Blackwater tried to bribe critical Iraqi officials with $1 million after 2007 shootings.
Blackwater tried to bribe critical Iraqi officials with $1 million after 2007 shootings.
On Sept. 16, 2007, a Blackwater convoy opened fire in Iraq’s crowded Nissor Square, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and wounding dozens more. The incident set off a backlash of criticism against the contractor, and earlier this year, Iraq said that it wouldn’t issue Blackwater a new operating license. Today, the New York Times reports that in 2007, top executives at Blackwater approved $1 million to bribe critical Iraqi officials into supporting the company, although it is unclear whether the money ever made it to the intended recipients:
Blackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law, created a deep rift inside the company, according to the former executives. [...]
The former Blackwater executives said it was not clear who proposed paying off Iraqi officials. But after Mr. Jackson, the former company president, approved the plan, the cash for the payoffs was taken from Amman and given to Rich Garner, then a top manager in Iraq, the former executives said. One of those executives said that officials in Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which is responsible for operating licenses, were the intended recipients.
Five Blackwater guards involved in the shooting now face federal manslaughter charges.
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Blackwater tried to bribe critical Iraqi officials with $1 million after 2007 shootings.
– - Blackwater (Xe), outsourcing American values for almost two decades.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:23 amIt will be interesting with the passage of time to discover how closely tied Bush and Cheney were/are to the management of Blackwater. Bribing public officials sounds like something directly out of their playbook.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:25 am– – Blackwater (Xe), outsourcing American values for almost two decades.
– - Ok, since 1997. Pfffft.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:27 amWhen we give work to contractors without a bidding process, and we give them carte blanche to spend as much money as they want, this is the sort of thing we get.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:29 amOne must remember, Blackwater, aka Xe, is a Christian Mercenary Army, so all is forgiven.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:29 amNothing like showing the world how a real US democracy works.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am“Onward Xe-tian soldiers, marching as to war,
November 11th, 2009 at 10:31 amwith the cross of Jesus, flying on before…”
Does anyone know when the use of private armies begain for the US, and what Constitutional justification was used (if any)?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:32 amWhat? No ThinkFast thread today? They usually warn us in the e-mails of the Progress Report. Oh, well. Off topic, but:
Happy Veterans Day to all the veterans in the TP community.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:32 amI want to thank each and every one of you for your service to our country.
In the courtroom, this is what is known as
“Consciousness of Guilt”.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:34 amDoes anyone know when the use of private armies begain for the US, and what Constitutional justification was used (if any)?
To my knowledge, there is no constitutional justification. Bush hired Blackwater as, effectively, his own private army. The Constitution clearly grants only the Congress the power to raise and support armies. Blackwater was hired illegally and, therefore, operated illegally. Since their hiring was never legal, the immunity they were given should also have been illegal. That’s just IMHO. I am not a lawyer.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:36 amFive Blackwater guards involved in the shooting now face federal manslaughter charges and
And?
And what?
Did O’Reilly get to Amanda before she could finish this sentence?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:36 amI really, really, really, really resent my tax dollars going to this band of Xian mercs.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:37 amBlackwater is an evangelical-owned company.
This is certainly not the sort of Christianity that I was taught.
This sort of religion-based violent stuff is sick and perverted.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:38 amWayne S says…That’s just IMHO. I am not a lawyer.
Yeah, but you’re one of the smartest, clearest thinkers around here.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:39 amThe first we’re really hearing of this; yet a couple of low-level staffers at an ACORN office engage in questionable (by comparison) hanky-panky at some random inner-city office, and that receives headline news and becomes the scourge of the Reich Wingnuts.
Where’s the priority here?
And a “Bravo Zulu” to my fellow vets out there.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:39 amI’m a private industry guy, but private armies scare the he11 out of me! That goes for both sides of the aisle. When I heard Obama talk about a civilian army during the campaign, that also sent chills up my spine.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:43 amI have serious reservations about hiring companies like Blackwater, but not for legal reasons. The outsourcing of support for our military is a very expensive operation and Congress should keep a close rein on these companies. In fact, it would be better if Congress would defund these companies and have the military take over these functions. These companies cost a great deal of money when the military could do these cheaper. These contracts are a goldmine for private companies and are costing the taxpayer more than what is reasonable. I think it is time for these private companies to go find real jobs.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:46 amMy understanding of the sleight of hand used to hire and arm these mercenaries is that they are technically supposed to be ‘guarding and providing security for’ US embassy personnel, thus freeing the Marines who have traditionally carried this duty for combat roles.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:47 amBriseadh na Faire says
Blackwater, aka Xe, is a Christian Mercenary Army,
I guess there is nothing you can’t do when you have God on your side.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:47 amI hate to sound like one of those old ‘back in my days’ codgers, but…
November 11th, 2009 at 10:48 amIn 1967 – 70 the Army was self sufficient. It took a million soldiers to field a combat force of 150,000 but…we were self sufficient. We did our own cooking, transport, and oh, yes, cigarette butt policing…
These people scare me to death. Religious extremists with guns and advance weaponry…?
Heh. Sound familiar?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:50 amAck – should be “advanced weaponry”…
I need coffee!!
November 11th, 2009 at 10:51 amTo my knowledge, there is no constitutional justification. Bush hired Blackwater as, effectively, his own private army. The Constitution clearly grants only the Congress the power to raise and support armies. Blackwater was hired illegally and, therefore, operated illegally. Since their hiring was never legal, the immunity they were given should also have been illegal. That’s just IMHO. I am not a lawyer.
Ah, but Congress gave Bush the money to hire Blackwater, thus Congress “raised and supported” this army.
They didn’t seek immunity under U.S. laws (I believe they had that already). The bribes were to get immunity from prosecution under Iraqi laws. It would be up to an Iraqi Court to determine whether such immunity was valid. So, the question is, how much does it cost to bribe Iraqi judges these days?
November 11th, 2009 at 10:52 amBlackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law,
No, it’s not illegal, the lobbyists do it every single day.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:53 amIt’s much more like S.O.P. under American law.
3 former Halliburton / KBR employees from North Dakota are suing for damages incurred while employed by these corporations.
Assigned duty was manning the refuse burning pile. According to the suit, they spent many days around these fires while human bodies, medical waste & toxic chemicals were ignited & burned.
1 of the 3 have cancer & the other 2 are experiencing serious medical issues.
Expect this to hit that damn liberal media in 2-30 years…
November 11th, 2009 at 10:57 amWhen will the repiggies turn these psychopaths loose on American “undesirables” here at home?
There is nothing quite a like a religiously based moral crusade to turn into a horrifying bloodbath.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:58 amDumbasses, didn’t they know that a measly million wouldn’t be close to enough to bribe all the Iraqi officials? They’d need at least another pallet of cash.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:01 amThank You, Dave N, with a “Bravo Zulu” and a “Bravo X-ray” from a Navy vet in the Sunshine State.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:02 amWhat Blackwater/Xe did is illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans bribes to foreign officials.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:05 amErik Prince and his “christian” values….greed, bribery and hatred. Congratulations blackwater.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:07 amwell, at least we know what the value of life is from the born again bible-beaters from “the party of life” over at blackwater. roughly 100 grand a head.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:09 amNot only is it an egregious abuse of justice and power but…
For a company that makes billions, $1m seems like an insulting small amount for a bribe.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:09 am26. Jim44
Voted you down before I did a search on the source. Scahill’s spot on.
Sorry.
But, post a source next time, please.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:13 amPrivate “Security” in Israel
November 11th, 2009 at 11:13 am—-
?
hmmm,
The shortage of troops to fight in the illegal invasion/occupation of Iraq required Bush to hire his own army of christian soldiers. The mercenary army was headquartered in Texas, coincidentally, in Bush’s home state and lead by a christian fundamentalist. They were given carte blanche and took every advantage of that.
Now we are using this army of mercenaries as bodyguards and for other tasks, because there aren’t enough military to do everything, as has been our history until 2001.
Is that right?
Did Bush get congressional authorization to employ mercenaries? I don’t remember that he did. They are likely illegal, but they are in so deep now, know so many secrets, have committed so many crimes in our name, that if they are brought to answer all the charges, there will be many in government of both parties who will be brought down with them, including Bush and Cheney.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:16 amDave N says:
Where’s the priority here?
Where it’s always been: the Rs top priority is making Ds look bad. ACORN is associated with Ds, therefore the little molehill becomes a threat to the very foundation of our country. Blackwater is associated with Rs, so the disgusting corruption is ignored by media that gladly accept the false label of ‘liberal’.
Rs priority stood out most when they opposed the Franken bill. What should have been a no-brainer, unanimous vote to protect victims became protecting corp interests for Rs.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:17 amI had to look up Bravo Zulu and Bravo Xray (not being a navy guy). But, yes, job well done, all you vets!
November 11th, 2009 at 11:17 amIm guessing it was taxpayer money that would be used to bribe Iraqi officials.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:19 amValue of one Iraqi life = 1 mill / 17 = approx $ 58,000.
And wasn’t it Blackwater who fashioned themselves as some sort of new Crusade / Knights Templar ? Using radio identifications out of the Knights ? etc. ?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:19 amThe link Jim44 should’ve included:
http://www.alternet.org/world/134594/obama%27s_blackwater_chicago_mercenary_firm_gets_millions_for_private_%22security%22_in_israel_and_iraq_/
November 11th, 2009 at 11:19 amRighties are so outraged that their federal dollars not be spent on women’s reproductive health care (birth control and abortion), but what about those who object to our federal dollars being spent on our mercenaries paying hush money and bribes, killing citizens of other countries indiscriminately, and illegally invading the country in the first place?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:20 amRepugs don’t seem to think that is outrageous — only keeping women down is what is important to them.
Egregious offenses that provide money for repugs and their cronies are out of their realm of morality.
And our government still employs Blackwater/Xi….why?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:22 amIs it just me or does anybody else find jim44 to be one of the dumbest trolls of all time?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:23 amcontractors in a war zone is a crime. maybe not technically, but these guys are death squads. nothing more.
and we’re paying for it.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:24 amThey must have been surprised at the failed bribe attempt in Iraq. Blackwater had no problem finding politicians to prostitute themselves in this country.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:25 amRUCerious says:
I hate to sound like one of those old ‘back in my days’ codgers, but…
November 11th, 2009 at 11:26 amIn 1967 – 70 the Army was self sufficient. It took a million soldiers to field a combat force of 150,000 but…we were self sufficient. We did our own cooking, transport, and oh, yes, cigarette butt policing…
————————————————————-
But there is no profit to made this way…….
Blackwater represents the distilled essence of “free market” fanatics. Privatize everything in sight, from prisons to police to the military. Leave no accountability and reap massive profits while soaking up millions in taxpayer money.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:28 amIm not so surprised at this given how corrupt DC and its cronys are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tangent
http://counterpunch.org/
Those who respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made.
–Mark Twain.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:28 amAnd god help you if you wander into a legislative session on the regulation of pork products.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:32 am:-D
how much more can be written and said to expose Blackwater for who and what they are?
and yet they continue to go about their business, all the while collecting millions of our tax dollars.
wonder why the teabaggers aren’t complaining about that?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:33 amAnd god help you if you wander into a legislative session on the regulation of pork products.
:-D
Heh
November 11th, 2009 at 11:39 amdid Rich Garner get reciepts from the Iraqi recipients?
was he accompanied by a Blackwater/Xe accountant to make sure the money went where it was supposed to go?
has anyone checked Mr. Garner’s own accounts and transactions?
a mil? can someone put that in context? does this mean Iraqis are cheap or expensive? how much blood money should it take to minimize a murder case in Iraq?
just askin’, yanno…
November 11th, 2009 at 11:41 amTriple Canopy, founded by veterans of the US special force’s Delta unit…
November 11th, 2009 at 11:45 amManslaughter? Surely this could all be handled by binding arbitration?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:45 amjim44, is that you another joe?
You sure seem determined to make dems look just like reps.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:54 amLOL, is anyone actually surprised by this? Everyone knows blackwater consists of a bunch of corrupt washouts and wannabes!
Jesse
November 11th, 2009 at 11:58 amUltimate Privacy
Here,jimmy, is “Obama’s” connection. 2005. Back then he was telling Bush/Cheney how to run things.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:01 pmGood catch Fred. Another Joe, alejandro, StateoftheDivision, and about 10 other names. The right wing hack trying to pass as the super-progressive.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:04 pmjim voted us down Shayne. Surprised?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:22 pmIf a future investigation reveals an operational connection between Xe and C-Street/The Family, I will not be at all surprised.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pmIs Rich Garner related to Gen. Jay Garner?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:37 pmJIm44 at about 11:00: “obamas blackwater
Obama’s Blackwater? Chicago Mercenary Firm Gets Millions for Private “Security” in Israel and Iraq”
Jim44 at 11:50 regarding the same mercenary group:
“Must be why Bush hired them.”
Get help, Jim. Does your current health care insurance cover mental illness?
November 11th, 2009 at 1:19 pmWho’s jesse? Is that private? You folks blow as hard as the last time….
November 11th, 2009 at 1:39 pmgiff….
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/outsourcing_blame.php Info on outsourcing the military
Outsourcing in recent times got started under Bush Sr., happened under Clinton to some extent and really took off under Bush Jr. and Cheney, which benefited Haliburton (Cheney’s old company) and others a great deal. High profits, no accountability.
Of course it happened during the Vietnam War also. But today it seems to be out of control and very, very costly.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:31 pmThis blackwater thing is just about the worst. The bushies ruined everything.
Cheney will not remember any of this.
Cheney does not recall.
chump
November 11th, 2009 at 5:25 pmAnd that is a SUPRISE????! I womder how much they “bribed” Bushco for all they got from OUR government!
November 12th, 2009 at 8:23 am