I haven't heard of Blackwater before reading this. But I looked into it, and damn... they're like a mini military. I can see how they would make the fight in Iraq personal. 4 of their contractors were killed and hung from a bridge Fallujah, which I do remember. This was one of the events that demonstrated how out of control Fallujah had become and our military cleared it out.
There seems to be some evidence that they carry their christian-right attitudes too far. I don't approve of making the war against Al Qaeda or Iraq a holy war. There's plenty of non-religious reasons to go over there and kick some ass. I think we should leave mercenaries out of the war. I think it was done because the job in Iraq was so big that hiring Blackwater was seen as one way to help solve the enormous problem of security in Iraq. But these guys are contractors which gives the US less say into how their operation is run.
As for the assassination program, it's against Al Qaeda and I don't have a problem with it. I don't know why it was hidden from congress. It didn't need to be, and that was a mistake.
I bet BO is keeping an eye on Blackwater bigtime. They could be a threat to BO's own civilian security force that he wants to create.
08-20-2009
Cheny
Hybrid Mode
