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The Nation / By Jeremy Scahill
comments_imageCOMMENTS: 385

Explosive Allegations: Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

Sworn statements filed in Federal Court also allege that Blackwater founder Erik Prince launched a "crusade" to eliminate Muslims and Islam.
August 4, 2009  |  
 
 
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A former Blackwater employee and an ex-U.S. Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the U.S. State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

These allegations, and a series of other charges, are contained in sworn affidavits, given under penalty of perjury, filed late at night on August 3 in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. Susan Burke, a private attorney working in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, is suing Blackwater in five separate civil cases filed in the Washington, DC, area. They were recently consolidated before Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia for pretrial motions. Burke filed the August 3 motion in response to Blackwater's motion to dismiss the case. Blackwater asserts that Prince and the company are innocent of any wrongdoing and that they were professionally performing their duties on behalf of their employer, the U.S. State Department.

The former employee, identified in the court documents as "John Doe #2," is a former member of Blackwater's management team, according to a source close to the case. Doe #2 alleges in a sworn declaration that, based on information provided to him by former colleagues, "it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." John Doe #2 says he worked at Blackwater for four years; his identity is concealed in the sworn declaration because he "fear[s] violence against me in retaliation for submitting this Declaration." He also alleges, "On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince's employ, Mr. Prince's management has personally threatened me with death and violence."

In a separate sworn statement, the former U.S. marine who worked for Blackwater in Iraq alleges that he has "learned from my Blackwater colleagues and former colleagues that one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information about Erik Prince and Blackwater have been killed in suspicious circumstances." Identified as "John Doe #1," he says he "joined Blackwater and deployed to Iraq to guard State Department and other American government personnel." It is not clear if Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is "scheduled to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq." Like Doe #2, he states that he fears "violence" against him for "submitting this Declaration." No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provided.

"Mr. Prince feared, and continues to fear, that the federal authorities will detect and prosecute his various criminal deeds," states Doe #2. "On more than one occasion, Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been shredded and destroyed."

The Nation cannot independently verify the identities of the two individuals, their roles at Blackwater or what motivated them to provide sworn testimony in these civil cases. Both individuals state that they have previously cooperated with federal prosecutors conducting a criminal inquiry into Blackwater.

"It's a pending investigation, so we cannot comment on any matters in front of a Grand Jury or if a Grand Jury even exists on these matters," John Roth, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Columbia, told The Nation. "It would be a crime if we did that." Asked specifically about whether there is a criminal investigation into Prince regarding the murder allegations and other charges, Roth said: "We would not be able to comment on what we are or are not doing in regards to any possible investigation involving an uncharged individual."


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Jeremy Scahill, an independent journalist who reports frequently for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, has spent extensive time reporting from Iraq and Yugoslavia. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His writing and reporting is available at RebelReports.com.
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Obama will give him a presidential pardon in no time.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: maxpayne on Aug 4, 2009 1:30 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Unless Obama disassociates himself and his team from Blackwater, he's further damaged goods.

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» Don't mind Weathered Posted by: EncinoM
» RE: Don't mind Weathered Posted by: maxpayne
» RE: Don't mind Weathered Posted by: babs
» No one will pardon you Maxie Pad Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: maxpayne
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: babs
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: Benn_Miller
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: Quannah
» RE: maxpayne Posted by: maxpayne
» Dear Sister! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Dear Sister! Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: Dear Sister! Posted by: maxpayne
» RE: He is in a den of vipers Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: He is in a den of vipers Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NOT CORRUPT! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: You Obamabots are simply amazing Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: You Obamabots are simply amazing Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» Just like I said, Jennifer Posted by: pelican beak
» "KISS MY ASS" = "RIDE MY ASS" Posted by: pelican beak
» RE: More of the same old crap is all you know Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: More of the same old crap is all you know Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NOT CORRUPT! Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NOT CORRUPT! Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NOT CORRUPT! Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: He is in a den of vipers Posted by: peacefullaim1
» Oh Darn Posted by: Dixie Dawg

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Swept under the rug!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: rogea86 on Aug 4, 2009 2:16 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Our government has been harboring lies and corruption from day one and this Black Water scandal does not suprise me the least bit! Where there is smoke there is usually fire,we are supposed to be the good guys but that goes to show that bad people are in every race and country!

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» RE: Swept under the rug! Posted by: yusandnick
» RE: Swept under the rug! Posted by: Spiritgirl
» RE: Enron and their fuzzy math Posted by: Sister_Lauren

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n/t
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JadedEvan on Aug 4, 2009 2:38 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As saddening as it is to hear about the murders that took place in all ranks through his company, I'm ecstatic to hear this news. I hope this makes the government seriously reconsider contracting work to a bunch of xenophobic, steroid driven hyper-violent muscles for hire. It's disgusting to see what they've been able to get away with, especially being able to skirt the standards, accountability and responsibility that we hold to our armed forces.

You get what you pay for.

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» RE: Good News! Posted by: lightwing1
» RE: Good News! Posted by: clvngodess
» Busted AGAIN! Posted by: foreverhope

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Our New Imperial Reality
[Report this comment]
Posted by: talkville on Aug 4, 2009 2:42 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A dismal, but perfectly understandable, development in the activities of this so-called Blackwater or Xe or whatever.

And utterly critical to attend to, if anyone has interest in the development and not the retardation of human social relations and human individuals!!

The hour, it seems, is already late, very late.

Accepting at any moment, and in any place, the premise that a private military force has full legal standing and attendant rights, fore-shadows a profoundly dark and tragic future as human society marches towards a future -- a future which only science-fiction writers can even begin to fashion in the cloudy reaches of their imaginations. In real life, it confirms, at least for me, that the only attitude possible is one of utter desperation and exasperation, and useless and debilitating rage. As I am dying anyway, I can only settle in to manage the process as best I can. What a waste! And not only for me, but for literally millions, dead and living that preceded and march forward with us. This Empire, for all its absolute power in determining the fates of 7 billion current residents of this planet, has become a toxic, poisonous Empire. No Glory or Advance or Progress at all here for majorities in the population, domestic or elsewhere in other countries!!

"Vertical and Horizontal Integration" the fascists call it.

A Vertical and Horizontal analytical and categorical and material Split -- On one side, the Private "World" -- vertically and horizontally integrated; on the other side, the Public "World" -- vertically and horizontally integrated. The first above the second -- segregated "Platforms" and "separate-but-equal" social distributions of cultural, economic, and political "rights" for men, women and children, the ultimate decisions resting on that Top Platform mentioned above.

I can only hope that the humans of the Bottom Platform can organize and begin to form for themselves a social, human, world; in the Top Platform, it is Cancer and Mars that rule.

Not one, but two Corporate-States. Currently being "federalized" by the Mandarins of Empire.

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» We are at the crux. Posted by: hedgewytch
» RE: We are at the crux. Posted by: talkville

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Murder Smurder
[Report this comment]
Posted by: QQOblivion on Aug 4, 2009 2:49 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Murder smurder. How much you want to bet these thugs still get even more US government contracts?

We have to look "forward, not backwards", you know.

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Unbelievable! And NOTHING in the MSM! This is extaordinary!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Paul_C on Aug 4, 2009 3:44 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is huge because Blackwater represents the "new way" of shared governmental and private military cooperation - the subcontracting out of the military to "save money", even though it is many times more expensive.

In reality, its purpose is to skirt congressional oversight and budget constraints, as well as to keep the public in the dark as to the degree of US military involvement in a given conflict and the true attendant costs, even as regards the loss of life.

These allegations, if proven, blast that model out of the water big time!

This is very, very helpful to the ongoing efforts of civil rights groups to halt this insidious practice.

Make no mistake, the presence of a private military like Blackwater, with a size and strength rivaling a nation state's army, could easily be employed by a strongman such as Dick Cheney to overthrow a constitutionally based form of government, even, no, especially like that of the United States!

Indeed, there was a lot of speculation along those lines while the Bush regime was still in power, and some scary stuff has come out since then.

Recall Cheney's threat to use army regulars against civilians, the illegal mass arrests, beatings and disruptions of numerous public protests in cities throughout the country at that time. The suspension of civil rights, hauling people away for torture overseas, some intended not to be seen again.

We have dodged a bullet but we are not safe by a long shot.

peace,
Paul

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» Rachel reported this last night Posted by: foreverhope
» GE owns MSNBC. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: GE owns MSNBC. Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: GE owns MSNBC. Posted by: peacefullaim1

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Erik Prince is an Antichrist.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: ikonoklast on Aug 4, 2009 3:50 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Clad in sanctimonious righteousness while working against everything he claims to believe, he is a murderer, liar, and apostate. True Christians should revile and rebuke him, as should all people of good character.

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» RE: Erik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: ikonoklast
» RE: rik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: rik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: redstarwraith
» Cheney is the Antichrist. Posted by: foreverhope
» Doomed to TARTARUS! Posted by: foreverhope
» Keep dreamin' scumbag ! Posted by: maxpayne
» Thanks for reporting Posted by: foreverhope
» Good on! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Good on! Posted by: Benn_Miller
» RE: Good on! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Good on! Posted by: Benn_Miller

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Didn't we try that before?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: bonapartist on Aug 4, 2009 4:31 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You know, crusades.

Kill the infidels in the name of God... blah-blah... The more you kill the more you please the God... yadda-yadda...

Oh wait, that's right, neither Jihad nor Crusades worked. Holy wars in general have a tendency to flop and make a mockery of religion in which name they are started.

It is still a damn fine excuse to pillage and plunder. It is not greed and deviant mentality you see, God told him to do it.

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» RE: Didn't we try that before? Posted by: Fempatriot

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I knew it!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: zzdinko on Aug 4, 2009 6:07 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I always knew that loser was a CROOK! I hope that tool gets everything he has coming to him!

RT
Online Privacy when it Counts

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» RE: I knew it! Posted by: wrinklemomma

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"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
[Report this comment]
Posted by: chaztmac on Aug 4, 2009 6:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
n/t

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» Yes, there is a soft fascism Posted by: chaztmac
» SOLIDARITY YES! Posted by: foreverhope
» Hmmmmm Posted by: talkville
» "Who Knows how bad it will get?" Posted by: godsbreath64

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Will indictments come?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: louiepierre on Aug 4, 2009 11:25 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Jeremy Scahill, who was on MSNBC with Olbermann tonight, said he called the Justice Department today for a comment about this story. Their statement was they would neither confirm nor deny Mr. Prince was involved in any criminal investigation.

Affidavits by former employees can't be ignored for long, seems to me. Especially now it has been made public.

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» RE: Will indictments come? Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: appoint a Special Prosecutor Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: appoint a Special Prosecutor Posted by: foreverhope
» You Obamabots really amaze me ! Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» Don't flatter yourself! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Don't flatter yourself! Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: You Obamabots really amaze me ! Posted by: peacefullaim1

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syed salamah ali mahdi
[Report this comment]
Posted by: salamah on Aug 5, 2009 12:30 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In the US atrocities can be committed at the highest levels & provided the perpetrators are not indicted/punished in time, the crime is one more pile of filth which gets swept under America's carpet of History and logically, I don't expect that this 200 odd year old filthy and stinking carpet, will ever get cleaned in public! Till then sit down on the couch and wash down your passing/fleeting anger with beer!

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When Jeremy Scahill talks, I listen.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Fempatriot on Aug 5, 2009 1:27 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
He's done a book on Blackwater. I think Eric Prince is a devout Catholic. I don't know where he gets his hatred of Muslims but obviously he's a radical or he wouldn't have founded a company like Blackwater, full of mercenaries who are trained in all the ways to kill. If he were a devout "Christian" and knew his Christianity, he would be a pacifist. I'm really glad that someone may have gotten the goods on Prince and his group. I hope it goes somewhere.

The average American is a mushroom: kept in the dark and fed a daily ration of s**t.

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» RE:Read carefully... Posted by: chaztmac
» RE: ead carefully... Posted by: foreverhope

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Is this a deliberate attempt at misdirection?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: dndavis on Aug 5, 2009 2:23 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
John Doe #2's knowledge of firearms is risible. "Sawed-off semi-automatic machine guns?" He'll be shredded to bits offering up such nonsense on the witness stand. I'm trying now to get the straight scoop on the Le Mas "exploding" bullets: I've never heard of these.

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it's the "we must do whatever it takes" mentality which should be confronted
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Suzon on Aug 5, 2009 2:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Before King George was first "elected" I was taken aback when a retired Methodist minister copied me into an email in which he advised his colleagues, "we must do whatever it takes to get Bush elected".

Perhaps, like the IT professional who helped rig the election(s), he was so upset about abortion that it blinded him to what he was inciting--every kind of criminal action and utter lawlessness.

Let us work together to get out of this long nightmare. The fact that even Blackwater employees (a self-selected group) can eventually recognize murder when they see it, offers a ray of hope.

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Too bad The Cheney Appeasers, a.k.a. The Justice Department
[Report this comment]
Posted by: godsbreath64 on Aug 5, 2009 2:47 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
doesn't prosecute anything but the common citizenry any more.

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Very little harm
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Perry Logan on Aug 5, 2009 2:55 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We're Xe. We mean very little harm to your planet.

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zorro
[Report this comment]
Posted by: remo on Aug 5, 2009 5:00 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
somewhere, somehow this boil has got to burst. crime is crime. murder is murder.Xe is a fascist army built under the flags of of gods little shepherd but really its just too much of everything bad got bundled up in one big bloody struggle for empire., of guns and brutality and whatever else mad men eat for supper.
If justice has any balls left, go too it. in the courts of law. After prince, do bush and cheney.

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» RE: zorro Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: zorro Posted by: remo
» RE: zorro Posted by: lightwing1

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What God want, God gets, God help us all !
[Report this comment]
Posted by: TFYQA on Aug 5, 2009 5:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
“The noble virtues that drove characters like Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness” into the jungle veiled abject self-interest, unchecked greed and murder.” - Chris Hedges

BLACKWATER : THE CRUSADE
linked text

BLACKWATER : GLOBAL THREAT
linked text

A MODERN DAY OLIVER NORTH ?
THE STILL ACTING GHOULS OF NIXON & REAGAN'S GOLDEN BOY ;)

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE SOAP !

The INMATES : A SOAP MADE IN USA
linked text

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This is why civilized nations don't employ mercenaries
[Report this comment]
Posted by: leafsong1 on Aug 5, 2009 5:34 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That Prince is a fundamentalist fanatic freak is an entirely unsurprising correlate to the entirely illegal and immoral position of mercenary company captain that he chose for himself.

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» Actually, you missed the point Posted by: leafsong1

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Look who pays Prince's bills
[Report this comment]
Posted by: weathered on Aug 5, 2009 7:46 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
those are the criminals who call the shots.

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How was this done??
[Report this comment]
Posted by: rider3 on Aug 5, 2009 8:14 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
with Cheney's blessing... Cheney must have had his hand in this situation in one way or another. No doubt in my mind.

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» RE: How was this done?? Posted by: Quannah
» RE: How was this done?? Posted by: Sister_Lauren

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The use of Barbarians to wage war was the downfall of the Roman Empire
[Report this comment]
Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 8:37 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Barbarians=Mercenaries=Blackwater.

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» Suspecting Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Suspecting Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: Suspecting Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Suspecting Posted by: Benn_Miller
» RE: Suspecting Posted by: peacefullaim1
» RE: Suspecting Posted by: peacefullaim1
» RE: Thank you Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» That's a totally different issue. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» Trollish behavior? Posted by: Benn_Miller
» RE: Trollish behavior? Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Trollish behavior? Posted by: maxpayne
Sorry, this comment has been removed from the system.
» Thank you Alternet Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Trollish behavior? Posted by: peacefullaim1
» RE: That's a totally different issue. Posted by: peacefullaim1
» JB is Bloody Maxie Pad the Maggot Posted by: foreverhope
» These Obama cultists are PAID! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: These Obama cultists are PAID! Posted by: Benn_Miller

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I have no doubts
[Report this comment]
Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 8:55 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Cheney's intention was to form a barbaric mercenary army trained in Iraq large enough to eventually 'fight terrorism' in their own special ways in cities across America.

That was the ultimate goal.

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» RE: I have no doubts Posted by: MT512
» I have no doubts Posted by: foreverhope

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It's not really that surprising if one followed the whole thing throughout.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JenniferBedingfield on Aug 5, 2009 9:02 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A society that puts profiteering at all costs over principle is bound to end up with such disastrous results. Our cornfed electorate is conditioned into accepting wars and greed as the backbone of our economy. We've done enough damage to the Arab world and driven them past the point of sanity and happiness that they have been forced to HATE US for at least the next 20 years and that's even when we don't provoke any more wars with them or rape their lands for oil.

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» Blaming the "corn-fed electorate" Posted by: foreverhope
» Getting down to the basics is important too. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» That was then, this is now Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: That was then, this is now Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» I'll take Ron Paul over Obama any day. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» I'll call you a Ron Paul troll Posted by: foreverhope

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Wal, sooprize, sooprize!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: willymack on Aug 5, 2009 9:17 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You have yer basic Goon Platoon of murderers, rapists, and thieves, turned loose on an innocent people, illegally brutalized under the thinest of pretexts, and getting their marching orders from a homicidal lunatic posing as our Vice President.
Think this is surreal? We're just getting started here. The monster who owns "Thugs R Us" turns out to be a religious fanatic of the worst sort. Cain't have no out-of-control gang of murderers without a gen-yoo-wine religious nut or two in the mix, now can ya?
How's this horror going to be resolved and come to a (relatively) good end? It ain't. Gotta look forward, doancha know?

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» RE: Wal, sooprize, sooprize! Posted by: xmvince

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this is what happens when you privatize a public responsibility!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Bearzerker on Aug 5, 2009 10:30 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
no oversight, no ethics, no morals

this is the dream of crusader Neo-Cons that want the money but don't want anybody to know how they came to have all the money they have now and are getting soon!

are you listening?...
END Privateers and their makeshift Pirate ways!

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I wonder if the Grand Jury will
[Report this comment]
Posted by: beijaflor on Aug 5, 2009 11:01 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
have to be in the witness protection program.
Blackwater has an awfully long reach as it also is in the biz of IT, surveillance, spying, the lot...
In the meantime, as gran would say, "Sic balls, Chopper!".

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» RE: I wonder if the Grand Jury will Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» More useless drivel. Posted by: maxpayne

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Obama hasn't been showing his support for the republic
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Changling on Aug 5, 2009 11:03 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Those who back him and the kind of ideology he really has and supports. Remember he is a patron to TriCanopy---another rival mercenary corp doing 'business' in the war zones.

Blackwater/Xe reminds me of the SS "Oscar Dirlewenger" unit which was comprised of the criminally insane, violent criminals of all types and fanatical volunteers were used in occupied Europe. They developed such a vile reputation for murder, torture, and rape that it even shocked their SS Commanders! [Many of these types of units developed the same way and were enthusiastic about their lives as uniformed brigands.]

"Men never do evil so completely & cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction."--Blaise Pascal

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» RE: Sorry it is Triple Canopy Posted by: Changling

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Maybe Warren Zevon said it best...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: TJColatrella on Aug 5, 2009 11:09 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"He was just an excitable boy...!"


Warren Zevon...

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BLACKWATER/Xe
[Report this comment]
Posted by: pfm on Aug 5, 2009 11:10 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
My comment can be seen as naive and perhaps I am. I want to believe that Obama will before the end of his first year in office serving as President of our nation sever all ties with any and all mercenary contractors including but not limited to Blackwater/Xe.

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It's all the same
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Posted by: Erin on Aug 5, 2009 11:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
All of these contractor companies are nothing but MERCENARIES, plain and simple. Obama has employed a new one from his home state of Illinois......just mercenaries using the word "contactor" to make us believe that all is well. Well, all is not well and never will be as long as our government uses them, and Obama needs to get rid of every one of these companies and never employ another one. They are all nothing but hired killers and thugs and we will be begging for our lives when the government invents some catastrophe and turns them loose in our streets and lets them do as they please with us.

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2007 Prince was called to testify in the Senate/Arrogant
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Posted by: marletat on Aug 5, 2009 11:33 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
He was an arrogant bastard then but the Republican Senators fawned all over him. It was sickening. Just google Erik Prince testimony and you can see for yourself. His father is co-founder of Family Research Counsel(with deep and wide tentacles into Republicans including the Bushs). The Bush Administration gets scarier everyday either by stupidity or just plain conspirators.

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Blackwater? How 'bout ACORN?
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Posted by: SteveA on Aug 5, 2009 12:20 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We do need to know what the deal is with this murder story, and it is being investigated.

SO, when do we get to find out about the founders of ACORN, the major-league theft of funds associated with the founder or his brother, and how there seems to be a clearing-house for cash run out of an old house in New Orleans? I'd read whatever AlterNet could sniff out about that - but, of course, sometimes the truth hurts.

We now go to the clip of Jack Nicholson on the stand in A Few Good Men....

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» RE: Blackwater? How 'bout ACORN? Posted by: Benn_Miller

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What a joke..
[Report this comment]
Posted by: xmvince on Aug 5, 2009 12:38 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Blackwater hiding info from the US? Really? I could have told you that years ago.

They rape, murder and steal from both Americans and non-Americans.

Get them the HELL out of here! Nothing worse than private military organizations that have more power than police officers, and no administration watching what they are doing.

When will the government learn? Must be a bunch of children running the country because no grown, mature, adult would ever let this Blackwater shit go on for so long without putting their foot down.

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» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! Posted by: foreverhope
» No, I'm not wrong Posted by: foreverhope
» Elections Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: lections Posted by: Benn_Miller
» SWEET JESUS YOU ARE DENSE! Posted by: foreverhope
» You are crazy stupid Posted by: foreverhope
» Have you ever even voted? Posted by: foreverhope
» Oh Christ Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Ah, well... Posted by: lightwing1
» Make no mistake Posted by: foreverhope

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I have a theory on our Troll situation
[Report this comment]
Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 1:03 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I believe these are Paul supporters, nearly all of them. They claim Nadar, they want Paul.

Before the election Paul supporters were all over Alternet. After the election they seemingly disappeared. They were nasty and racist.

They didn't disappear. They are here.

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» RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! Posted by: foreverhope
» Ron Paul isn't too bad. Posted by: maxpayne

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A White Christian Who Hates Muslims????
[Report this comment]
Posted by: rgoalierob on Aug 5, 2009 1:31 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Shocking!!!!
No, not really.
Our collective ignorance breeds these fools and makes them rich as well.

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Private Armies
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Posted by: melpol on Aug 5, 2009 1:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Private armies are known to be the cruelest. Governments use them because they follow no rules and can rape, rob,and pillage at will. This story has been repeated since the beginning of time. It will never be ended until the Lion lays down with the Lamb.

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"Innocent until proven guilty . . ."
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Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on Aug 5, 2009 1:53 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Unless it happens to be anyone associated with those allied with one's political opposition? How very "American!"

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» RE: "Innocent until proven guilty . . ." Posted by: JenniferBedingfield

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So now Obama wants to replace US troops in Iraq with mercenaries and
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JenniferBedingfield on Aug 5, 2009 2:14 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
shift the troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan along with more mercenaries than even Dubya could dream of and I'm a Republican for screaming bloody murder ? LOL ! I cannot believe you Obamabots refuse to think and look at the issue with open minds and hearts ! The innocent sweetheart civilians in Iraq, Af/Pak, etc ... will HATE THE US for years to come and our children and future generations will HATE YOU for leaving them behind with your mess. As a matter of fact, some of us younger ones are already bloody mad about it. If Obama wants to keep continuing the Dubya course as he appears to be doing, then yes, I hope he fails ! But go right ahead and call me a Limbaugh Republican ! You Obamabots can't compute or comprehend ! Between the Joe the Plumber Republicans and you Obamabot Democrats, there's not a dime's worth of difference ! LOL !

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And so the unimaginable happens again here on Alternet.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Benn_Miller on Aug 5, 2009 3:08 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In addition to Blackwater getting busted, some people expose Obama's connections with Blackwater and here come the paid Obama PR trolls ready to attack the honest posters who know better that Blackwater is the symptom of a corrupt government of both parties. I switched my vote last year from Democrat to Independent and voted Nader for the first time. With such hate talk out here against people who don't buy into the foolish nonsense that Obama will be better, I don't plan on returning to the Democratic Party even to vote for a dog catcher.

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» Some people? Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Some people? Posted by: Lex Thomas
» RE: Some people? Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Some people? Posted by: Benn_Miller

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And how about that? A paid Obama PR troll takes the bait.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Benn_Miller on Aug 5, 2009 3:40 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Obama's PR people have their ears to the ground and it is shaking with anger at Obama's betrayal. So they bring out several hundred paid trolls to flood the progressive sites. They know any really scientific poll would show Obama's approval numbers in the toilet so what do they do? Publish the "fact" that, "amazingly", Obama's poll numbers are holding up well! Cognitive dissonance in action. It causes thinking paralysis. That's what they want. We won't be gamed this time.

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Anthony D'Auria
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Posted by: Tony D on Aug 5, 2009 3:44 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Not surprising and I would bet all I have that there is even more dirt under the carpet. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

This private army may someday in history be seen as the beginning of the death of our democracy.

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» RE: Anthony D'Auria Posted by: Benn_Miller
» RE: Anthony D'Auria Posted by: talkville
» RE: Anthony D'Auria Posted by: Zeugitai

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Obama Pentagon Plans Speeding Up 'Bunker Buster' Bomb
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Posted by: maxpayne on Aug 5, 2009 4:25 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
WASHINGTON - The US military said on Monday it wants to speed up production plans for an enormous "bunker buster" bomb, amid international concern over underground nuclear sites in Iran and North Korea.

The Pentagon has asked Congress for extra money to ensure the massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) would be ready by July 2010, spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

[Boeing's 30,000 pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The US Defense Department on Monday said it wants to speed up production plans for the enormous "bunker buster" bomb.]Boeing's 30,000 pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The US Defense Department on Monday said it wants to speed up production plans for the enormous "bunker buster" bomb.
"The department has asked for reprogramming of about 68 million dollars to start production for some of these in 2009," Whitman said.

"This will help it accelerate some if it's approved."

The weapon, weighing in at 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) and carrying 5,300 pounds (2,400 kilograms) of explosives, would be delivered by the radar-evading B-2 Stealth bomber.

The MOP, believed capable of blasting through 200 feet (60 meters) of reinforced concrete, is seen as a potential weapon against nuclear facilities in Iran and North Korea that are mostly buried underground.

Washington has demanded that both countries abandon their nuclear programs and has refused to rule out possible military action.

Whitman declined to say why the military wanted to accelerate production or whether the move was designed to pile pressure on Iran.

He said the Pentagon since 2004 had been looking at developing weapons "that would allow us to go after more hardened, more deeply buried targets."

He mentioned that Pyongyang has sought to conceal its nuclear activities. "One of the ways you hide is by going underground" and fortifying sites, he said.

Boeing builds the MOP, which could become the biggest conventional bomb ever used by the US military.

During a visit to the Middle East last week, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that Washington's diplomatic outreach to Iran was not open-ended and said Tehran had until September to respond or else face tougher sanctions.

The United States, European states and Israel, widely considered the Middle East's sole -- if undeclared -- nuclear power, suspect Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a charge Tehran has denied.

In an interview last month, President Barack Obama strongly denied that the United States had given Israel a green light to strike Iran's nuclear sites.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula meanwhile have soared following Pyongyang's recent missile and nuclear tests, which resulted in fresh UN sanctions and a renewed standoff with the United States.

© 2009 Agence France Presse

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Really, I Mean Really
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Posted by: RevolutionNet on Aug 5, 2009 4:49 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It would be a long step in the direction of sanity for America if Erik Prince was dropped like a sack of rotten potatoes.


FREE AMERICA

PROSECUTE THE BUSH/CHENEY CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY

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Where is the Mossad connection???
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Posted by: telluride on Aug 5, 2009 4:51 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The story leaves out the best part... many of these guys were trained by the Mossad.

The story makes it sound like its whacky Christians.... maybe ... .but behind those whacky evangelical Crusaders are their Israeli promoters....

Blackwater has lots of ties to Israel - not that you'd notice from this article.

And if this Judge Ellis III is a Jew... well, the whole case goes bye bye..

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Senators, Military Advisers Urge Obama to Double Afghan Forces Part 1
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Posted by: maxpayne on Aug 5, 2009 5:50 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Indira A.r. Lakshmanan – Tue Aug 4, 4:34 pm ET

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama and top U.S. military commanders are under pressure from influential senators and civilian advisers to double the size of Afghan security forces, a commitment that would cost billions of dollars.

In private letters and face-to-face meetings, these supporters of mounting a stronger effort against the Taliban seek to boost the Afghan National Army and police to at least 400,000 personnel from the current 175,000.

“Any further postponement” of a decision to support a surge in Afghan forces will hamper U.S. efforts to quell an insurgency in its eighth year, Senators Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, wrote to the White House in a July 21 letter provided to Bloomberg News.

General Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, will recommend a speedier expansion of Afghan forces beyond current targets in an assessment he will give Defense Secretary Robert Gates and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen by Aug. 14, according to a military official familiar with the review.

McChrystal has heard from civilian advisers who studied the war effort. The general won’t suggest in the report how many more U.S. or NATO troops would be needed to train those Afghan forces or to boost the U.S. fighting effort, the official said.

In a meeting last week with Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, the deputy national security adviser who oversees Afghan policy at the White House, Levin said a substantial expansion of Afghan forces is essential and that he would support funding for that, according to Levin spokeswoman Tara Andringa.

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Senators, Military Advisers Urge Obama to Double Afghan Forces Part 2
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Posted by: maxpayne on Aug 5, 2009 5:50 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Earlier Letter

In a May 19 letter to Obama, 17 Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Levin, Lieberman, and Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, urged a doubling of Afghan forces. They cautioned Obama against “taking an incremental approach” that “does not reflect the realities on the ground.”

The U.S. already has agreed to fast-track the buildup of combined Afghan security forces to 134,000 Army personnel and 96,800 police -- 230,800 in all -- by 2011, according to U.S. Central Command. The Defense Department has requested $7.5 billion for fiscal year 2010 to fund the expansion.

More Afghan troops would bolster U.S. efforts to conduct joint operations, said Major General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander for NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, where the U.S. is the lead nation in the coalition.

‘Greater Capacity’

“I do see a need for a greater capacity within the Afghan national security forces,” Scaparrotti told reporters at the Pentagon today via video link from Afghanistan. “General McChrystal has stated we look at not only building their competency but building their capacity at a quicker pace.”

Training and equipping 170,000 additional forces would balloon costs and require thousands more foreign military advisers, a commitment the Obama administration has thus far been reluctant to make.

Senators argued in their May letter that building Afghanistan’s own forces is far cheaper than sending American soldiers -- making clear they would support administration requests for funds to train and equip Afghan troops.

“For the cost of a single American soldier in Afghanistan, it is possible to sustain 60 or more Afghans,â€

A similar message was drummed home by a dozen civilian national security experts in meetings with McChrystal and in a written report they gave him after a month in Afghanistan assessing ground conditions.

McChrystal asked the analysts from the secretary of defense’s office, the Congressional Research Service, Washington research institutions, the European Union and a French think tank for help in preparing the strategic assessment.

Decision ‘Avoided’

Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who has sought an expansion of Afghan forces, said the commitment “is a decision that we have avoided making for far too long.”

Retired Lieutenant Colonel John Nagl, a counterinsurgency expert, predicts doubling the size of the Afghan Army would likely be a five-year, $25 billion proposition that would require 12,000 U.S. military trainers. Those troops would have to be reassigned from other duties.

The realization in Washington “of the scope and scale of what would be required in Afghanistan is frankly causing waves,” said Nagl, a member of the Defense Policy Board that advises the secretary of defense. He is president of the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

In February and March, Obama pledged 17,000 additional U.S. ground troops and 4,000 trainers, all of whom will be on the ground by the end of September, said Major John Redfield, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

There are 62,000 U.S. troops and 40,500 non-U.S. NATO forces in Afghanistan, the highest number since the war to oust the Taliban began in 2001.

To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

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So, big deal.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: joebanana on Aug 5, 2009 6:26 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Cheezy had his own hit squad, no body cares about that. bush has killed 4000 Americans, no one cares about that either, he's also killed 1.3 million Irqai's, so? That's why they had to move the war, they were running out of Iraqi's.

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WOW ! More Obama cultism ! Trying to outdo Huffington Post?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Benn_Miller on Aug 5, 2009 9:02 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If so, you're doin' a hell of a job ! I would hate to see this site turned into another corporatized site like Huffpost but the excessive ads appear to indicate that direction.

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Great article. Good place to start bringing justice to Blackwater.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Stanley1979 on Aug 5, 2009 11:11 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The ball is now in Obama's court so we'll have to see how he passes this test. Like some of the posters, I too was disappointed in Obama's refusal to hold Bush/Cheney accountable but I hope that the case of this Blackwater employee will change that.

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WHAT, NO POSTING ON THIS CONVICTION???
[Report this comment]
Posted by: reelman on Aug 6, 2009 5:01 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
CORRUPT DEMOCRAT CONVICTED

Jefferson convicted…Jury finds ex-congressman guilty on 11 counts
GERARD SHIELDS…Advocate Washington bureau

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former LA. COLD CASH DEMOCRAT U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in one of the poorest regions in the country to serve 18 years in Congress, was convicted Wednesday of 11 counts of public corruption.

A federal jury found Jefferson guilty of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
The panel agreed with prosecutors that Jefferson used his office to orchestrate a criminal enterprise that spanned two continents.

U.S. Justice Department officials called the conviction critical to the fight against public corruption.
“He used his influence and power to enrich himself and his family,” U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said after the verdict. “This case was about greed and money and the jury agreed with us. No congressman is above the law.”

CRAWFISH NOTE: No mention he is a DEMOCRAT…DEMOCRAT…DEMOCRAT.
No network TV specials, no Sharpton huffing or panel discussions on “The View”?

http://conservablogs.com/theconservativecrawfish

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This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.

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gimmie shelter
[Report this comment]
Posted by: gimmie shelter on Aug 7, 2009 11:48 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's face it that Blackwater has already been used on our soil and will continue to be. Remember Katrina? I wonder how many people were killed down there for sport or in the name of protecting the wealthy s property?

Governments use mercenaries so they do not have to follow the laws of our land. They could also turn them on us and avoid our military completely. Our government could order our military to stand down while this is all being done.

We are living in interesting and dangerous times. With all that is going on I think a fuse has been lit in this country and it is just a matter of time before this house of cards begins to fall. You name it. How about 9/11, bailout1, bailout2, health care, town meetings, mercenaries, corruption, lobbying, pollution, lawlessness in government and especially the Justice Dept. and at the CIA.

Corporations need to be stopped they are now feeding on their own.

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Blackwater
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Posted by: reportergary on Aug 7, 2009 12:33 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Harper's Magazine contributing editor Scott Horton will be my guest Monday Aug 10 at 5 PM NY time on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com to discuss the allegations against Blackwater.

Please go to my blog, http://www.garybaumgarten.com to join in the conversation then.

Thanks,

Gary

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America: Happily into the fascist night!
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Posted by: Jill 2 on Aug 8, 2009 12:42 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Similar to the malefic, positive attitudes of a huge majority of Americans regarding the terror bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the facts won't get in the way of lionizing Erik Prince and Blackwater (Xe) as American patriots. Just as the implacable logic of nuclear devastation rationalized the slaughter of civilians, the now 'justifiable' necessity of the Predator drone incinerating Afghan wedding celebrations, is – now and forever– simply business as usual. Expect laudatory hagiographies and Presidential pardons before you see the levying of criminal charges, must less criminal convictions against this mercenary ilk.

Whether in Somalia, Nigeria – or perhaps sooner rather than later– on the American domestic front, Blackwater's presence is now deeply imbricated in the American psyche and way of being. This is even beyond the hard structural materiality of their entrenchment in the interstices of American political and economic culture. Blackwater is the avatar of the total militarization of American culture. There is no countervailing force in American politics to reverse, much less annul, this eventuality. Obama's continuance of the Blackwater depravity is a clear affirmation of this rapid drift into a de facto fascism. It is now almost an inertial certainty, like a natural law, that simply 'happens.' This theme is a mandated by-product of American life, irrespective of which political party holds power.

Blackwater's (Xe's) business prospers as we speak, only under a new, less menacing moniker. Scahill's intrepid reporting is a bracing antidote to the usual sentimental cant and media cheerleading for what is little less than a dark catastrophe. The American political system is totally bereft of the ability or even desire to make self corrective 'adjustments' where justice may be the end result. There is no moral compass, nor can there be. That train left the station a long time ago, with Erik Prince waving happily into the fascist future so beloved by the American people.–(Jill Bains)

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CliffClaven
[Report this comment]
Posted by: CiffClaven on Aug 9, 2009 3:51 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Prince's father co-founded the Family Research Council. He interned for George H.W. Bush. He's a Brother to Betsy DeVos a former Chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and his Brother-in-law is Dick DeVos; former Alticor (Amway) President and gubernatorial candidate in Michigan. Prince has donated beaucoup bucks to James Dobson's Focus on the family in spite of the fact that he knocked his nanny up and before they could marry she showed up with him at his late wife Joan's funeral. Just your typical Christian family man! He and his Mother donated millions here in Michigan to fight same-sex marriage and to ban abortions. He absolutely loathes homosexuals.Obama's current administration is going to need a hot metal spatula to peel this Prince out of the Republican Party's arse. He's definitely a "made man",

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Privatization is Welfare for the well connected...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: keystone999 on Aug 9, 2009 7:50 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Private armies should never exist in the first place. They have no place in a democracy. Outsourcing of war should be stopped. Since we have privatized our army - war now costs us 300% more,(KBR charges our boys $7.00+ for a soda). Also, now that incarceration is outsource(privatized) costs have doubled. America has 10% of the world's population and 25% of the world's prison populaton. Investors turn a profit, but taxpayers get little in return.
The term "war profiteer" used to be an insult. Now, if our government and it's corporate owners don't treat everyone as a "profit center" instead of a human being, it is "leaving money on the table". The Golden Bull of Wall Street is the old testatment's "golden calf" all grown up.

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Erik Prince should be in prison !
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Posted by: virgie on Aug 20, 2009 4:35 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
By Vee 8/20/09 6:17 AM

The government should send Erik Prince to prison, and take his company and sell it to someone else.
That's what they do around here when they arrest people with drugs, take their weapons, money, and even their home.
If, Obama isn't corrupt already, he should fire that valeria and put someone else in her place. She doesn't make good sense to me. And doesn't sound like she is being transparent.
But there's probably not all that's clear in this administration. ( even though Obama said it would be )
It's like Bush is still over the wars in afghanistan and iraq. But Obama still has Bushes has beens over them. Don't trust Robert Gates, or Gen Patreaus, nor Mcchrytal either.

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DVD to Gphone Converter
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Posted by: boay on Aug 24, 2009 6:47 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
DVD to Gphone Converter

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Obama will give him a presidential pardon in no time.
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Posted by: maxpayne on Aug 4, 2009 1:30 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Unless Obama disassociates himself and his team from Blackwater, he's further damaged goods.

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Swept under the rug!
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Posted by: rogea86 on Aug 4, 2009 2:16 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Our government has been harboring lies and corruption from day one and this Black Water scandal does not suprise me the least bit! Where there is smoke there is usually fire,we are supposed to be the good guys but that goes to show that bad people are in every race and country!

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» RE: Swept under the rug! Posted by: yusandnick
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n/t
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Posted by: JadedEvan on Aug 4, 2009 2:38 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As saddening as it is to hear about the murders that took place in all ranks through his company, I'm ecstatic to hear this news. I hope this makes the government seriously reconsider contracting work to a bunch of xenophobic, steroid driven hyper-violent muscles for hire. It's disgusting to see what they've been able to get away with, especially being able to skirt the standards, accountability and responsibility that we hold to our armed forces.

You get what you pay for.

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» RE: Good News! Posted by: lightwing1
» RE: Good News! Posted by: clvngodess
» Busted AGAIN! Posted by: foreverhope

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Our New Imperial Reality
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Posted by: talkville on Aug 4, 2009 2:42 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A dismal, but perfectly understandable, development in the activities of this so-called Blackwater or Xe or whatever.

And utterly critical to attend to, if anyone has interest in the development and not the retardation of human social relations and human individuals!!

The hour, it seems, is already late, very late.

Accepting at any moment, and in any place, the premise that a private military force has full legal standing and attendant rights, fore-shadows a profoundly dark and tragic future as human society marches towards a future -- a future which only science-fiction writers can even begin to fashion in the cloudy reaches of their imaginations. In real life, it confirms, at least for me, that the only attitude possible is one of utter desperation and exasperation, and useless and debilitating rage. As I am dying anyway, I can only settle in to manage the process as best I can. What a waste! And not only for me, but for literally millions, dead and living that preceded and march forward with us. This Empire, for all its absolute power in determining the fates of 7 billion current residents of this planet, has become a toxic, poisonous Empire. No Glory or Advance or Progress at all here for majorities in the population, domestic or elsewhere in other countries!!

"Vertical and Horizontal Integration" the fascists call it.

A Vertical and Horizontal analytical and categorical and material Split -- On one side, the Private "World" -- vertically and horizontally integrated; on the other side, the Public "World" -- vertically and horizontally integrated. The first above the second -- segregated "Platforms" and "separate-but-equal" social distributions of cultural, economic, and political "rights" for men, women and children, the ultimate decisions resting on that Top Platform mentioned above.

I can only hope that the humans of the Bottom Platform can organize and begin to form for themselves a social, human, world; in the Top Platform, it is Cancer and Mars that rule.

Not one, but two Corporate-States. Currently being "federalized" by the Mandarins of Empire.

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» We are at the crux. Posted by: hedgewytch
» RE: We are at the crux. Posted by: talkville

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Murder Smurder
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Posted by: QQOblivion on Aug 4, 2009 2:49 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Murder smurder. How much you want to bet these thugs still get even more US government contracts?

We have to look "forward, not backwards", you know.

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Unbelievable! And NOTHING in the MSM! This is extaordinary!
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Posted by: Paul_C on Aug 4, 2009 3:44 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is huge because Blackwater represents the "new way" of shared governmental and private military cooperation - the subcontracting out of the military to "save money", even though it is many times more expensive.

In reality, its purpose is to skirt congressional oversight and budget constraints, as well as to keep the public in the dark as to the degree of US military involvement in a given conflict and the true attendant costs, even as regards the loss of life.

These allegations, if proven, blast that model out of the water big time!

This is very, very helpful to the ongoing efforts of civil rights groups to halt this insidious practice.

Make no mistake, the presence of a private military like Blackwater, with a size and strength rivaling a nation state's army, could easily be employed by a strongman such as Dick Cheney to overthrow a constitutionally based form of government, even, no, especially like that of the United States!

Indeed, there was a lot of speculation along those lines while the Bush regime was still in power, and some scary stuff has come out since then.

Recall Cheney's threat to use army regulars against civilians, the illegal mass arrests, beatings and disruptions of numerous public protests in cities throughout the country at that time. The suspension of civil rights, hauling people away for torture overseas, some intended not to be seen again.

We have dodged a bullet but we are not safe by a long shot.

peace,
Paul

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» Rachel reported this last night Posted by: foreverhope
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Erik Prince is an Antichrist.
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Posted by: ikonoklast on Aug 4, 2009 3:50 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Clad in sanctimonious righteousness while working against everything he claims to believe, he is a murderer, liar, and apostate. True Christians should revile and rebuke him, as should all people of good character.

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» RE: Erik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: ikonoklast
» RE: rik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» RE: rik Prince is an Antichrist. Posted by: redstarwraith
» Cheney is the Antichrist. Posted by: foreverhope
» Doomed to TARTARUS! Posted by: foreverhope
» Keep dreamin' scumbag ! Posted by: maxpayne
» Thanks for reporting Posted by: foreverhope
» Good on! Posted by: foreverhope
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» RE: Good on! Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Good on! Posted by: Benn_Miller

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Didn't we try that before?
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Posted by: bonapartist on Aug 4, 2009 4:31 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You know, crusades.

Kill the infidels in the name of God... blah-blah... The more you kill the more you please the God... yadda-yadda...

Oh wait, that's right, neither Jihad nor Crusades worked. Holy wars in general have a tendency to flop and make a mockery of religion in which name they are started.

It is still a damn fine excuse to pillage and plunder. It is not greed and deviant mentality you see, God told him to do it.

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» RE: Didn't we try that before? Posted by: Fempatriot

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I knew it!
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Posted by: zzdinko on Aug 4, 2009 6:07 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I always knew that loser was a CROOK! I hope that tool gets everything he has coming to him!

RT
Online Privacy when it Counts

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» RE: I knew it! Posted by: wrinklemomma

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"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
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Posted by: chaztmac on Aug 4, 2009 6:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
n/t

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» Yes, there is a soft fascism Posted by: chaztmac
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Will indictments come?
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Posted by: louiepierre on Aug 4, 2009 11:25 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Jeremy Scahill, who was on MSNBC with Olbermann tonight, said he called the Justice Department today for a comment about this story. Their statement was they would neither confirm nor deny Mr. Prince was involved in any criminal investigation.

Affidavits by former employees can't be ignored for long, seems to me. Especially now it has been made public.

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» RE: Will indictments come? Posted by: foreverhope
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» Don't flatter yourself! Posted by: foreverhope
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syed salamah ali mahdi
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Posted by: salamah on Aug 5, 2009 12:30 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In the US atrocities can be committed at the highest levels & provided the perpetrators are not indicted/punished in time, the crime is one more pile of filth which gets swept under America's carpet of History and logically, I don't expect that this 200 odd year old filthy and stinking carpet, will ever get cleaned in public! Till then sit down on the couch and wash down your passing/fleeting anger with beer!

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When Jeremy Scahill talks, I listen.
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Posted by: Fempatriot on Aug 5, 2009 1:27 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
He's done a book on Blackwater. I think Eric Prince is a devout Catholic. I don't know where he gets his hatred of Muslims but obviously he's a radical or he wouldn't have founded a company like Blackwater, full of mercenaries who are trained in all the ways to kill. If he were a devout "Christian" and knew his Christianity, he would be a pacifist. I'm really glad that someone may have gotten the goods on Prince and his group. I hope it goes somewhere.

The average American is a mushroom: kept in the dark and fed a daily ration of s**t.

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» RE:Read carefully... Posted by: chaztmac
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Is this a deliberate attempt at misdirection?
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Posted by: dndavis on Aug 5, 2009 2:23 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
John Doe #2's knowledge of firearms is risible. "Sawed-off semi-automatic machine guns?" He'll be shredded to bits offering up such nonsense on the witness stand. I'm trying now to get the straight scoop on the Le Mas "exploding" bullets: I've never heard of these.

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it's the "we must do whatever it takes" mentality which should be confronted
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Posted by: Suzon on Aug 5, 2009 2:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Before King George was first "elected" I was taken aback when a retired Methodist minister copied me into an email in which he advised his colleagues, "we must do whatever it takes to get Bush elected".

Perhaps, like the IT professional who helped rig the election(s), he was so upset about abortion that it blinded him to what he was inciting--every kind of criminal action and utter lawlessness.

Let us work together to get out of this long nightmare. The fact that even Blackwater employees (a self-selected group) can eventually recognize murder when they see it, offers a ray of hope.

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Too bad The Cheney Appeasers, a.k.a. The Justice Department
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Posted by: godsbreath64 on Aug 5, 2009 2:47 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
doesn't prosecute anything but the common citizenry any more.

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Very little harm
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Posted by: Perry Logan on Aug 5, 2009 2:55 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We're Xe. We mean very little harm to your planet.

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zorro
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Posted by: remo on Aug 5, 2009 5:00 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
somewhere, somehow this boil has got to burst. crime is crime. murder is murder.Xe is a fascist army built under the flags of of gods little shepherd but really its just too much of everything bad got bundled up in one big bloody struggle for empire., of guns and brutality and whatever else mad men eat for supper.
If justice has any balls left, go too it. in the courts of law. After prince, do bush and cheney.

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What God want, God gets, God help us all !
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Posted by: TFYQA on Aug 5, 2009 5:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
“The noble virtues that drove characters like Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness” into the jungle veiled abject self-interest, unchecked greed and murder.” - Chris Hedges

BLACKWATER : THE CRUSADE
linked text

BLACKWATER : GLOBAL THREAT
linked text

A MODERN DAY OLIVER NORTH ?
THE STILL ACTING GHOULS OF NIXON & REAGAN'S GOLDEN BOY ;)

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE SOAP !

The INMATES : A SOAP MADE IN USA
linked text

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This is why civilized nations don't employ mercenaries
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Posted by: leafsong1 on Aug 5, 2009 5:34 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That Prince is a fundamentalist fanatic freak is an entirely unsurprising correlate to the entirely illegal and immoral position of mercenary company captain that he chose for himself.

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» Actually, you missed the point Posted by: leafsong1

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Look who pays Prince's bills
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Posted by: weathered on Aug 5, 2009 7:46 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
those are the criminals who call the shots.

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How was this done??
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Posted by: rider3 on Aug 5, 2009 8:14 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
with Cheney's blessing... Cheney must have had his hand in this situation in one way or another. No doubt in my mind.

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» RE: How was this done?? Posted by: Quannah
» RE: How was this done?? Posted by: Sister_Lauren

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The use of Barbarians to wage war was the downfall of the Roman Empire
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Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 8:37 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Barbarians=Mercenaries=Blackwater.

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» Suspecting Posted by: foreverhope
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» That's a totally different issue. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
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Sorry, this comment has been removed from the system.
» Thank you Alternet Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Trollish behavior? Posted by: peacefullaim1
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» RE: These Obama cultists are PAID! Posted by: Benn_Miller

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I have no doubts
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Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 8:55 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Cheney's intention was to form a barbaric mercenary army trained in Iraq large enough to eventually 'fight terrorism' in their own special ways in cities across America.

That was the ultimate goal.

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» RE: I have no doubts Posted by: MT512
» I have no doubts Posted by: foreverhope

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It's not really that surprising if one followed the whole thing throughout.
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Posted by: JenniferBedingfield on Aug 5, 2009 9:02 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A society that puts profiteering at all costs over principle is bound to end up with such disastrous results. Our cornfed electorate is conditioned into accepting wars and greed as the backbone of our economy. We've done enough damage to the Arab world and driven them past the point of sanity and happiness that they have been forced to HATE US for at least the next 20 years and that's even when we don't provoke any more wars with them or rape their lands for oil.

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» Blaming the "corn-fed electorate" Posted by: foreverhope
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» RE: That was then, this is now Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» I'll take Ron Paul over Obama any day. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» I'll call you a Ron Paul troll Posted by: foreverhope

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Wal, sooprize, sooprize!
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Posted by: willymack on Aug 5, 2009 9:17 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You have yer basic Goon Platoon of murderers, rapists, and thieves, turned loose on an innocent people, illegally brutalized under the thinest of pretexts, and getting their marching orders from a homicidal lunatic posing as our Vice President.
Think this is surreal? We're just getting started here. The monster who owns "Thugs R Us" turns out to be a religious fanatic of the worst sort. Cain't have no out-of-control gang of murderers without a gen-yoo-wine religious nut or two in the mix, now can ya?
How's this horror going to be resolved and come to a (relatively) good end? It ain't. Gotta look forward, doancha know?

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» RE: Wal, sooprize, sooprize! Posted by: xmvince

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this is what happens when you privatize a public responsibility!
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Posted by: Bearzerker on Aug 5, 2009 10:30 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
no oversight, no ethics, no morals

this is the dream of crusader Neo-Cons that want the money but don't want anybody to know how they came to have all the money they have now and are getting soon!

are you listening?...
END Privateers and their makeshift Pirate ways!

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I wonder if the Grand Jury will
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Posted by: beijaflor on Aug 5, 2009 11:01 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
have to be in the witness protection program.
Blackwater has an awfully long reach as it also is in the biz of IT, surveillance, spying, the lot...
In the meantime, as gran would say, "Sic balls, Chopper!".

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» RE: I wonder if the Grand Jury will Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» More useless drivel. Posted by: maxpayne

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Obama hasn't been showing his support for the republic
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Posted by: Changling on Aug 5, 2009 11:03 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Those who back him and the kind of ideology he really has and supports. Remember he is a patron to TriCanopy---another rival mercenary corp doing 'business' in the war zones.

Blackwater/Xe reminds me of the SS "Oscar Dirlewenger" unit which was comprised of the criminally insane, violent criminals of all types and fanatical volunteers were used in occupied Europe. They developed such a vile reputation for murder, torture, and rape that it even shocked their SS Commanders! [Many of these types of units developed the same way and were enthusiastic about their lives as uniformed brigands.]

"Men never do evil so completely & cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction."--Blaise Pascal

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» RE: Sorry it is Triple Canopy Posted by: Changling

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Maybe Warren Zevon said it best...
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Posted by: TJColatrella on Aug 5, 2009 11:09 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"He was just an excitable boy...!"


Warren Zevon...

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BLACKWATER/Xe
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Posted by: pfm on Aug 5, 2009 11:10 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
My comment can be seen as naive and perhaps I am. I want to believe that Obama will before the end of his first year in office serving as President of our nation sever all ties with any and all mercenary contractors including but not limited to Blackwater/Xe.

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It's all the same
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Posted by: Erin on Aug 5, 2009 11:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
All of these contractor companies are nothing but MERCENARIES, plain and simple. Obama has employed a new one from his home state of Illinois......just mercenaries using the word "contactor" to make us believe that all is well. Well, all is not well and never will be as long as our government uses them, and Obama needs to get rid of every one of these companies and never employ another one. They are all nothing but hired killers and thugs and we will be begging for our lives when the government invents some catastrophe and turns them loose in our streets and lets them do as they please with us.

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2007 Prince was called to testify in the Senate/Arrogant
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Posted by: marletat on Aug 5, 2009 11:33 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
He was an arrogant bastard then but the Republican Senators fawned all over him. It was sickening. Just google Erik Prince testimony and you can see for yourself. His father is co-founder of Family Research Counsel(with deep and wide tentacles into Republicans including the Bushs). The Bush Administration gets scarier everyday either by stupidity or just plain conspirators.

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Blackwater? How 'bout ACORN?
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Posted by: SteveA on Aug 5, 2009 12:20 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We do need to know what the deal is with this murder story, and it is being investigated.

SO, when do we get to find out about the founders of ACORN, the major-league theft of funds associated with the founder or his brother, and how there seems to be a clearing-house for cash run out of an old house in New Orleans? I'd read whatever AlterNet could sniff out about that - but, of course, sometimes the truth hurts.

We now go to the clip of Jack Nicholson on the stand in A Few Good Men....

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» RE: Blackwater? How 'bout ACORN? Posted by: Benn_Miller

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What a joke..
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Posted by: xmvince on Aug 5, 2009 12:38 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Blackwater hiding info from the US? Really? I could have told you that years ago.

They rape, murder and steal from both Americans and non-Americans.

Get them the HELL out of here! Nothing worse than private military organizations that have more power than police officers, and no administration watching what they are doing.

When will the government learn? Must be a bunch of children running the country because no grown, mature, adult would ever let this Blackwater shit go on for so long without putting their foot down.

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» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: What a joke.. Posted by: JenniferBedingfield
» RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! Posted by: foreverhope
» No, I'm not wrong Posted by: foreverhope
» Elections Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: lections Posted by: Benn_Miller
» SWEET JESUS YOU ARE DENSE! Posted by: foreverhope
» You are crazy stupid Posted by: foreverhope
» Have you ever even voted? Posted by: foreverhope
» Oh Christ Posted by: foreverhope
» RE: Ah, well... Posted by: lightwing1
» Make no mistake Posted by: foreverhope

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I have a theory on our Troll situation
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Posted by: foreverhope on Aug 5, 2009 1:03 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I believe these are Paul supporters, nearly all of them. They claim Nadar, they want Paul.

Before the election Paul supporters were all over Alternet. After the election they seemingly disappeared. They were nasty and racist.

They didn't disappear. They are here.

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» RON PAUL! RON PAUL! RON PAUL! Posted by: foreverhope
» Ron Paul isn't too bad. Posted by: maxpayne

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A White Christian Who Hates Muslims????
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Posted by: rgoalierob on Aug 5, 2009 1:31 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Shocking!!!!
No, not really.
Our collective ignorance breeds these fools and makes them rich as well.

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Private Armies
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Posted by: melpol on Aug 5, 2009 1:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Private armies are known to be the cruelest. Governments use them because they follow no rules and can rape, rob,and pillage at will. This story has been repeated since the beginning of time. It will never be ended until the Lion lays down with the Lamb.

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"Innocent until proven guilty . . ."
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Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on Aug 5, 2009 1:53 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Unless it happens to be anyone associated with those allied with one's political opposition? How very "American!"

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