Matters Blackwater (Merged thread)

[Granite_State]

Eric Prince is countersueing the families of some of his dead employees. He's a piece of work. Actually, IMHO, a piece of $hit.

The four who died in Fallujah I take it?

[Granite_State]

From Colonel Patrick Lang's (SWJ/C member I think) blog:

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_s...rcenaries.html

[JJackson]

Uboat:
Apologies if I did not make my point very clearly. I appreciate the difference between going out looking for a fight and getting into one when you would rather not have. What I was trying to argue was that given the situation on the ground it is inevitable that Blackwater et.al would end up in an armed engagement at some time at which point they should have some kind of binding ‘rules of engagement’/ ‘terms and conditions’ with their employers – in this case the DoS. If they operate beyond those rules then there should be a defined procedure and sanctions. If – as seems to be the case – they do not have a clearly defined operating environment then either it is because the DoS wanted it that way or they were just negligent in failing to anticipate the consequences of putting an armed force into that breach. Neither of the above options are acceptable on the part of the DoS.

As to who did what in this engagment; I dont know and is not really relevent.

[Koyuavci]

I've never posted here, but find most of the discussions insightful. This one I felt needed a few points clarified.

I am a special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), which for those that don't know, is the law enforcement and security arm of the Department of State DSS

My previous assignment was in the Regional Security Office, U.S. Embassy Baghdad.

DSS has approximately 1200 special agents worldwide. We are in every embassy and most consulates, plus many domestic assignments. As with the rest of the civilian USG, we were caught unprepared for operations in a war zone. In a normal country, the embassy would have long since been closed. DSS and DoS are not designed to function in a combat zone, although we are learning. To state the obvious, DSS is trying to conduct civilian security operations in a war zone.

There are three options for DSS to conduct our mission:

1. Ask the military for support. Is there a brigade plus available, plus a helicopter squadron? RSO Baghdad has over 4000 people in Iraq. This includes Blackwater, Triple Canopy, some DynCorp, plus DoS employees. There are some military elements working with the RSO already.

2. Direct hire to replace the contractors. Most of us on the ground would love this, please talk to your congressman to increase our budget so we can hire an additional 2000 - 3000 people, plus buy helicopters. We are happy to MAYBE get an additional 200 agents in FY08.

3. Use contractors to fill the "temporary" void. The option we took.

Remember, in 2003, almost everyone thought we'd be done by now. DoS went the short term answer and now we are stuck with it for the time being.

As far as oversight, DSS agents are with most of the BW details. I won't give away our SOPs, but we cover as much as possible with the limited special agent staff.

DSS special agents also investigate all shootings. There will be a full report on this one. For those that mentioned DoD investigating, I am sure RSO Baghdad will work with them if necessary. For the most part, all the federal LEOs worked well together there.

Concerning prosecution, once again, talk to your congressman. DSS realized quick that there was no reliable mechanism for prosecuting non-DoD civilians. Let me explain. In a normal country, a non-DoD civilian accused of commiting a crime would be turned over to the host country. The embassy would do all it could to ensure a safe and fair trial. Decisions have been made not to turn Americans over to the Iraqis, for now. There also isn't a civilian version of the Military Extra-Judicial Act (MEJA) When the Christmas shooting happened, there were many "pundits" wanting the accused brought to trial in the U.S. DoJ and others came in and took the case from DSS. But nine months later, they too have realized there isn't a mechanism for prosecuting non-DoD civilians. I personally told several Congressional staffs and high level DoD and DoS visitors that a civilian "MEJA" was needed. Ask your congressman to work on this.

I know my comments have a cynical/snide tone, but too many people aren't thinking on this one, their passion against contractors is blinding them. Am I a contractor apologist? Hell no, it was a huge mistake to give all the contrators the latitude the USG did. However, maybe someone can correct me, but I don't believe any other federal agency (including military) sends agents with their PSDs? DSS probably has more direct contact with their contractors then any other agency. Some may say that if we have so much contact, then why do we seem to have more incidents. The unwritten answer and very seldom mentioned, is that DSS is not willing to take casualties. We've lost 2 agents and 20+ "contractors" in Iraq. While that pales to the military casualties, remember, we are a civilain law enforcement agency. DSS is not willing to lose a convoy if there is anything we can do to prevent it. Maybe our close contacts allows us to see the "contractors" as Americans, not just rented help.

One last thing, none of us know what happened in this incident. There is an ongoing investigation that will get to the bottom of it.

[marct]

Hi Koyuavci,

Thanks for the post, it helps clear up some of the structures and options DSS and DoS had.

I must admit that I find the decision not to prosecute or hand over contractors to be a poor one. It might have made sense in 2003, but we are well beyond that now. As for suggesting I write my congressman, that wouldn't do any good since I'm a Canadian .

It does strike me, however, that that particular decision has some serious implications towards undermining the legitimacy of the Iraqi government. In effect, it appears to be saying that the official branch of the US government responsible for recognizing foreign states does not recognize Iraq since it does not grant that the Iraqi government the right to exercise minimal sovereignty(i.e. internal LE).

Marc

[Rex Brynen]

From the NYT: Blackwater Logs Most Shootings of Firms in Iraq

The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department, according to Bush administration officials and industry officials.

And in a less serious vein, see Pat Lang's blog, Sic Semper Tyrannis on Blackwater Fever (I'm not sure as to the original source--Pat has it in quotation marks).

[jcustis]

David Kilcullen made an interesting point today that I think bears mentioning. At the end of the day, BW has not lost a principal in Iraq. Most other outfits cannot say the same thing.

That adds a lot, I think, to the inertia behind them and DoS details.

[ilots]

DSS special agents also investigate all shootings. There will be a full report on this one. .... DSS probably has more direct contact with their contractors then any other agency. .....One last thing, none of us know what happened in this incident. There is an ongoing investigation that will get to the bottom of it.

Post of the thread. Thanks for the info -

Likewise, it is my understanding that the DOS/DSS also has very specific requirements for those seeking to contract under the WPPS program.

[Stan]

By Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press, Tuesday, October 2, 2007

WASHINGTON — The controversial private security firm Blackwater USA has fired 122 of its guards in Iraq for a laundry list of problems. Among those terminated, 28 were fired for weapons-related incidents, 25 for drug and alcohol violations and 16 for inappropriate or lewd conduct.

House Oversight Committee Report released Monday

State Department Responses. Documents provided by the State Department raise serious questions about how State Department officials responded to reports of Blackwater killings of Iraqis. In a high-profile incident in December 2006, a drunken Blackwater contractor killed the guard of Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi. Within 36 hours after the shooting, the State Department had allowed Blackwater to transport the Blackwater contractor out of Iraq. The State Department Charge d'Affaires recommended that Blackwater make a "sizeable payment" and an "apology" to avoid this whole thing becoming even worse." The Charge d'Affaires suggested a $250,000 payment to the guard's family, but the Department's Diplomatic Security Service said this was too much and could cause Iraqis to "iry to get killed." In the end, the State Depafment and Blackwater agreed on a $15,000 payment. One State Department offrcial wrote: "We would like to help them resolve this so we can continue with our protective mission." The State Department took a similar approach upon receiving reports that Blackwater shooters killed an innocent Iraqi, except that in this case, the State Department requested only a $5,000 payment to "put this unfortunate matter behind us quickly."

More at both links...

[Uboat509]

In the vast majority of instances in which Blackwater fires shots, Blackwater is firing from a moving vehicle and does not remain at the scene to determine if the shots resulted in casualties.

They're kidding, right? Remain at the scene? Clearly the author(s) of this report does not understand the difference between Iraq and the US. It would be a very poor PSD indeed that hung around the scene of a shooting in Iraq. That is just BEGGING to get killed by the bad guys.

SFC W

[goesh]

You guys wait here, I'm going down that side street over there to check for blood - I think I hit that guy running that way

Any man that can do the work has a prima facie cover sheet in the book that can be 'adjusted' to meet the immediate need(s) and there is always a "other duties as required" clause in the book. I'll bet a pair of Russell boots: http://www.russellmoccasin.com/boots...lachunter.html
that when some of the 'dismissed' lads are done with their whoring and drinking, they'll do another hitch in the 'raq, but that's just MO. These crews and the spooks and hillbillies that ride with them have been around for centuries and aren't going anywhere anytime soon, again IMO.