Hearings before the U. S. Senate Armed Services Committee have painted a very disturbing picture of how Blackwater USA was allowed to operate in Iraq and Afghanistan. Apparently since Blackwater boss, Erik Prince (at left), professes to be a godly Uber-Christian, the Chimperator and Emperor Palpatine Cheney and their minions turned a blind eye to rampant misdeeds and lawlessness. Some have even conjectured previously that killing Iraqis was a sport among some of the Blackwater personnel. Yes, that's beyond sick, but that's what happens when religious and cultural based discrimination is allowed to make others less than human. So far, Blackwater - or Xe as it has renamed itself - has escaped criminal prosecution, but nonetheless, it would appear that senior military personnel need to be held accountable for allowing the misdeeds as well. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot: *
A Senate investigation accuses the Army of turning a blind eye when a Blackwater subsidiary hired violent drug users to help train the Afghan army and declared "sidearms for everyone" even though employees weren't authorized to carry weapons.
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The findings by Democratic staff on the Senate Armed Services Committee paint a disturbing picture of lawlessness that contributed to the May 2009 shooting deaths of two Afghan civilians and fed anti-Western sentiment in the region.
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"Blackwater operated in Afghanistan without sufficient oversight or supervision and with almost no consideration of the rules it was legally obligated to follow," said Sen. Carl Levin, the committee's chairman.
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Former employees of the company's subsidiary Paravant — Justin Cannon and Christopher Drotleff — have been charged with killing two Afghans and injuring a third. Cannon and Drotleff were not supposed to be armed and had been drinking.
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They also probably shouldn't have been hired by Blackwater at all. Drotleff's lengthy criminal record included assault and battery, while his three-year career in the Marines ended after seven unauthorized absences, assault and other charges.
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Blackwater has been involved in several security incidents, including the 2007 shooting at Nisoor Square in Baghdad that killed 17 people, including women and children. Since the shooting, the Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater has renamed itself Xe Services and overhauled its management. Iraq has pulled the company's license to operate in the country.
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Levin said he wants to determine who should be held accountable for the gaps in oversight that led to the 2009 shooting and what should happen to prevent future incidents. But he stopped short of suggesting that Xe be barred from working with the military overseas.
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The senator said that among the startling discoveries in his investigation was that contracting personnel acquired several hundred weapons, including more than 500 AK-47s, from a U.S. facility in Kabul that stores the weapons for use by the Afghan police.
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With Prince's family a force to be reckoned with in GOP and Christianist circles, I would not be surprised if Blackwater had not been given a free reign from on high.
A Senate investigation accuses the Army of turning a blind eye when a Blackwater subsidiary hired violent drug users to help train the Afghan army and declared "sidearms for everyone" even though employees weren't authorized to carry weapons.
*
The findings by Democratic staff on the Senate Armed Services Committee paint a disturbing picture of lawlessness that contributed to the May 2009 shooting deaths of two Afghan civilians and fed anti-Western sentiment in the region.
*
"Blackwater operated in Afghanistan without sufficient oversight or supervision and with almost no consideration of the rules it was legally obligated to follow," said Sen. Carl Levin, the committee's chairman.
*
Former employees of the company's subsidiary Paravant — Justin Cannon and Christopher Drotleff — have been charged with killing two Afghans and injuring a third. Cannon and Drotleff were not supposed to be armed and had been drinking.
*
They also probably shouldn't have been hired by Blackwater at all. Drotleff's lengthy criminal record included assault and battery, while his three-year career in the Marines ended after seven unauthorized absences, assault and other charges.
*
Blackwater has been involved in several security incidents, including the 2007 shooting at Nisoor Square in Baghdad that killed 17 people, including women and children. Since the shooting, the Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater has renamed itself Xe Services and overhauled its management. Iraq has pulled the company's license to operate in the country.
*
Levin said he wants to determine who should be held accountable for the gaps in oversight that led to the 2009 shooting and what should happen to prevent future incidents. But he stopped short of suggesting that Xe be barred from working with the military overseas.
*
The senator said that among the startling discoveries in his investigation was that contracting personnel acquired several hundred weapons, including more than 500 AK-47s, from a U.S. facility in Kabul that stores the weapons for use by the Afghan police.
*
With Prince's family a force to be reckoned with in GOP and Christianist circles, I would not be surprised if Blackwater had not been given a free reign from on high.
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