Blackwater: the scum also rises

POSTED BY: deadlockvictim
UPDATED: Friday, August 15, 2025 14:15
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DEADLOCKVICTIM

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 9:32 PM

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder
by JEREMY SCAHILL
August 4, 2009

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

this guy has been on the case for a while...
Jeremy Scahill is the author of the bestselling Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, published by Nation Books. He is an award-winning investigative journalist and correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!

is anybody really surprised by this?

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 10:24 PM

No.

Just wait till what they did during Katrina comes out.

We knew this, but the hard part was never having any damn PROOF, cause they cover their tracks too damn well and witnesses have this problem of disappearing.

They're murderous scum, but unfortunately they're COMPETENT murderous scum, and that makes them doubly dangerous.

-F

DEADLOCKVICTIM

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 12:51 PM

seems they finally pissed off the wrong (right) people...

PIZMOBEACH

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 1:34 PM

It's a very chilling read. We just can't have a private army - it comes too close to completely removing the moral responsibility of using soldiers from our gov.
Weren't the Hessians a private army? How'd that work?

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ANTHONYT

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 1:55 PM

From Wikipedia:

The term Hessian refers to eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire that fought against American colonists during the American Revolutionary War.

During the American Revolutionary War, Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel (a principality in northern Hesse) and other German leaders hired out thousands of conscripted subjects as auxiliaries to Great Britain to fight against the American revolutionaries. About 30,000 of these soldiers were sold into service. They were called Hessians, because 16,992 of the total 30,067 men came from Hesse-Kassel. Some were direct subjects of King George III; he ruled them as the Elector of Hanover. Other soldiers were sent by Count William of Hesse-Hanau; Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; Prince Frederick of Waldeck; Margrave Karl Alexander of Ansbach-Bayreuth; and Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst.

The troops were not mercenaries in the modern sense of military professionals who voluntarily hire out their own services for money. As in most armies of the eighteenth century, the men were mainly conscripts, debtors, or the victims of impressment; some were also petty criminals. Pay was low; some soldiers apparently received nothing but their daily food. The officer corps usually consisted of career officers who had served in earlier European wars. The revenues realized from the men's service went back to the German royalty. Nevertheless, some Hessian units were respected for their discipline and excellent military skills.

Hessians comprised approximately one-quarter of the British forces in the Revolution. They included jäger, hussars, three artillery companies, and four battalions of grenadiers. Most of the infantry were chasseurs (sharpshooters), musketeers, and fusiliers. They were armed mainly with smoothbore muskets, while the Hessian artillery used 3-pounder cannon. Initially the average regiment was made up of 500–600 men. Later in the war, the regiments had only 300–400 men.

About 18,000 Hessian troops arrived in the Thirteen Colonies in 1776, with more coming in later. They first landed at Staten Island on August 15, 1776, and their first engagement was in the Battle of Long Island. The Hessians fought in almost every battle, although after 1777 they were mainly used as garrison troops. An assortment of Hessians fought in the battles and campaigns in the southern states during 1778–80 (including Guilford Courthouse), and two regiments fought at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781.

The use of Hessian troops by the British further rankled American sentiment, and pushed more loyalists to be in favor of the revolution. Using foreign troops to put down the rebellion was seen as insulting, as it treated British subjects no differently than non-British subjects; pro-British Tories felt that the British nature of Americans should have entitled them to be above mercenary resistance.

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

PIZMOBEACH

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 2:25 PM

Heh - I read the same wiki article before posting. I think while different than a private army like Blackwater (fighting slaves practically) their use had the same effect of distancing the British gov from feeling directly responsible or impacted by the loss of Hessian lives. "Support the Troops" lawn signs are everywhere in the US and the voting populace clearly has a great deal of respect for men and women in the armed services - so what better for a President than being able to send in and risk these shadow troops instead? When one of them dies no one can write about more military casualties.

ANTHONYT

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 2:34 PM

Hello,

My main concern with mercenaries is that it removes the pretense of a political process for corporate control of the government.

If we become reliant on mercenary armies, and they grow to become a sizeable percentage of our military power...

then the government will essentially be at the mercy of Militech Incorporated.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

SIGNYM

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 3:01 PM

In addition, Blackwater personnel are being indicted for the Nisour Square massacre in Iraq- the largest (blatant) civilian massacre in the war. www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/95599/doj_preparing_to_charge_six_blackwat
er_guards_in_nisour_square_massacre/

Unfortunately, the Obama administration has not cut ties with Blackwater (now called Xe), and is expanding its contracts in Afghanistan.

KWICKO

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 3:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

My main concern with mercenaries is that it removes the pretense of a political process for corporate control of the government.

If we become reliant on mercenary armies, and they grow to become a sizeable percentage of our military power...

then the government will essentially be at the mercy of Militech Incorporated.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

You say that as if it weren't already being done...

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

RUE

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 3:50 PM

"My main concern with mercenaries is that it removes the pretense of a political process for corporate control of the government."

My impression is that that is intentional. The US has been specifically exporting and fostering this process around the globe for decades (see the book 'Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire'). It's not surprising that it has come home.

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