Guardian Unlimited

Iraq’s cabinet today approved a law to remove private security firms’ immunity from prosecution in Iraq, in response to the shooting of 17 civilians by Blackwater USA agents last month, a government spokesman said.

The move came as a senior US law enforcement official warned that a state department pledge of immunity could render any US prosecution of Blackwater staff impossible.

“The cabinet has approved a law that will put non-Iraqi firms and those they employ under Iraqi law,” Ali al-Dabbagh told Reuters.

Mr Dabbagh said the new law, which has been referred to parliament, would revoke the immunity given to foreign contractors under a controversial measure passed by the US-led coalition provisional authority in 2004.

Link : http://tinyurl.com/ys98rw

New Evidence That Blackwater Guards Took No Fire

BAGHDAD, Oct. 12 — Fresh accounts of the Blackwater shooting last month, given by three rooftop witnesses and by American soldiers who arrived shortly after the gunfire ended, cast new doubt Friday on statements by Blackwater guards that they were responding to armed insurgents when Iraqi investigators say 17 Iraqis were killed at a Baghdad intersection.

The rest here; http://tinyurl.com/2clfr4

Thursday October 11, 2007 6:16 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) – Families of Iraqis who died in a shooting involving Blackwater USA contractors in Baghdad sued the company Thursday, saying the firm violated U.S. law and fostered a culture of lawlessness among its employees.

The suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., says the contractor has been paid more than $1 billion by the U.S. government since 2001 and that the company violated the federal laws in the Sept. 16 killings.

“Blackwater has turned recklessness into profit at the expense of the lives of innocent civilians,” said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the suit. Warren made the comments in a brief interview after the suit was filed.

Seventeen Iraqis died in the Sept. 16 shootings.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company was aware of the lawsuit. “Because it is a matter currently under investigation by the FBI, we will refrain from commenting on the specifics of the case other than to say that the company will defend itself vigorously,” Tyrrell said.

Blackwater protects U.S. diplomats as they move about on Baghdad’s dangerous streets. An Iraqi investigation into the killings recommended that the State Department sever all contracts for the company’s operations in Iraq within six months.

Blackwater should be liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision, the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs in the case are an injured survivor and three familes of men who died in the incident.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6989241,00.html

You may have the idea that the war on terror being waged in Iraq is being prosecuted by brave enlisted soldiers in the various armed forces of the USA. Wrong. By far the largest number of American fighters in Iraq [at least 180,000 of them] are the soldiers of fortune and mercenaries – euphemistically known as “contractors” – employed by security service companies such as Blackwater USA, which has just been in the headlines because of their gung ho actions which led to the slaughter of a number of civilians in the streets of Iraq. [ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article2477503.ece ]

What is not widely known in the West is that these private security companies have a reputation in Iraq not only for shooting up civilians just for fun like wild west cowboys [see an example of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZX1odzHdAo ] but also for creating the ubiquitous death squads inside the Iraqi police force. [ http://www.unknownnews.net/040426lili.html & http://www.lewrockwell.com/pilger/pilger41.html ].The US administration could not do the war in Iraq using a military draft as it would have raised too many ghosts of the Vietnam war. So they have instead used private companies – euphemistically known as contractors – to do the dirty work for them.

It was the killing of four Blackwater mercenaries in Fallujah (after a number of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators had been wrongfully killed by US forces) which immediately led to the totally over-the-top revenge-destruction of the town by the USA, killing thousands of people and razing most of the buildings to the ground in a classic “scorched earth” policy. This act was one of the most flagrant warcrimes to be carried out by the USA.

However, what many people do not realise is that Blackwater USA is the tip of the iceberg of Christian involvement in, and responsibility for, the wars in the Middle-East. Blackwater USA is run by a 27 year-old billionaire called Erik Prince, a former Navy Seal and born-again Christian fundamentalist with connections to James Dobson and Gary Bauer (whose ministries were financed by the Prince family fortune). From the President of the USA to the head of the biggest supplier of mercenaries in Iraq, this whole war in Iraq is being prosecuted in the name of Christ.

The Iraq war is a Christian fundamentalist bandwagon. It has been from the beginning. George W. Bush claimed that it was God who had personally told him to “strike at Saddam” [ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=310788&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y ]. Way back in 2003, the U.S. government launched an Arabic language propagandist satellite TV news station in Iraq. It was produced in the studios of Grace Digital Media which is controlled by fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan. Even before the Shock & Awe Campaign began in March 2003, the most vocal support for the war in Iraq was coming from Christian fundamentalists. [See http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1010-02.htm for the October 2002 Inter Press Service article "Conservative Christians Biggest Backers of Iraq War". See also the Z-Net article, "US Christian Right's Grip on Middle East Policy", on http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=5879 ].

Blackwater CEO, Erik Prince, is a board member of Christian Freedom International (CFI). CFI’s mission statement says:

“As a U.S. based, grass roots organization, we mobilize Christians in prayer, advocacy, and action on behalf of men, women, and children who are harassed, tortured, imprisoned, and martyred for their faith”. [ http://www.christianfreedom.org/w_mission.html ]

How does Erik Prince square that statement with his founding and running of Blackwater – one of the most blatant “fortune commando” operations of harassment and violence ever conceived? The answer is simple. He is part of the Christian Fundamentalist network which believes in the God-given use of extreme force to wipe out Muslims and establish what it calls justice, freedom and democracy for the masses. But the ends of anything can only be justified if the means used to bring about those ends are compatible with them. How can one establish “justice, freedom and democracy” through a brutal, genocidal occupation?

The Christian fundamentalist scene in the USA is now largely more supportive of the Iraq war than it is of the moral imperatives of its Scriptures – about how it justifies genocide with a shrug and excoriates anyone who dares to criticise its destructive philosophy and values. Their church-going sombre Sunday suits and crisply-starched white shirts may look like a Unilever soap advert but their hands and hearts are filthy – drenched with rivers of blood.

If you examine the Christian computer game “Left Behind: Eternal Forces”, based on the “Left Behind” books – staple Christian-chic reading for those who want religion by numbers – you will notice some telling points. In that game, the “Tribulation Force” goes round trying to convert – and ultimately to kill – anyone who does not conform to the “Christianity” they espouse. One observer writes:

“Left Behind Games defends its product as advancing a moral, Christian perspective by pointing out that killing in the game depletes the unit’s Spirit points. If Spirit points are sufficiently depleted, the unit becomes “lost” and defects to the Antichrist’s army… Gamers can remove the penalties they incur when their forces kill by causing their fighters to stop and “pray”. This “prayer” is initiated when gamers press a button and one reviewer of the game from Wired Magazine wrote: “….In the thick of a really hectic Left Behind battle, I’d click the prayer button so instinctually that I pretty much forgot I was, well, praying” [ http://www.veteransforamerica.org/index.cfm/page/weblog/subpage/display_blog/bid/BFDBF437-123F-747A-1B11F7D7C92CCD0A ].

That is classic hypocrite territory. Kill an unbeliever then think it will be made okay if one presses the prayer button. Like commit any sin you like then recite a “Hail Mary” or “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition”! What a hideous justification. [Incidentally, in that game, enemies of the "Tribulation Force" are pointedly portrayed as having "been to college" - a pathetically sad sign of the anti-intellectual influence in the Christian fundamentalist scene]. But this is what is now in the making: A crusading, uncompassionate, ruthless, pseudo-pious, bigoted, anti-intellectual, jingoistic religion masquerading as faithful “Christianity” favoured by God. It is this religion which has sent death-squad mercenaries into Iraq. It is this religion which has destroyed that country and been responsible for more than 1,000,000 deaths there.

If you not convinced about the hypocrisy behind the development of this crusading religion, take a look at Blackwater USA’s website, where it is stated:

“Blackwater USA is the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world. VISION: To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere. MISSION: To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times”. [ http://www.blackwaterusa.com/ ]

It is extraordinary what sugar-coated rationales companies such as Blackwater will use for their global jaunts of violence and terror. By having these private armies or mercenaries and fortune commandos operating in Iraq it means that the US administration can commit genocide without any comeback as these companies are answerable to no one. Under Order No. 17, a rule that was written by American administrators before Iraqis took over the running of their own government, private security companies were conveniently given complete immunity from Iraqi law. For a discussion of what Blackwater is all about – including it’s CEO’s interesting Christian connections – see the extended interview with Jeremy Scahill – author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army” at http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1337226 , and “Checkbook Imperialism: The Blackwater Fiasco”, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070918_checkbook_imperialism_the_blackwater_fiasco/ written by Robert Scheer – an experienced journalist who was sacked last year from the Los Angeles Times because of his opposition to the Iraq war.

This rise of these vast contracted private armies dovetails perfectly with what I reported in my article, “The Sword’s Fear of the Pen”, about the swelling of the ranks of US “special forces” operatives. Here is a relevant extract from that article:

“A 24th January 2006 Reuters report revealed US military plans to “swell the ranks of the Special Operations Command, including Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs and the top-secret Delta Force, to about 60,000 troops by the end of 2007″. It is these crack commandos which function as the strong arm and assassination force (death squads) for the ruling elite as they span the globe with their murderous plots, kidnapping people to disappear them into indefinite detention (what is euphemistically referred to as “extraordinary rendition”) and setting up unmanned drones to bomb secret targets.

The strengthening of these special operations forces is not primarily for the combating of terrorism but will really play a major role in the repression of dissent or opposition. That will be their inevitable true function. The same methodology was used in Germany in the 1930s…”

Soon, the USA will have more special forces than Hitler had at his disposal and a “citizen spy” network that will begin to mirror that of the old East German Stalinist regime in “Stasiland”. Most Americans are in denial about this – just as the Germans were in the 1930s. This is what the US Department of Homeland Security is all about. It is not about “security” but about control”. [See the full article "The Sword's Fear of the Pen: The Systematic Elimination of Independent Writers and Thinkers Today" at http://www.forsomeoneschild.com/in-house_articles.htm ]

In just the same way, Blackwater is not about “security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere”, as it claims in its syrupy mission statement. “Peace”, “Freedom”, “Security” and “democracy” are feel-good buzz-words used by these people to mask their true intentions. What they mean by those words is not the same as what you and I mean by them. It is a kind of “newspeak” which is in operation when they use those words, as in the book “1984″, where the ruling party’s slogan was “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength”. In any totalitarian situation, the meanings of commonplace words are changed in order to mitigate acts of evil in the eyes of the world.

Soon there will be an enormous number of these “peace n’ freedom” privately-owned armies with Christian links coupled with elite “special forces” operating out of the Pentagon, which is itself a burgeoning bastion of this warmongering Christian fundamentalism. [See "Kill Or Convert, Brought To You By the Pentagon" at http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=220960 and http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/6/194930/0382 and "Fundamentalists and the Military: James Carroll on the Danger of a New Crusade"
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/9/18/124614/846/Front_Page/Fundamentalists_and_the_Military_James_Carroll_on_the_Danger_of_a_New_Crusade

One of the notable great causes of this Christian fundamentalism is its unconditional support for Israel. These bellicose fundamentalists have even produced their own newspaper, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Post, as they link forces with Israel. It's called "The Jerusalem Post: Christian Edition". [ http://info.jpost.com:80/C006/ChristianEdition ]. The names you will see on the front page of that site are predictable – for example, there is John Hagee (pugnacious pastor of the 18,000-strong fundamentalist Cornerstone Church in San Antonio Texas who wants to see Iran taken out next) and Gary Bauer, whose ministry was financed by Blackwater CEO Erik Prince’s family fortune [ http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showConnection.php?id1=4552&id2=576 ]. There is a great deal of wealth amongst these Christian fundamentalists. Billions and billions of dollars. They use that wealth for the cause. They can even finance armies to wage wars. They can buy anything they want. Worst of all, whatever they do, they think it will be pleasing to their God.

The ramifications of these actions are chilling. The fanatical Christian fundamentalists of today who are waging the modern wars in the Middle-East are reminiscent of the ancient Crusades in 1095-1291 which brought their own brand of bellicosity to the same region. They have both been genocidal jaunts hiding behind the skirts of Christianity. However, the difference between the two Crusades is that the most recent one threatens to trigger, at best, a global totalitarian dictatorship – at worst, the enactment of World War III… or both.

Alan Morrison
NoStoneUnturned WordShop
reporting@neuf.fr

*See Alan’s peace-music project website at http://www.forsomeoneschild.com
*Alan also has a music-specific site at http://www.myspace.com/sincerityfrance .

There once was a man named Tim Spicer…
Who thought it might be a bit nicer…
To lobby our Feds, for a contract he wed…
Of Two hundred and ninety three million…

See, Tim is the main squeeze at Aegis..
A contract, now just a bit famous..
For security was bought and the contract was sought
To establish defense in our spaces…

But Tim, had a very fine knack…
Shooting innocence right square in the back..
Two guards under he, shot a boy trying to flee..
The nature of hatred, was fact…

So Peter McBride was the child,
Who died on the watch, while Tim smiled…
Shot in the back, without justice attacked
“Shoot the bastard” was quoted in style…

While Tim counts all his fine Greenbacks..
Uncle Sam, taxpayer dollars have been sacked!
We’ve rewarded a killer, whose hands in our tiller
And contracted back to IRAQ!

The pentagon turned a blind eye…
The murder of Peter denied..
To their justification , contract reparation
Tim Spicer now lives rather high…

U.S. Citizens and Patriots unite…
We’ve contracted these losers , in blind site…
What does that have to do… with a contract that’s new?
To a company whose chief has this plight?

See the Army contractor Ms. Sieber…
Should have researched , a little more fiber…
Of the child attacked, who was shot in the back
Under murderous command of Tim Spicer…

The Pentagon must step up to the plate…
And deliver to Aegis their fate…
Of a contract denial…it must be our style
To not compensate these murderous traits.

• Tim Spicer is the owner of Aegis Defense Services. The Army/Pentagon contract to co-ordinate the work of private security contractors in IRAQ. Two hundred ninety three million taxpayers dollars .
• Peter McBride died at the command of Officer Tim Spicer, Commanding Officer of the Scots Guard.
• Spicer’s former company, Sandline International , breached a UN embargo and supplied arms to Sierra Leone.
More than fifty private security companies are in Iraq today, with an estimated 20,000 hired guns working for them. Spicer’s group is supposed to coordinate them all. And there’s one more catch: Spicer appears to have no previous experience handling such a large security operation, nor any ties to Iraq.

So why aren’t we all cheering
For Post War profiteering
I could be so darn wealthy
If I only owned some stock.
How’d I miss the gravy train.
300 billion dollars waned
To those known PMC’s*
Now based inside IRAQ

The feast of Post war Oil
Bonanza for the soil
Has already planned it’s entry..
To reap spoils of the war..

And the pentagon is spending
Pocketing and lending
A handout to the system
Of those well connected scores…

They’ll cut the social systems…
They’ve got no time for victims..
Privatize security..
Wall Streets chomping at the bit…

But I just think it’s awful…
The poor become unlawful..
And Seniors we’re so sorry,
Medicaid has gone to sh*t

The veterans are still waiting..
Food Stamps are slowly fading..
And the temporary assistance ..
We’ve cut, to pave the way..

For lucky corporate collars..
We’ve promised , taxpayers dollars.
Pledging freedom to Iraq,
Oh are people so naive?

Send the message to your Rep…
We’re tired of the inept..
Shameful wasteful spending
War-profiteering in Iraq..

They’re trading social need
To fund the corporate greed…
And the rich will get much richer..
And the poor, just out of luck.

“There is a direct connection between war budget and abolishment of social programs.” V.R.

*PMC= (Private Military Companies)

This thing smirks of an AmeriKan Cheka which is of cours a threat to all American civilians.

MMnn – lets see now- These Black Water thugs sound like the former Soviet Cheka that murdered some 20 million Christian civilians at the bequest of the JEw dominated criminals. Jews dominated the Cheka and the power arm of the USSR at the time.

In the former USA (now the USI – the United States of IsraHELL) we have a jew appendage Furher surrounded by ALL REAL jews loyal to IsraHELL. The Zionist IsraHELL is substantially composed of former USSR jew commisars who would love to finish the job they started in the USSR.

So REAL Christian Constitution loyal patriots like my self must be eliminated before IsraHELL can complete their world domination goal – and an AmeriKan Cheka/Stasi ultimately loyal to IsraHELL (ie. our furher jew Bush) would be germaon to the overall plan indeed.

Our braindead pasty faced Christian-Zionist IsraHELL firsters would of course ideologically side with ANY force – no matter how criminal and no matter how treasonous – that would show loyalty to America before IsraHELL.

Sounds like a great plan for the internal destruction of America to me. Since we have ALREADY evolved into a nation of spineless, greedy self serving sheep anyway – it should be a no-brainer!

OH – and of course – our new masters must let us have those childish games to supplicate our diminshed intellects and keep our atrophied brains off of boring matters like the survival of what used to be America.

We will have sold our souls and freedoms for 30 pieces of silver to our jew masters – BUT at least we will still have what the average brain -sharing neo-American values most in life today — nice shiny new material ‘things’, – our tailgate parties – our cold beer and plenty of gladiator ( NFL) entertainment at our local colluseums. GOOOO BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!