The meaning of Blackwater USA

[MadArchitect]

Okay, so we haven't talked much on BookTalk about the shooting scandals associated with Blackwater USA, but I think that we ought to be giving it more consideration. What does all of this mean? Is it proper to draw general conclusions about the nature of private industry contracted to do military work? Or is there something specific to this particular company or this particular situation that has made things go so wrong?

Let's use this thread both for discussion and as a clearinghouse for links to factual information and professional opinion.

[Chris OConnor]

There is a really good book called Licensed to Kill all about Blackwater. I only read a few chapters, but it would be a book worth discussing in light of current problems with this company.

[YourVitruvianMan]

Being in the military I heard a few interesting things about Blackwater. As you probably know, most of the personnel working for these security companies are prior special forces.(Navy Seals, Green Berets etc etc..) The government had to start adding high bonuses for these special career fields due to so many getting out to work for companies like Blackwater. The reason? The money. I couldn't give you a figure, but I'm sure its quite hefty. Where am I going with this? Blackwater is making quite a bit of money off of special contracts with the government. They are supposed to be used primarily for security reasons. Bodyguards for certain Iraqi diplomats, providing convoys and the likes. The question simply comes down to is there foul play involved here? Is the government using companies like Blackwater for its dirty work? Trying not to get their hands dirty? It's hard to say. This past blow up is very concerning and is making people such as ourselves ask some very important questions. The unfortunate answer is we'll probably never know what really is going on behind the scenes.

[MadArchitect]

Thanks for joining in, Vitruvian. You might want to check out this thread, as it pertains to some of what you've said here.

[Chris OConnor]

I didn't think about it from that angle. It makes sense that the US government would employ contractors like Blackwater to do some of the dirty work. From what I've read though, most of what they do consists of helping diplomat A get to point B without insurgent C killing him.

[YourVitruvianMan]

From wikipedia:

"Blackwater is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors, providing a total of 987 contractors. Of the 987 provided, 744 are American citizens.[9][10] At least 90 percent of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts.[11] Missions conducted by Blackwater Security Consulting have raised significant controversy both through casualties suffered and inflicted by their employees.[12][13] Blackwater USA is currently contracted by the United States government to provide security services in the Iraq War.[1] The cost for each Blackwater guard in Iraq, $445,000 per year, has also come under fire."

1000 contractors x $500,000 salary = 500,000,000. Hmmm. You could argue its only Blackwater guards that are getting payed this. Yet, you have to factor in equipment and vehicles(including their helicopters), this is really sickening when you guesstimate how much Blackwater could have received.

[bradams]

Has anyone read Jeremy Scahill's book on Blackwater? I have it on hold at the library but it's a long waiting list at the moment. It might be a good one to discuss in future as it seems to have many interesting issues associated with it.
http://www.amazon.com/Blackwater-Rise-W ... 488&sr=1-1