 |
|
Add to My Group
|
September 22, 2007 at 12:26:32
Why Don't We Ban Blackwater and other Mercenary Outfits Here? by Dave Lindorff Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
|
 
|
Let's give the Iraqi puppet government some credit: At least they have the sense to delicense and order out of the country the Blackwater mercenary outfit.
The real question is why we allow them here in the US.
Recall that FEMA and Homeland Security used heavily armed Blackwater troops in the aftermath of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans. They were seen wandering around in flak jackets and helmets, with no identifying tags, carrying heavy weapons and M-16s. It is not clear how many people they may have killed or injured in those terrible days.
Worse yet, there's word that Homeland Security has standing contracts with Blackwater and other private mercenary firms for other "national emergency" situations in the US.
This whole concept is an affront to democracy and a grave threat to the survival of our democratic freedoms.
While the rules are often honored in the breach by officers who tape over their badges during operations, the law requires police in the US to identify themselves with badges that show their number clearly, so that if they abuse their power, people know how to file a complaint or a lawsuit, which is the only recourse they have for illegal behavior by police forces.
Police are also supposed to be trained in things like Miranda rights, civil liberties and so on. Again, while many officers go on and act like laws unto themselves, particularly in poor and minority communities, there is a presumption that they will behave in a law-abiding manner, and when they don't it is possible to challenge them.
Not so private mercenary "police."
Such forces have no place in any democratic society, and they have no place in ours. Nor do they have any place in American military actions overseas.
Bear in mind that the British use of Hessian mercenaries during colonial times was one of the main grievances that fired up American revolutionaries (although in fairness to the German soldiers-of-fortune, many of them eventually went AWOL and become Americans).
Why isn't it being decried as a scandal that today America is increasingly turning over its military and its police to mercenary forces, many of whom aren't even Americans? Blackwater, Dynecorp and other such firms are hiring Israeli veterans, former South African police, and Latin American graduates of the notorious School of the Americas (Torture U) to fill out their ranks, along with veterans of such US outfits as Delta Force, Navy Seals and the Green Berets.
The Iraqis have seen close up the inhumanity and ruthlessness of these mercenary outfits, and are starting to take steps to rein them in or toss them out. Americans should demand the same here at home.
___________________
DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based investigative journalist and columnist. His latest book is "The Case for Impeachment" (St. Martin's Press, 2006 and now out in paperback. His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
 Contact Author |
Contact Editor |
 View Authors' Articles |
|
|
|
|
| 7 comments |
|
Today's Headlines:
by mrk * (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 312 comments [12 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 1:34:52 PM  (0+)
|
|
Why can't we just get rid of them altogether?
I am a pretty well informed person. I read the newspapers and I'm online every day about political issues but until afew days ago I knew nothing about Blackwater. This has to be the most heinous thing I have ever heard. And wouldn't George Orwell be proud that he predicted everything that is happening in our fascistic country? NOW CAN WE INPEACH THESE BASTARDS? What more do we have to know to finally impeach the whole administration? There has never been such a nest of criminals in any government since Hitler. How do we, the people, make impeachment happen? Is there some kind of criminal threat against our legislators from Shrub and the rest of the crime family? I can think of nothing else that could prevent them from acting on the criminal activity in our government. Would they ever admit it if that were the case? I have reason to think that I am being targeted for my political stand on the government. Several suspicious things have happened lately that I will have to investigate. It is ugly to have to think about that but I know that it is possible. by Caronome (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 327 comments [15 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 4:18:11 PM (0+)
|
|
Because of Fear
The Wellstone plane crash had little-reported circumstances about it that smack of assassination. Then there was the anthrax mailing attack on the Democratic majority leadership of the Senate when they were in the process of examining the PATRIOT Act. The thing that must not be said is that both Kennedys and King were probably assassinated by a part of the military-industrial complex. Circumstances around those murders were indeed other than promoted to the public. There were probably others that were not as high-profile. Members of Congress are aware of these unspoken realities. by Pat Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 84 comments) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 6:55:40 PM (0+)
|
|
Reply: eh?
"Members of Congress are aware of these unspoken realities." by richard (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 1359 comments [400 recommended, 8 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 9:07:35 PM (0+)
|
|
My Answer
Because not all people visit and read articles on OpEdNews.com. I'm serious. Look at the General News column. There are at least 6 or 7 stories on Blackwater right at the top of the homepage. If everyone visited here, all of America would be experts on Blackwater and would be protesting vigorously. by Kevin Gosztola (302 articles, 146 quicklinks, 81 diaries, 1082 comments [77 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 8:27:56 PM (0+)
|
|
Blackwater - A Domestic Enemy
Read "BLACKWATER - The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercernary Army" by Jeremy Scahill. The book was a New York Times bestseller. Raise hell with your Representative and Senators, get them to do their sworn duty to support and protect the Constitution. Why are Bush' Generals allowing this to happen? Didn't they swear to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic? Blackwater is a domestic enemy that is violating our Constitutional rights and privileges, our value systems, our life styles, our very lives. Mercenary armies are the antithesis of the rule of law; that is why Bush and his Republican supporters use them to do their dirty work when the CIA or Bush's generals are not available. by Alden Mason (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments) on Saturday, Sep 22, 2007 at 9:55:35 PM (0+)
|
|
The Second Amendment
Don't count on this mercenary force that is soon going to be unleashed against dissenters on the soil of Der Homeland being reigned in by the pathetic Democrats in congress. Just get familiar with your Second Amendment rights (because they will be the last ones stolen by the extreme right for obvious reasons), buy guns, learn how to use them and organize with others to form militias for when the time comes to repel this menace to liberty once it is loosed on American soil. I hate to say it but the political system has failed, the police have been overly militarized and the military has been broken (intentionally?) so there will be nobody to protect us from tyranny. They can't get the Iraqi insurgency under control so if people are aware of this fifth columnist threat their crackdown in America will be met with enough resistance to turn it into their Waterloo. by Ed Encho (12 articles, 20 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 438 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Sep 23, 2007 at 9:10:44 AM (0+)
|
Want to post your own comment on this Article? 
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||
Must Read (0) 
Well Said (0) 
News (0) 
Touching (0) 
Funny (0) 
Supported (0) 
Interesting (0) 
Inspiring (0) 
Valuable (0)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tell a Friend:
|
Copyright © 2002-2009, OpEdNews |
