I think part of it is the name. Blackwater sounds so sinister.

True. But not as sinister as “private contractor” in some quarters. That’s the real thing that rubs most of the critics the wrong way if you get right down to it.

But you know…there’s a certain loss of confidence on the left. Consider that no one has proposed simply nationalizing these security firms in order to bring them under strict government control like railroad monopolies. Not long ago, that would have been the axiomatic reaction.

Now, it is a fact that there are laws which American citizens employed as PSC operatives in Iraq can be prosecuted under. Whether there are any prosecutions is a whole other matter.

I think the answer to that question would be illuminating, and to be fair Josh has raised it.

By why focus solely on Blackwater?

Again, I don’t think Josh has done that, even though Blackwater has been the focus of his attacks on me. The problem is with all PMC’s, not just Blackwater.

Actually, I’m not really too sure why there is such emphasis on them, but it is Blackwater that seems to get the most press attention.

So DynCorp’s ‘shoot rate’ was around one mission in a hundred in 2005, and around one mission in 150 in 2006. Blackwater’s shoot rate was about twice as high, so if we average the shoot rate for DynCorp over the two years (one incident per 125 missions) then double it and round down for good measure, that gives Blackwater a shoot rate of one incident per 60 missions.

I don’t know about you, but I find those figures – both for Blackwater and DynCorp – staggering, even allowing for the fact that there must be other incidents where convoys come under attack, but keep going without returning fire.

I was under the impression that every time a convoy left the Green Zone it was like the scene in Mad Max II where the fuel tanker (no spoilers in case you haven’t seen it) driven by Max leaves the good guys’ compound. I pictured insurgents leaping off buildings on to the roofs of SUVs, IEDs going off left, right and centre, and suicide car bombs and RPGs coming from every direction.

Where did I get this impression? From watching the TV news and reading the mainstream news websites. It’s almost as if… as if… the media is exaggerating how bad things are in Iraq!

Having helped the reader to establish that Baghdad is actually safer than anyone but the most optimistic Petraeus enthusiast had previously thought, the Times continues its half-hearted assault on Blackwater, claiming the company ‘flaunts an aggressive, quick-draw image that leads its security personnel to take excessively violent actions’, and so on and so forth. (See this post of mine and The White Rabbit for more on why these and other accusations leveled at Blackwater don’t stick.)

And one other thing he emphasizes is relevant, what is actually being reported.

Today, Blackwater operates in the most violent parts of Iraq and guards the most prominent American diplomats, which some American government officials say explains why it is involved in more shootings than its competitors. The shootings included in the reports include all cases in which weapons are fired, including those meant as warning shots.

Now, it is a fact that there are laws which American citizens employed as PSC operatives in Iraq can be prosecuted under. Whether there are any prosecutions is a whole other matter.

By why focus solely on Blackwater?