Like the rest of the United States, media or otherwise, I had never heard about Blackwater Security until last week, when four of it's private contractors were killed in the Sunni Triangle. And again, like everyone else, I assumed that they were private contractors, hired to do the things that the army couldn't, like putting out oil fires or getting the electricity back up and running.
So it was very surprising when I flipped open the Post to find a story about Blackwater Security guards being the only people defending the government's base in Najaf (their headline: Private Guards Repel Attack on U.S. Headquarters). During all the rioting going on in Iraq over the weekend, several hundred armed Iraqis stormed the CPA's main government building in Najaf – and the only people who held them off were 1 marine and 8 Blackwater Security guards.
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Also, Blackwater "sent in its own helicopters amid an intense firefight to resupply its commandos with ammunition". Wow, that sounds like something the military should be doing, not hiring people to do. It's important to note that in the picture above, from the CPA, with the exception of the one marine in camos everyone else is one of those private contractors you hear about (evidently not putting out oil fires – notice how that one guy is wearing a collared work shirt with his assult rifle!!!)
What's the benefit to Bush of doing things this way? One is that he doesn't have to count these people as soliders – making the number of americans gunning away in Iraq less. The other? From the Post: "A Defense Department spokesman said that there were no military reports about the opening hours of the siege on CPA headquarters in Najaf because there were no military personnel on the scene.
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" So much for accountability and transparency.
The government, the military and the people they serve/protect will be able to get the reports on that seige from Blackwater headquarters the day after you can subpoena the secret herbs and spices from KFC.