Military Contractors and Blackwater
Posted by Lance on 24 Sep 2007 at 5:58 pm | Tagged as: Around the Web
The Monkey Tennis Centre looks at the issue of private military contractors and the recent controversy over Blackwater’s conduct.
3 Responses to “Military Contractors and Blackwater”
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It’s interesting that Iraqis who were there say the Blackwater guys fired first—and they say this on their blogs, not filtered through some stringer or reporter. This, combined with the news that for months the U.S. embassy refused to investigate allegations Blackwater and other PMCs were indeed firing into groups of civilians, including the U.S. military complaining about such behaviors, I think creates an environment in which you can think the Blackwater employees really did murder people without being a paranoid lefty.
But who needs context when you have outrage? That’s a complaint that applies to both sides, I feel.
It’s also interesting that every single Iraqi account of this incident is discounted by those trying to excuse unarmed people being shot in the back while fleeing the scene. (White Rabbit says they just had weapons removed from the bodies, for example.) It’s never our fault, never a failure of doctrine or discipline… always those animal bloodthirsty Iraqis, daring to get in the way of our righteous bullets.
Really, that’s about as honest a take on the situation as Glenn Greenwald’s… he just happens to use slightly more neutral language in spinning it.
Hmmmm. Actually he didn’t say the guns were taken. He points out one of the issues of deciding the credibility of the complaints. Nor do I see any use of the word never, including from White Rabbit. The post linked specifically allows that there might have been a failure of doctrine or discipline.
Notice this comment:
He says appears.
Or this:
Wow, he mot only allows that they might be guilty, but points out that we have allowed a confusing legal situation to develop.
I didn’t see anything like that from this piece or White Rabbit. In fact Monkey Tennis Centre specifically says it appears to have resulted from a series of accidents, which is probably right. Now, that doesn’t mean Blackwater is not culpable in some way, but then the same could be said of other parties as well.
Of course maybe all these guys just enjoy taking target practice on innocent civilians. I am still waiting for more to come out, including the video we have heard so much about.
To me, given the environment they are operating in the number of civilians killed (and that is taking at face value that that characterization is accurate) is pretty low, the number of their charges killed is absurdly low (0) and the number of them killed exceeds the other two figures by a good bit. If some other group were providing the security would the casualties of all types be better? My guess is no given the record they (and others) have compiled. UN Guards? The Interior Ministry? Regular GI’s? The IP? Who is it who would have compiled a better record in that environment?
You seem to be arguing that unarmed civilians were shot in the back. Now that either means that they just enjoy murdering people, or they reacted (despite being very well trained and experienced) in a confused situation in a way that had tragic consequences, or it just isn’t true. I don’t know which, nor does Monkey Tennis Centre, though I find the first unlikely for a number of reasons. Glad to know you somehow know the answer with the confidence to make that assertion.
Still, whatever your conclusion you shouldn’t be claiming things that neither of the targets of your diatribe actually said.