Oh Blackwater, Keep on Rollin' (Coalition of the Billing)
Ever since I was a kid, I've been interested in the whole concept of mercenaries. Interestingly enough, my hometown Eckerd's Pharmacy sold the magazine Soldier of Fortune (right next to Newsweek, Cat Fancy, and numerous magazines that had half-naked women leaning on low riders). These were still the pre-internet days and I had no other outlet to explore my curiosity with the military.
I remember they always had articles about the use of mercenaries in the "Bush War" in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). They also had listings for private military contractors and mercenaries in the classifieds section. There were some ads for groups such as the French Foreign Legion, but they were primarily groups recruiting for conflicts in Africa (particularly Angola and Sierra Leone), South America and the Middle East.
Someone willing to engage in military conflict solely for personal gain was once thought to be a truly detestable thing. Their allegiance was bought and sold to the highest bidder and were often used to help bolster the armies of dictators. They were a strange agglomeration of foreign nationals with experience in armed conflicts, mostly Europeans and Australians and a few Americans thrown in. Many of these mercenaries were considered degenerates, unable to return to civilian life after years in combat.
Fast forward to the current war in Iraq. Private military contractors now comprise the largest organizational force structure in country, with an estimated 180,000 private contractors of differing nationalities..They outnumber the number of US troops by nearly 20,000 (160,000+ since the surge). Dr. Peter W. Singer of the Brookings Institution refers to them comically as the "coalition of the billing". Private contractors have become a somewhat accepted byproduct of conducting warfare, although their numbers are not included in troop casulty reports, thus keeping the human costs of the conflict artificially depressed. But as for the contractors, they are essentially consulting firms... which made me think of this poster I had seen awhile back:
Photo credit - Despair, Inc. (www.despair.com)
Blackwater CEO Erik Prince testified before Congress that Blackwater charges $445,000 a year ($1,222 a day) for each security contractor. Such exorbitant fees amount to over six to ten times the cost for our average enlisted troop. One must also consider that Blackwater is ostensibly to be used in defensive roles, meaning that our combat troops assume most of the risk and private security contractors such as Blackwater, DynCorp and the Crescent Security Group make record profits.
Also at issue is the CEO's relationship with the Republican Party. Although he was briefly a Navy SEAL, Erik Price is also a multimillionaire heir of a automotive parts corporation, using part of his inheritence to start Blackwater. He has extensive Republican party ties, donating to the Republican National Committee and a list of conservative candidates. His sister the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and is the wife of Dick DeVos (former head of Amway), a billionaire who has contributed millions to the election and relection efforts of Republican candidates.
It's no secret of the "quid pro quo" relationship in politics; that campaign contributions are tied towards implied or stated favor in awarding of government contracts and beneficial legislation. But what we must ask ourselves if companies in the defense industries are supporting candidates with extreme ideological postions that are either pushing us to war or pushing us to continue the war for economic reasons. And when companies like Blackwater are responsible for unneeded civilian deaths, are party loyalties to these organizations preventing them from being punished? And are we allowing our soldiers to continue to be put at risk for the sake of special economic interests (aka allowing them to keep prolonging the problem?).
Erik Prince considers himself a "conservative Christian" and even serves on a board of a group called Christian Freedom International. Seems like an interesting paradox, a "born again" Christian running a guns-for-hire operation that often violates the Geneva Conventions (and almost all tenents of Christianity). It certainly poses interesting ethical and moral questions as well. I hope the country comes to it's senses before this outsourcing of government functions goes any further.
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis.
Edit: Bush has come out against investigating alleged abuses by contractors as it would "stretch the resources of the FBI" but in fact is doing nothing but helping to continue giving immunity to his political allies.
I remember they always had articles about the use of mercenaries in the "Bush War" in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). They also had listings for private military contractors and mercenaries in the classifieds section. There were some ads for groups such as the French Foreign Legion, but they were primarily groups recruiting for conflicts in Africa (particularly Angola and Sierra Leone), South America and the Middle East.
Someone willing to engage in military conflict solely for personal gain was once thought to be a truly detestable thing. Their allegiance was bought and sold to the highest bidder and were often used to help bolster the armies of dictators. They were a strange agglomeration of foreign nationals with experience in armed conflicts, mostly Europeans and Australians and a few Americans thrown in. Many of these mercenaries were considered degenerates, unable to return to civilian life after years in combat.
Fast forward to the current war in Iraq. Private military contractors now comprise the largest organizational force structure in country, with an estimated 180,000 private contractors of differing nationalities..They outnumber the number of US troops by nearly 20,000 (160,000+ since the surge). Dr. Peter W. Singer of the Brookings Institution refers to them comically as the "coalition of the billing". Private contractors have become a somewhat accepted byproduct of conducting warfare, although their numbers are not included in troop casulty reports, thus keeping the human costs of the conflict artificially depressed. But as for the contractors, they are essentially consulting firms... which made me think of this poster I had seen awhile back:
Photo credit - Despair, Inc. (www.despair.com)
Blackwater CEO Erik Prince testified before Congress that Blackwater charges $445,000 a year ($1,222 a day) for each security contractor. Such exorbitant fees amount to over six to ten times the cost for our average enlisted troop. One must also consider that Blackwater is ostensibly to be used in defensive roles, meaning that our combat troops assume most of the risk and private security contractors such as Blackwater, DynCorp and the Crescent Security Group make record profits.
Also at issue is the CEO's relationship with the Republican Party. Although he was briefly a Navy SEAL, Erik Price is also a multimillionaire heir of a automotive parts corporation, using part of his inheritence to start Blackwater. He has extensive Republican party ties, donating to the Republican National Committee and a list of conservative candidates. His sister the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and is the wife of Dick DeVos (former head of Amway), a billionaire who has contributed millions to the election and relection efforts of Republican candidates.
It's no secret of the "quid pro quo" relationship in politics; that campaign contributions are tied towards implied or stated favor in awarding of government contracts and beneficial legislation. But what we must ask ourselves if companies in the defense industries are supporting candidates with extreme ideological postions that are either pushing us to war or pushing us to continue the war for economic reasons. And when companies like Blackwater are responsible for unneeded civilian deaths, are party loyalties to these organizations preventing them from being punished? And are we allowing our soldiers to continue to be put at risk for the sake of special economic interests (aka allowing them to keep prolonging the problem?).
Erik Prince considers himself a "conservative Christian" and even serves on a board of a group called Christian Freedom International. Seems like an interesting paradox, a "born again" Christian running a guns-for-hire operation that often violates the Geneva Conventions (and almost all tenents of Christianity). It certainly poses interesting ethical and moral questions as well. I hope the country comes to it's senses before this outsourcing of government functions goes any further.
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis.
Edit: Bush has come out against investigating alleged abuses by contractors as it would "stretch the resources of the FBI" but in fact is doing nothing but helping to continue giving immunity to his political allies.