Blackwater, Enron, Halliburton, KBR… most of the top brands of the Bush administration have been destroyed or devalued. Blackwater Worldwide, with it’s eye on the prize of no-bid contracts to patrol the Mexican border has been rebranded. Hoping to wash away the stains from their homicidal outlawry in Iraq, the killers formerly known as Blackwater became “Xe Worldwide” last week.
Xe Worldwide is ripe for nationalization. The cadre of highly trained security forces would, with a little attitude adjustment, fit nicely into the US Marine Corps. In fact, if the list of indicted Xe Worldwide mercenaries is representative, many of them have already been trained as marines.
Whatever combination of lobbying influence, cronyism and budgetary havoc created by the Bush administration permitted these “service providers” to contract for jobs that should be done by the military, it’s time for a change. It’s time to return our marines to their assignment of protecting embassies, it’s time to return responsibility for government service to the government, and it’s time to roll-up the assets of the crooks who surrounded Bush and let them sort things out through receivership. Where better to start than with his private army?
[tags]thugs, brutes, @55holes[/tags]
17 Comments
What you said.
Dear Sir or Ms.:
I stumbled across your website and was so dismayed by your apparent lack of facts I am taking a moment of my time to provide you with a little education. And before you conclude that I am a right wing nut know that I have been a life long democrat and worked as a volunteer during both of President Clinton’s presidential campaigns. It is incoherent rants such as your opening statement that cause people to look at us as a bunch of emotional pansies.
If you are going to throw barbs at least get your facts straight. You make reference to the “Bush Brands” but you are woefully ill informed. Enron’s business really expanded during President Clinton’s time in office and went bankrupt within the first year of President Bush’s presidency. Not that either president had anything to do with the success or failure of Enron.
Blackwater (aka XE) signed it’s first government contracts during President Clinton’s administration. The contracts were quite significant and they served the administration well.
Halliburton and KBR are both very successful companies that have flourished, stumbled and flourished again during the terms of numerous presidents. KBR was founded in 1901 with Halliburton following in 1919. Both companies have great stories and have provided steady employment and great careers for hundreds of thousands of Americans. They helped grow a strong middle class by paying solid wages and providing excellent benefits to their employees.
Do some research before you cast aspersions.
Normally, I don’t give anonymous trolls much space here; but “Vaughn,” as part of the Blackwater Brigade of Internet Apologists, you are quite special. Enron flourished due to Republican deregulation of energy markets. It’s the same story that’s being repeated this year in the financial markets. Rapacious greed-balls ruled. I think a cultural shift might be in the offing. Radical shifts in media, energy and financial controls are underway. Progressive values will guide regulations that will turn the economy around. Outsourcing no-bid contracts to cronies will be largely a thing of the past. Ideally we will bring the criminal dogs of the Bush era to heel and justice will be served.
Xe Worldwide hopes to dominate that special niche market of “aviation support” that belonged to Air America in the late sixties and seventies. Halliburton and KBR are driven by quarterly results and looking back over the history of the company extolling their distribution of wages and salaries to generations of working people isn’t particularly relevant. In fact, the people who worked for these companies owed their standard of living to the United Steelworkers Union, not to the KBR management. Pension funds all across the USA are dumping KBR stock out of moral and ethical concern.
Government outsourcing of military services, from mess halls to mercenaries, is an appalling result of the Republican destruction of government. The government can manage and control these services better and more cost effectively than private enterprise.
Xe Worldwide is in the power and control business. Eventually their interests must conflcit with the governments of the countries in which they are allowed to operate. Just as people of conscience demand an end to US training of illegal counter insurgency techniques at the School of the Americas (now WHINSEC), so also must we demand strict limitations on the activities of Xe Worldwide in our sovereign territory.
You conclude your comment, “Vaughn,” with the suggestion that I should do some research before casting aspersions. I’d suggest that rather you should do some research before defending Xe/Blackwater, Halliburton/KBR. Here’s an interesting review of KBR’s service to the US in Iraq during 2008. It would be a good place for you to start reading.
It’s time to return our marines to their assignment of protecting embassies,
As far as I now the Marine Security Guard Battalion is still on the job at embassies all over the world.
On the job at battalion strength guarding all US embassies and many consulates everywhere on the planet… In Iraq, rather than reinforce the Marine Embassy Guards with US armed forces personnel, the choice was made to hire private security firms to take over the traditional USMC responsibility of Personal Security Detail for embassy personnel and VIPs. USMC Force Recon could be expected to handle PSD in Iraq better and more honorably than the mercenaries Bush and Rummy hired to do the job. Force Recon is tougher, smarter, better trained, demonstrably more courageous and more patriotic than the Blackwater gang of mall security cops. Why send Barney Fife when you could send the Marines?
The Marine Corps is used to Kill our enemies! The primary mission of the Force Recon BN’s is not to protect. The former Teir One operators are the best out there for the job which is why they are used. The have been useed since the Clintons were in power. I dont thinkformer Delta operators should be known as ” Barny Fife”. Why wont you get off your lazy ass, get in shape and pick up a riffle. You are a typical Democrat.
So it’s Democrats versus Republicans in the War on Blackwater? Xe Worldwide ought to be banned from these shores. US contracting with the firm ought to be eliminated by moral principle and by law.
Scott, the Marine Corps has been used to protect our interests since they were sent to fight the Barbary pirates. Major General Smedley Butler, USMC wrote:
The Marines mission is not “to Kill our enemies.” As for the mercs known as “former Delta operators,” I can only ask why they left a role of honorable government service to get tangled up with a mob like Xe Worldwide. I’m thinking they’re in it for the rush and for the money.
Yeah excuse me but i don’t get why you are against “Xe” aka Blackwater They had four men die, two of which were strung from a bridge in 2004.Maybe the ones who should leave are the ones who are against it and you can’t tell me to leave I’m 15 and full American i love my country i may not like some of the decisions it has made like appointing Oboma but I still love my country and I’m going to show it by joining the marines after Highschool and I’m going to join “Xe” after 8 to 12 years of service.And one more thing I understand everyone has the right to their own beliefs or opinions but that doesn’t mean people want to hear your opinion because look everyone that left a comment practically called you a dumbshit because u didn’t say half of what you’ve said so far at the beginning.I’m not trying to be a smart mouth or a jackass but I’m just saying its your opinion and apparently nobody wants to hear it.One more thing you can’t call Blackwater killers because you weren’t there u can’t tell if they were taking fire you just don’t know and it happened in a different country
so deal with it.Iraq’s country men have taken some of ours before there was even a war so call them killers ,don’t call Blackwater killers because u don’t know the half of it. There could have been a firefight and people could have been caught in the crossfire we just don’t know.
So my advice is for you to keep your opinion to yourself or your friends because I’m sorry but if u said that near any of my friends they would beat the crap out of you for disrespecting soldiers who fought for our country.
And i know your going to say they are not soldiers but they are more soldiers than most and the last thing I’m going to say is my Uncles in Blackwater now known as “Xe” so maybe u should shut up and not call peoples families murders or killers .Okay well that’s all i have to say.
The reason that Xe gets recruits is easy to figure out. They pay a lot of money to ex Army and Marines. It’s fine for you guys to get all up in arms about Xe, But after having lived on an Army paycheck for 5 years, let me tell you, being underpaid sucks. And why shouldn’t I get paid more money to do the same work? Xe are no more murderers than the rest of the Armed forces. Someone has to be a killer, so that the rest of you can hide behind your ideals. U.S Army Infantry.
Hey how does one apply or even get a shot at being trained in the Xe worldwide. Do you have to be in the military to apply, I would like criteria if you all know anything.
Leave it to a 15yr old who only knows about ‘blackwater’ individuals being strung up in Fellujah but will doubt the atrocities that blackwater committed in the past decade that HAVE been proven by the FBI as well as the U.S. Military itself. It’s not that you’re ignorant Andrew but your patriotism is making you blind very similar to how blind the extremists in the Muslim faith. Where the military has gone since Dick, Rums had positions to have a say it’s tragic. The U.S. is spending more money hiring private military contractors(MERCENARIES) than actually spending on their own military. This is actually pretty damned sad that they are willing to just hire people instead of training and paying people who really want to fight for their country better.
Forgive me sir, but you are as Vaughn said earlier, woefully under informed. Your anti-Bush/rhetoric is clouding your ability to do basic fact checking.
You apparently have no idea why we have Private Military Corporations. You apparently are so anti-logic that you can’t see it is because of continued inability to sign into law the expansion of the limits of total military personnel.
Sir, you do not understand that law. If you did, you would know that the law stipulates how many persons can be under arms in the US Military. If you knew and understood that, you would also know that repeated discussions on raising those limits in Congress have failed. That leaves one, and only one option…PMCs.
See sir, if you indeed could take off your rhetoric filtered glasses you would understand that in order to have more “shooters” and “trigger-pullers” when you have a legal limit on the number of troops you can have…you have to “out-source” some of these non combat related jobs to some one else. In the end, the “CLINTON ADMINISTRATION” and a “DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED CONGRESS” decided to open up the budget from DoD to PMCs. This decision, in light of a two front war was expanded by the Bush Administration and the CONGRESS in order to shift TO&E of units so that the DoD could find more shooters and off load non combat related jobs to KBR, Halliburton and PMCs such as Blackwater/Xe.
That is indeed the problem sir, people like you with your myopic view’s and your rhetoric actually hurt the end result. Your ignorance on a subject cause more people to believe you.
Sir, CONGRESS approves budgets and contracts, not the White House. Do not blame the President for this, any of them. This not about the things you think they are. You really should let go of your hate…
And the sad thing sir is that in the end I actually agree with the underlying premise of your point, the US Military should take care of all operational duties traditionally held within the Military sphere of influence. But in order for that to happen YOU sir have to be willing to support the Congress in it’s attempt to expand the US Military. You have to understand that SOMEONE has to cook and clean. Provide water. Drive trucks. Provide security. Escort convoys. Ship materials. Someone sir, has to do that.
And by the way, ALL Blackwater operators are trigger pullers. They have to come from jobs in the military, ours or someone else’s that provide them the skills sets needed.
You sir really should slow down, take a break, do some research and for God’s sake sir, put down the ANTI-BUSH rhetoric and build an opinion based on facts, not on hatred. And while your at it, stop calling yourself a Progressive…those who understand American History and the world know what that word really means…SOCIALIST. And good luck with that agenda sir, because it has worked so well in every other attempt in government throughout history.
You sir, as with others like you, are woefully uninformed. Lack logic. Lack the basic research skills and have no concept of what you are talking about or what has actually fueled your opinons. Please sir, before you infect some poor uneducated kid, please read some books and do some research.
And if you are so against PMCs, contact your Senator or Congressman and ask them to expand the Military so that jobs and duties that are traditionally done by the Military returned to the Military.
cl
If war was not profitable, it would not be waged.
Been employed by both sides of the fence. One pays well, the other does not. Immoral? No just need to feed a family.
CL….Excellent response!
But how do you pronounce it.
She? Zee? Ecks-ee? I pronounce it “just another band of violent brigands,” or “Thugs for rent.”
“Hoping to wash away the stains from their homicidal outlawry in Iraq, the killers formerly known as Blackwater became “Xe Worldwide†last week.”
This statment couldnt be further from the truth. Sir I suggest that you go visit Iraq, and when you have been there for about a year trying to help the citizens and you start to get shot at and the people on the other side are aiming to kill I want you to not shoot back. Do that and tell me how it works. The operatives from Blackwater are not murderers. A suicide bomber is a murderer. When your friends are dying and your mission is in jepardy as well as your life you will kill. Instinct will make you kill to survive. you dont understand untill you have been there, so keep your figurative mouth shut unitll you have been there. people die in war and the people who blackwater killed were labeled as civillians. the only problem is that ALL THE INSURGENTS ARE CIVILLIAN COMBATANTS so if a civ goes hostile you take them out. there is no enemy army. no uniforms to identify who to shoot. We shoot whever is hostile, and so does Blackwater. Hooah