Mercenaries
Recently, I had a letter published in the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin, about Blackwater USA, the private military company based in North Carolina, which has close ties to the White House. The letter created quite a controversy.
This is one of many very informative responses posted on line. robinea wrote:
“It is no secret that President Bush and his administration have sought to contract private mercenaries, who operate above and beyond US laws, to perform some of the filthiest and politically most delicate tasks in Iraq, including torture. Where, occasionally, a member of the US Armed Forces has had to face some kind of 'justice' for, say, the rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl and the murder of her parents and baby sister, as in the case of the former soldier, Steve Green and his comrades, these 'for-profit' mercenaries have extra-territorial and extra-judicial authority placing them beyond the laws of both Iraq and the United States if they commit crimes in Iraq.
The profits of war-making have been privatized mostly for the benefit of Bush's supporters, although a lot of Democratic Party supporters have had their share of the loot too. Experienced soldiers are recruited directly from the Armed Forces, where they had once 'sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States' they now become private mercenaries where they are committed to their own enrichment and the enrichment of their 'bosses'. This outfit attracts the worst kind of sadists and opportunists.
There are tens of thousands of private mercenaries working through such companies as Blackwater and others, including Israeli companies...in Iraq and elsewhere in this endless series of wars (Clash of Civilizations?). Their commitment is to private profit and nothing more or less. If a Blackwater 'Humvee' runs over your wife and children on their way to school...you are out of luck in Iraq. Neither the Iraqi puppet government nor the US judicial authorities have any power over these 'heroes of free enterprise'.
This is becoming the new face of power in our country. Before there was some semblance of accountability, now there are secret bank accounts and powerful private armies. Machine-gun totting Blackwater commandos, not all of whom were US citizens, patrolled the streets of New Orleans after Katrina - while the National Guard troops from the Gulf States were away securing the Empire in Iraq.
The historic precedent for this use of private armies in controlling the masses, here and abroad, are the notorious Pinkertons, who slaughtered striking coal miners in Pennsylvania in the late 19th Century. At one time there were said to be more armed goons in the Pinkertons, protecting the interests of the Robber Barons, than there were soldiers in the US Armed Forces.”
This is one of many very informative responses posted on line. robinea wrote:
“It is no secret that President Bush and his administration have sought to contract private mercenaries, who operate above and beyond US laws, to perform some of the filthiest and politically most delicate tasks in Iraq, including torture. Where, occasionally, a member of the US Armed Forces has had to face some kind of 'justice' for, say, the rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl and the murder of her parents and baby sister, as in the case of the former soldier, Steve Green and his comrades, these 'for-profit' mercenaries have extra-territorial and extra-judicial authority placing them beyond the laws of both Iraq and the United States if they commit crimes in Iraq.
The profits of war-making have been privatized mostly for the benefit of Bush's supporters, although a lot of Democratic Party supporters have had their share of the loot too. Experienced soldiers are recruited directly from the Armed Forces, where they had once 'sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States' they now become private mercenaries where they are committed to their own enrichment and the enrichment of their 'bosses'. This outfit attracts the worst kind of sadists and opportunists.
There are tens of thousands of private mercenaries working through such companies as Blackwater and others, including Israeli companies...in Iraq and elsewhere in this endless series of wars (Clash of Civilizations?). Their commitment is to private profit and nothing more or less. If a Blackwater 'Humvee' runs over your wife and children on their way to school...you are out of luck in Iraq. Neither the Iraqi puppet government nor the US judicial authorities have any power over these 'heroes of free enterprise'.
This is becoming the new face of power in our country. Before there was some semblance of accountability, now there are secret bank accounts and powerful private armies. Machine-gun totting Blackwater commandos, not all of whom were US citizens, patrolled the streets of New Orleans after Katrina - while the National Guard troops from the Gulf States were away securing the Empire in Iraq.
The historic precedent for this use of private armies in controlling the masses, here and abroad, are the notorious Pinkertons, who slaughtered striking coal miners in Pennsylvania in the late 19th Century. At one time there were said to be more armed goons in the Pinkertons, protecting the interests of the Robber Barons, than there were soldiers in the US Armed Forces.”
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home