Yeah, I know we “knew” these things oh, three years ago or so. But this is why it makes a difference to have Democratic chairs of committees and hearings out in the bright light of day. Because then you know things from the Congressional Record and hear about them from the AP, not dirty fucking hippie bloggers. This piece from the Raleigh NC N&O/AP could be better with some copy editing, so I have taken the liberty of rearranging some paragraphs. The material is otherwise unchanged:
WASHINGTON — After numerous denials, the Pentagon has confirmed that a North Carolina company provided armed security guards in Iraq under a subcontract that was buried so deeply the government couldn’t find it.
The secretary of the Army on Tuesday wrote two Democratic lawmakers that the Blackwater USA contract was part of a huge military support operation by run by Halliburton subsidiary KBR.Vice President Dick Cheney ran Halliburton before he became vice president.
Would we have seen that sentence, that high up in the story, without a Democratic Congress? Kinda answers itself, don’t ya think? But to continue:
Several times last year, Pentagon officials told inquiring lawmakers they could find no evidence of the Blackwater contract. Blackwater, of Moyock, N.C., did not respond to several requests for comment.
No shit. The above is the lead as presented. They then get off on some quotes from various people before getting back to the important shit:
The discovery shows the dense world of Iraq contracting, where the main contractor hires subcontractors who then hire additional subcontractors. Each company tacks on a charge for overhead, a cost that works its way up to U.S. taxpayers.The hidden contract not only cost taxpayers money, but it might have been illegal. The Halliburton subsidiary’s main contract for military support services prohibited hiring subcontractors to provide armed security. That job is left to the U.S. military, unless the theater commander decides otherwise.
On Tuesday, Army Secretary Francis Harvey wrote Van Hollen and Waxman that on Jan. 30 the Army learned that ESS Support Services Worldwide, a dining facilities subcontractor under the KBR contract, hired Blackwater.
Okay, sorry about the wasted beverage and possible damage to your monitor and/or keyboard. They just learned this two weeks ago?? And the Battle of Fallujah, which was sparked by the death and hanging-from-bridges of Blackwater contractors, was how many fucking years ago? They thought those guys were, what, confused tourists?
Okay, now I’m getting steamed. Go read the rest of the story. If we do nothing else out of this particular set of Waxman hearings but put the Blackwater Praetorians out of business and their owners in jail cells next to Custer and Battles—to say nothing of tracking the money trail and how much of it wound up in pockets of leading members of the Anti-Democratic Party—well, it will be a good start anyway.
Front page
nice catch, xan
but i don’t think it’s really a matter of “learning about” this, so much as deciding to make it an issue. we must forever filter what we are told in the SCLM
, and i think that now that waxman has a little more power, he’s working on what has been sitting on his desk for too many long years.
The Business of Death
Good question: “Would we have seen that sentence, that high up in the story, without a Democratic Congress?” and the answer is getting more and more interesting.
Another question that keeps coming up: If Halliburton had simply taken over the government in 2001, would it have behaved any different from the Cheney/Bush administration?
Some people need to go to jail.
Some family fortunes need to be confiscated.
Some corporations need to be dismantled.
So, let’s hope that
So, let’s hope that Waxman is going to work his way back up the chain to show how much KBR took off the top, how much Haliburton took on top of that, and what the combined effect of this one illegal contract was on the cost of the war, the war profiteering of the contractors, and looking through them, on Dick Cheney’s “deferred payments” from Halliburton. Then, we have the basis for a grand jury and impeachment. The SOB’s involved in this deserve no less.
The Business of War
Giving free hand (invulnerability) to a company whose business is fighting wars (i.e. Blackwater, USA) can only lead to more war. If they shoot innocent civilians in a war zone (i.e. Iraq), the Iraqis are bound to escalate the war. This increases the need for more mercenaries like Blackwater. The spread of the disease (war) requires more treatment (Blackwater). Why would they want to bring peace and democracy to anywhere in the world when peace means going out of business. Search youtube for Dwight Eisenhower’s speech at the end of his presidency and listen to his warning about the military-industrial complex. He knew to warn us about Blackater 25-years before they existed.