Blackwater Mercenaries held US Army Soldiers at Gunpoint...

[jAZ]

WTF!?!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21163806/site/newsweek/


Blackwater Is Soaked
An arrogant attitude only adds fuel to the criticism.

By Rod Nordland and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

Oct. 15, 2007 issue - The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."

[BucEyedPea]

There was a entry over at antiwar.com by an Iraqi-American from the Minnie area, who owns the ME restaurant Sinbads who visited Iraq and mentioned things like this occurring. Only he went further and said some US Marines were shot at by men driving American vehicles, who spoke perfect English. He said they wore masks. I don't how true it is but this story seems to give some credence to it.

[Amnorix]

I find it very, very, VERY difficult to believe that this is true. It simply makes no sense whatsoever why they would do that.

[Hog Farmer]

Sounds like we have formed our own terrorist organization.

[PunkinDrublic]

They are terrorist thugs of the worst sort because they are doing it in our name. They are Al Quedas greatest recruiting tool.

[BigRedChief]

I find it very, very, VERY difficult to believe that this is true. It simply makes no sense whatsoever why they would do that.
No frigging way a U.S. Soldier gives up his weapon in a war zone to a for profit business's soldiers.

[Adept Havelock]

I'm with Amnorix on this. Color me very very skeptical.

I think Blackwater and the rest of their ilk aren't far removed (if at all) from mercenaries, but I have a hard time buying this.

[memyselfI]

I wouldn't be so skeptical. Afterall, the stories about the wrecklessness and lawlessness of the rent-a-soldiers have been all over the international (espcially M.E.) media for YEARS. It's only been the past 6 months or so have such stories permeated the US media. In actuality, much of the abuse and hard booted tactics that the MILITARY has been blamed for has actually been perpetrated by the companies being paid by US tax dollars. Which no doubt frustrates the military and now we can see them not keeping quiet any more. See the military exposing Blackwater's culpability in the massacre of citizens in September.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21259945/

[patteeu]

Blackwater, it's the new Halliburton. :rolleyes:

If this happened, and I doubt it did, I bet there's much more to the story.

[penchief]

I wonder if they're doing some of our torturing for us.

Did they ever find out who those mysterious people at Abu Ghraib were?

[Taco John]

I have absolutely zero problems believing this. I'm suprised that there are those who are naive enough to think this even sounds far fetched.

Then again, it's that nutty Newsweek! Always making stuff up!

[jAZ]

I'm suprised that there are those who are naive enough to think this even sounds far fetched.
Particularly given that Blackwater themselves didn't even seem to give a direct denial.

Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."

[StcChief]

Sounds like we have formed our own terrorist organization.
then turn them loose.

[Bowser]

I pretty much doubt that this is true, but I wouldn't be suprised. These guys pretty much do what they want, and are made up of mercs from around the world.


then turn them loose.AWESOME! "Any terrorists you can grow, we can grow better...."

[CRONUS]

No frigging way a U.S. Soldier gives up his weapon in a war zone to a for profit business's soldiers.


I think you may not have been paying attention, almost all the Blackwater troops are former Special Ops forces from around the world, highly paid and very effective. To think they could disarm a standard GI is not so hard to believe. What is good is that they merely disarmed them and did not harm them. Had they shot and maimed a US troop now there would have been a true scandal.

Personally if diplomats and news agencies want to hire former special ops folks for protection I am not really all that against it. What I worry about is that our government may be using them as a way to circumvent our own laws.

[penchief]

Personally if diplomats and news agencies want to hire former special ops folks for protection I am not really all that against it. What I worry about is that our government may be using them as a way to circumvent our own laws.

Which is exactly what I think they're doing.

[Laz]

then turn them loose.
where you just saying awhile back that this was a "humanitarian Action"?

[go bowe]

does anybody know how many mercenaries are in iraq?

this looks like it could be a way to have more "combat troops" in iraq without increasing the number of actual military personnel...

wrt this incident, back in the old days if some civilian trired to disarm me and my buddies, he would have been catching 45 caliber bullets with his teeth in short order...