakes business of military contracting–many of them from firms like Enron, General Dynamics and Aerospace Corporation–Rumsfeld issued a declaration of war.
"The topic today is an adversary that poses a threat, a serious threat, to the security of the United States of America," Rumsfeld thundered. "It disrupts the defense of the United States and places the lives of men and women in uniform at risk." He told his new staff, "You may think I’m describing one of the last decrepit dictators of the world.... [But] the adversary’s closer to home," he said. "It’s the Pentagon bureaucracy." Rumsfeld called for a wholesale shift in the running of the Pentagon, supplanting the old DoD bureaucracy with a new model, one based on the private sector. Announcing this major overhaul, Rumsfeld told his audience, "I have no desire to attack the Pentagon; I want to liberate it. We need to save it from itself."
The next morning, the Pentagon would be attacked, literally, as a Boeing 757–American Airlines Flight 77–smashed into its western wall. Rumsfeld would famously assist rescue workers in pulling bodies from the rubble. But it didn’t take long for Rumsfeld to seize the almost unthinkable opportunity presented by 9/11 to put his personal war–laid out just a day before–on the fast track. The new Pentagon policy would emphasize covert actions, sophisticated weapons systems and greater reliance on private contractors. It became known as the Rumsfeld Doctrine.
"We must promote a more entrepreneurial approach: one that encourages people to be proactive, not reactive, and to behave less like bureaucrats and more like venture capitalists," Rumsfeld wrote in the summer of 2002 in an article for Foreign Affairs titled "Transforming the Military."
Although Rumsfeld was later thrown overboard by the Administration in an attempt to placate critics of the Iraq War, his military revolution was here to stay. Bidding farewell to Rumsfeld in November 2006, Bush credited him with overseeing the "most sweeping transformation of America’s global force posture since the end of World War II." Indeed, Rumsfeld’s trademark "small footprint" approach ushered in one of the most significant developments in modern warfare–the widespread use of private contractors in every aspect of war, including in combat.
Sounds innocent enough, and everyone here knows that no one in our government attacked us on 9/11. But the bone-chilling coincidence is enough to make anyone sit-up and take notice, and ask intelligent questions about the Rumsfeld Doctrine.
So why a mercenary army, Mister Bush?
The plot thickens:
"The often overlooked subplot of the wars of the post-9/11 period is their unprecedented scale of outsourcing and privatization. From the moment the US troop buildup began in advance of the invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon made private contractors an integral part of the operations. Even as the government gave the public appearance of attempting diplomacy, Halliburton was prepping for a massive operation.
When US tanks rolled into Baghdad in March 2003, they brought with them the largest army of private contractors ever deployed in modern war. By the end of Rumsfeld’s tenure in late 2006, there were an estimated 100,000 private contractors on the ground in Iraq–an almost one-to-one ratio with active-duty American soldiers.
To the great satisfaction of the war industry, before Rumsfeld resigned he took the extraordinary step of classifying private contractors as an official part of the US war machine. In the Pentagon’s 2006 Quadrennial Review, Rumsfeld outlined what he called a "road map for change" at the DoD, which he said had begun to be implemented in 2001.
It defined the "Department’s Total Force" as "its active and reserve military components, its civil servants, and its contractors–constitut[ing] its warfighting capability and capacity. Members of the Total Force serve in thousands of locations around the world, performing a vast array of duties to accomplish critical missions." This formal designation represented a major triumph for war contractors–conferring on them a legitimacy they had never before enjoyed.
Contractors have provided the Bush Administration with political cover, allowing the government to deploy private forces in a war zone free of public scrutiny, with the deaths, injuries and crimes of those forces shrouded in secrecy. The Administration and the GOP-controlled Congress in turn have shielded the contractors from accountability, oversight and legal constraints. Despite the presence of more than 100,000 private contractors on the ground in Iraq, only one has been indicted for crimes or violations. "We have over 200,000 troops in Iraq and half of them aren’t being counted, and the danger is that there’s zero accountability," says Democrat Dennis Kucinich, one of the leading Congressional critics of war contracting.
While the past years of Republican monopoly on government have marked a golden era for the industry, those days appear to be ending. Just a month into the new Congressional term, leading Democrats were announcing investigations of runaway war contractors. Representative John Murtha, chair of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense, after returning from a trip to Iraq in late January, said, "We’re going to have extensive hearings to find out exactly what’s going on with contractors. They don’t have a clear mission and they’re falling all over each other." Two days later, during confirmation hearings for Gen. George Casey as Army chief of staff, Senator Jim Webb declared, "This is a rent-an-army out there." Webb asked Casey, "Wouldn’t it be better for this country if those tasks, particularly the quasi-military gunfighting tasks, were being performed by active-duty military soldiers in terms of cost and accountability?" Casey defended the contracting system but said armed contractors "are the ones that we have to watch very carefully." Senator Joe Biden, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, has also indicated he will hold hearings on contractors. Parallel to the ongoing investigations, there are several bills gaining steam in Congress aimed at contractor oversight.
A frightening picture of Bush's "Praetorian Guard":
Blackwater has repeatedly cited Rumsfeld’s statement that contractors are part of the *"Total Force"* as evidence that it is a legitimate part of the nation’s "warfighting capability and capacity." Invoking Rumsfeld’s designation, the company has in effect declared its forces above the law–entitled to the immunity from civilian lawsuits enjoyed by the military, but also not bound by the military’s court martial system. While the initial inquiries into Blackwater have focused on the complex labyrinth of secretive subcontracts under which it operates in Iraq, a thorough investigation into the company reveals a frightening picture of a politically connected private army that has become the Bush Administration’s Praetorian Guard.
So what and who is Blackwater?
Blackwater Rising
Blackwater was founded in 1996 by conservative Christian multimillionaire and ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince–the scion of a wealthy Michigan family whose generous political donations helped fuel the rise of the religious right and the Republican revolution of 1994. At its founding, the company largely consisted of Prince’s private fortune and a vast 5,000-acre plot of land located near the Great Dismal Swamp in Moyock, North Carolina. Its vision was "to fulfill the anticipated demand for government outsourcing of firearms and related security training." In the following years, Prince, his family and his political allies poured money into Republican campaign coffers, supporting the party’s takeover of Congress and the ascension of George W. Bush to the presidency.
While Blackwater won government contracts during the Clinton era, which was friendly to privatization, it was not until the "war on terror" that the company’s glory moment arrived. Almost overnight, following September 11, the company would become a central player in a global war. "I’ve been operating in the training business now for four years and was starting to get a little cynical on how seriously people took security," Prince told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly shortly after 9/11.
"The phone is ringing off the hook now."
Among those calls was one from the CIA, which contracted Blackwater to work in Afghanistan in the early stages of US operations there. In the ensuing years the company has become one of the greatest beneficiaries of the "war on terror," winning nearly $1 billion in noncovert government contracts, many of them no-bid arrangements.
In just a decade Prince has expanded the Moyock headquarters to 7,000 acres, making it the world’s largest private military base. Blackwater currently has 2,300 personnel deployed in nine countries, with 20,000 other contractors at the ready. It has a fleet of more than twenty aircraft, including helicopter gunships and a private intelligence division, and it is manufacturing surveillance blimps and target systems.
There's nothing wrong with "free enterprise" and the entrepreneural spirit. It's "the American way", right?
The only problem is Blackwater isn't the American way. It's the way to dictatorship and a police state!
This Bush war criminal cabal shows a convoluted, multiplicitous story of corruption with deep roots, all the way from lying us into a war of aggression for a false mission, to "no bid" contracts, to the rising of Blackwater "through the ranks" to become the most insidious organizations to ever exist in American history.
It is only the tip of the iceberg. I want you all to think about the ominous implications that Mister Bush's private mercenary army poses. How safe are we, when our POTUS feels the need for one?
Take a look at this video from September 7, 2007. Rick Jacobs from the Courage Campaign brings out an interesting point: If Blackwater doesn't respect the Iraqis and their laws, what makes us think they'll respect Americans and our laws?
The NY Times ran an article last October 12th, which shows that Blackwater massacred all 17 of those civilians, and that they were not firing in self-defense as they claimed:
New Evidence That Blackwater Guards Took No Fire
[...]
" The Kurdish witnesses are important because they had the advantage of an unobstructed view and because, collectively, they observed the shooting at Nisour Square from start to finish, free from the terror and confusion that might have clouded accounts of witnesses at street level. Moreover, because they are pro-American, their accounts have a credibility not always extended to Iraqi Arabs, who have been more hostile to the American presence. [...]
"I call it a massacre," said Omar H. Waso, one of the witnesses and a senior official at the party, which is called the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. "It is illegal. They used the law of the jungle."
Many of the American soldiers were similarly appalled. While Blackwater has said its guards were attacked by automatic gunfire, the soldiers did not find any casings from the sort of guns typically used by insurgents or by Iraqi security forces, according to an American military official briefed on the findings of the unit that arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the Blackwater convoy left. That analysis of forensic evidence at the scene was first reported Friday by The Washington Post"...
I received this e-mail plea for action to stop Blackwater from building a training base near the CA/Mexico border, from activist Rick Jacobs and the Courage Campign. Their petition is going to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday!
"Blackwater is back in California.
Just a few months after the courageous people of Potrero kicked Blackwater out of their small town on the California border, Blackwater has announced plans to open a 61,600 square-foot "training facility" in San Diego just THREE blocks from Mexican border.
In other words, Blackwater is using your tax dollars on a mercenary war in Iraq -- $320 million paid so far, over 60% in no-bid contracts -- to subsidize building a base of operations inside California.
Blackwater's border bait-and-switch has shocked the citizens of San Diego. Shortly before pulling their plans on Potrero, the private military contractor quietly used a shell company called "Southwest Law Enforcement" to gain city permits for a "vocational trade school" a stone's throw from the Tijuana Airport. While Blackwater denies that this deception is a trojan horse to land border security contracts from the federal government before George W. Bush leaves office, the ominous writing is on California's wall.
What will it take to stop Blackwater for good in California and Iraq? Local and national pressure. This time, the Courage Campaign plans to fight a two-front battle against Blackwater -- on the border in San Diego and in the halls of Congress.
To block Blackwater in California for good, we need to put them out of business in Iraq forever. That's why we're supporting Rep. Jan Schakowsky's "Stop Outsourcing Security Act" (H.R. 4102), which would phase out private security companies like Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan. An identical bill in the Senate (S. 2398) has been co-sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton.
If Senator Clinton can call for Blackwater to be banned from Iraq, so can Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
And so can you. Please join us now in asking Speaker Pelosi -- California's most powerful member of Congress -- to take leadership by supporting the "Stop Outsourcing Security Act." On Monday, we will deliver thousands of your signatures to Speaker Pelosi's offices in Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
Rep. Schakowsky's bill in the House requires that within six months of passage, "the secretary of State shall ensure that all personnel at any United States diplomatic or consular mission in Iraq are provided security services only by federal government personnel."
Senator Clinton was unequivocal in her support for this ground-breaking legislation:
"From this war's very beginning, this administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable. These private security contractors have been reckless and have compromised our mission in Iraq. The time to show these contractors the door is long past due. We need to stop filling the coffers of contractors in Iraq, and make sure that armed personnel in Iraq are fully accountable to the U.S. government and follow the chain of command."
[As of this writing, I don't know where Senator Obama stands on this most important issue.]
The bill is also gaining momentum in the progressive grassroots and netroots as a foundational piece of the "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" -- the people-powered plan we told you about a few weeks ago that has now been endorsed by 55 congressional candidates for Congress.
This Thursday, May 1, True Majority will deliver the "Responsible Plan" to members of Congress across America on the fifth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" declaration. On Monday, May 5, we'll follow up by delivering your signatures to Speaker Pelosi's offices in Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
With funding for the war in Iraq being considered by Congress right now, there's no better time to shine a light on Blackwater. If we can convince Speaker Pelosi to stop Blackwater from privatizing national security with our tax dollars, it could be the beginning of the end for Blackwater in Iraq. And California.
Please take a stand and spread the word today, before we deliver your signatures to Speaker Pelosi on Monday:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/...
Time is not on our side. Blackwater claims that it may be able to begin operations in San Diego as early as this summer. Meanwhile, the Iraq contract that Blackwater is operating under -- the State Department's "Worldwide Personal Protective Services" contract to guard infrastructure and diplomats -- is up for renewal in May.
We need to go on offense now, locally and nationally, to stop the outsourcing of our security operations in Iraq and on the Mexican border. That means blocking Blackwater from San Diego and banning Blackwater from Iraq before it's too late.
Please forward this email to your friends today and ask them to sign our petition to Speaker Pelosi before Monday at 9 a.m.
Thank you for everything you are doing to make 2008 a new era for progressive politics in California. And the world.
Rick Jacobs
Chair
P.S. The people of Potrero spoke out loud and clear that Blackwater was not welcome in San Diego County. Now it's up to the Mayor and the San Diego City Council to stand up against these mercenaries setting up shop on in California. In a few days, we'll give you an update on the battle brewing over Blackwater's new base on the border and what you can do to stop it.
::E-MAIL UPDATE DATED MAY 1, 2008::
Wow.
Just 48 hours after we asked you to join us in waging a two-front battle against Blackwater -- on the California/Mexico border and in the halls of Congress -- 8,210 people have signed on to our letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her to support the "Stop Outsourcing Security Act" in Congress.
We need to keep up the momentum before Tuesday's 9 a.m. deadline. If you have signed our letter to Speaker Pelosi, please forward this message to your friends. If you haven't signed it, please click here today to add your signature to the delivery we'll make to the Speaker's offices in Washington D.C. and San Francisco on Tuesday:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/...
Meanwhile, we just sent a message to the citizens of San Diego asking them to sign on to a letter to Mayor Jerry Sanders. The letter from Jess Durfee, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, asks Mayor Sanders to launch a full investigation into the false pretenses Blackwater used to obtain a city permit, thus evading public scrutiny.
The only way we are going to kick Blackwater out of Iraq and out of California, for good, is if we build up the pressure on Blackwater, nationally and locally.
Please join our two-front battle now by signing on to our letter to Speaker Pelosi before Tuesday:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/... We've beaten Blackwater before and -- with your help -- we can beat them again.
Rick Jacobs
Chair
