Blackwater USA

According to Paul Bedard at U.S. News & World Report, Blackwater USA was hired to protect Obama on his tour of Afghanistan and the firm of mercenaries also helped in Iraq. It had been reported earlier that Blackwater would not get the job.

Bedard also reports that Obama was overheard saying that, "Blackwater is getting a bad rap."

Maybe he doesn't want to win North Carolina afterall, eh?

Thanks to Max for this excellent link.

Via email:

To whom this may concern,

In your quest to stop Blackwater, I suggest that you bring up this fact whenever possible. Blackwater is a foreign corporate owned mercenary army. That makes them an illegal invader. The DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE speaks out specifically against mercenary armies.

I bring this up with every police officer of any department that I come across, and this makes their ears perk. I tell them that Blackwater has the right to shoot a police officer dead with no fear of prosecution. I tell them that we need them to help stop Blackwater, and they tell me "Thank you."

Seriously.

With these additional thoughts:

From the Declaration of Independence:

I receive a periodic email update from Blackwater Watch. Here's the latest on how the mercenaries are faring in the court of public opinion. Of course, that court doesn't matter so much when we have a Congress and an administration that continues to pour billions into Erik Prince's coffers, but perhaps the tide will eventually turn:

Update from San Diego: No permits for the mercenaries

There's a new book out by Tim Shorrock called Spies for Hire. I haven't read it yet, but I did see some pages that feature Congressman David Price and his work on the business of military contractors. Shorrock singles out Congressman Price as an effective and persistent advocate for accountability in the deep, dark world of mercenary madness.

I've been critical of Congress in general and Mr. Price in particular (since he's my Congressman) but I want to use this post to praise the work David Price has done so far in bringing the dogs of war to heel. An excerpt from the book:

The outsourcing amendment to the the intelligence bill was largely the work of one Congressman who has diligently pursuing the issue of contractor accountability since 2003: David Price, D-North Carolina.

I hope to focus on Erik Prince and Blackwater this week. More to the point, I hope to underscore the colossal failure of Congress to rein in America's reliance on mercenaries to fight our wars. Click the image to find the N&O's interactive graphic about the web of influence surrounding the Prince of Darkness.

Joseph Neff at the News and Observer has a great round-up story on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Erik Prince, dark lord over all things Blackwater. Mr. Prince, as you know, is the top dog among mercenary mongrels here in the states. I hope you'll go read the article and learn how the Democratic Congress is continuing to pour money into Prince's pockets.

We can't count on our own representatives to lead the charge against war-profiteering by Blackwater USA, we can at least be grateful that someone in the House of Representatives is trying to do something to shine light on the Prince of Darknesss

Erik Prince testified last October before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee where Murphy and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., raised questions about the profits the company earned from its large government contracts. Prince responded by noting that Blackwater, a privately held corporation, was not compelled to release its profits.