« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Internal Review of Blackwater Prompted Firm to Leave Lobbying Assoc.
It didn't seem to make much sense when Blackwater announced it was withdrawing from the International Peace Operations Association, a lobbying and public-relations firm for private military companies. After all, the firm was under public scrutiny like never before after its guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians on September 16, igniting an international furor.
But as much as Blackwater might have wanted some PR help, it appears what it wanted more was for IPOA to mind its own business.
This morning, the lobby group released its first statement on Blackwater's departure. On Monday, it opened a "review" into whether Blackwater was following the code of conduct for IPOA members. That code emphasizes "human rights, corporate ethics, International Humanitarian Law, transparency, accountability, and responsibility and professionalism in relationships with employees, clients, and partner companies." Two days later, Blackwater quit the group.
Here's the statement in full:
We have received notification from Blackwater USA that they are formally withdrawing from the membership of the International Peace Operations Association, effective October 10, 2007.Blackwater USA joined IPOA in August 2004 and was a member in good standing.
In recent weeks, IPOA was actively engaged with senior management at Blackwater USA, both through our Standards Committee and our Executive Committee, to ensure that they were fully compliant with the IPOA Code of Conduct. On October 8, 2007 the IPOA Executive Committee authorized the Standards Committee to initiate an independent review process of Blackwater USA to ascertain whether Blackwater USA's processes and procedures were fully sufficient to ensure compliance with the IPOA Code of Conduct.
All IPOA member companies are required to follow the IPOA Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is a set of ethical and professional guidelines for companies in the peace and stability operations industry. The Code stresses human rights, corporate ethics, International Humanitarian Law, transparency, accountability, and responsibility and professionalism in relationships with employees, clients, and partner companies.
Josh
Zachary
There's a post at Thinkprogress about another mercenary outfit, employed by State, that is under investigation for overbilling the government. The original article is from the Houston Chronicle.
Here's the part that caused my jaw to drop:
"The American security official said agents from the private security firm Blackwater USA raided USPI's Kabul office last month and seized computers and office files."
Blackwater conducts raids on its competitors' offices?
I can only think the reporters left out the critical bit of information that they conducted this raid at the behest of the US Embassy.
Thoughts?
October 12, 2007 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wasn't there also two prison breaks in Iraq by mercenary outfits? I think one was by BW, both were busting corrupt jailed officials. Wild wild west with dangerous hired guns. Badges? We don't...
The point being, I don't recall any American authorization of jailbreaks, unless it was Fox entertainment.
October 12, 2007 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are these guys really mercenaries? When I heard about the extensive Republican connections and Prince's staunch support of of the party, I wondered if a better term would be paramilitaries, because it's like the GOP has its own small army.
October 12, 2007 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess we know who the GOP will be using to "secure" America when the President decides to cancel the 2008 election and stay in power. Sadly not as crazy sounding as it should be.
October 12, 2007 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The IPOA doesn't really understand what its role is supposed to be, does it?
October 12, 2007 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mercenary PR front group loses key member. That's the headline.
That the mainstream media didn't laugh spokespeople from the "International Peace Operations Association" off the sound stage speaks to how bad things are on the corporate news front.
I guess even the mafia will kick you out if you steal.
October 12, 2007 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
. . . From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:
War is Peace . . .
George Orwell, 1984
c. 1949 Harcourt, Inc.
October 12, 2007 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Due vigilance after the fact? Again?
October 12, 2007 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric Ferguson @ October 12, 2007 2:50 PM:
Are these guys really mercenaries?
According to outcome of their lawsuit against radio personality Randi Rhodes, no . . . AND they will enthusiasitcally sue you for $10 million just to prove it.
October 12, 2007 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does Blackwater resigning cancel the investigation? Or does it continue since the time in question is when Blackwater was a member?
October 12, 2007 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/NEWS06/71011041/-1/PRINT
A lawsuit was filed 10/11/07 against the private military contractor Blackwater for its alleged role in a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that ended in several Iraqi deaths.
A team of attorneys, including Shereef Akeel of Birmingham, filed the suit in Washington D.C., claiming that the company promoted a culture of violence that led to the deaths.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.
--------------------
Reggie Walton, why does that name ring a bell?
October 12, 2007 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Private armies are the byproduct of having a military-industrial complex, a defense industry that receives hundreds of billions of dollars a year and enlists hundreds of thousands of troops. If we didn't have all these former soldiers looking for excitement and good pay and entire industries making money from warfare, private armies would have a much more difficult time expanding. Further, if we didn't stretch our military so thin, with Iraq, Afghanistan, and security promises all over the globe, private armies would not have such a lucrative market. The fact that the U.S. needs these private armies probably acts as an incentive to intentionally look the other way when these companies commit crimes or abuse internationally acknowledged ways of fairly treating people.
Its time to make these companies accountable, that our government realizes that Blackwater and its cousins are ambassadors of the Western world whose actions can help or hurt the ideological appeal of rabid fundamentalism and Western moderation. Ideally, I would want the International Criminal Court to oversee these private armies, instead of the State Department, since their "workers" can come from multiple countries. I think its also time for the United States to rethink the notion of a continual standing army, our policy since World War Two that may make the world safer yet certainly has caused many deaths and instabilities. The standing army is now spawning privately-owned children who apparently believe that no one will take them to serious account. Until the status quo changes, they are right.
October 12, 2007 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi2u, After JFK read "Seven Days in May", an aide asked him, "Could it happen here?" and the President answered "Yes it could." Recall that it was a U.S. Marine Colonel who discovered the potential coup & saved our secular, Democratic Constitutional Republic from a Fascist military dictatorship.
But what about the "next time?" The rise of private armies, like the black-shirted legions of BLACKWATER, raise serious questions like:1. The Federal Government delegating the use of force to PRIVATE-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS,2. Taxpayer's billions paying for a private army, which has close political ties to a GOP "family", 3. And this very same GOP "family" has in turn very close connections to Right-wing Fundamentalist Christians.
Here is a near perfect example of the growing dangers of the MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-RELIGIOUS COMPLEX of 2007.
Each day it becomes ever more clear that "It CAN Happen Here: A Fascist Christian America"-- imposed by private armies, supported by the American taxpayer's billions & true believers in a "Christian Nation."
Why doesn't the Democratic Congress demand the NATIONALITY of each of the 44,000 armed mercenaries of this new AMERICAN FOREIGN LEGION? Very worried in Pennsylvania, George E. Lowe
October 13, 2007 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm getting really sick of Eric Blackwater's studied expression and that perfect little waterfall of hair. Frankly, the guy is way gay in my book. Nothing wrong with gay, mind you, but something tells me Little Erik isn't in touch with his true self.
October 13, 2007 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK: Report after report comes out indicating that Blackwater was not fired upon the day they killed 17 in the Nisour Square indicent. Now I read that Blackwater was notified that they are being investigated for war crimes. In my mind, I see this parallel: The administration launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 without being fired upon, killing tens of thousands. When does the war crimes investigation of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfel/Rice begin?
October 14, 2007 8:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Draft all blackwater personnel,
pay them military pay rates, and
subject them to military code of
conduct.
Why aren't the Democrats calling
for an end to private armies?
October 14, 2007 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Solution to eliminating these clowns:
Increase the size of entities like AFOSI (Air Force Office of Special INvestigations) and give one to each branch of the US Militray. They have protective service details comprosed of enlisted personnel (and they are all credentialed law enforcemnt officers too-- from the same place that the FBI, DEA, etc get their training from - the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) that routinely protect dignataries and other valuable principles.. and best part of all they are enlisted and subject to the UCMJ!
Duh.
They don't wear uniforms on the PSD teams and their ranks are protected, so they appear to be joe civilian (carrying a gun and a military ID card) like the blackwater types. Hell, you can even dress them like the Blackwater types if you want.
October 14, 2007 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Increase the size of entities like AFOSI (Air Force Office of Special INvestigations) and give one to each branch of the US Militray."
Ya, I bet their just fucking itching to go!
October 14, 2007 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Blackwater is planning on forming it's own air force. They will be acquiring light combat aircraft from Brazil.
Look to the skys.
October 14, 2007 11:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wars of choice, including the "humanitarian interventions" of the 1990s beloved of the liberal hawks, are what gave these private armies their start. Custer Battles and several of the other merc squads of today began by supporting relief operations.
This is their preferred cover, and the inspiration for the IPOA's founder Doug Brooks. A fine, high-minded sheen of benevolence is very useful for a trade association's PR and lobbying work. Read
David Phinney's account of the formation and internal politics of the IPOA, from November 2005:
http://www.theroughcut.net/Articles/article6_recent.html
Obviously, if IPOA were anything other than a pretty front, they'd have been investigating Blackwater two years ago. There has been a steady stream of incidents between BW and the Iraqi population, BW and the U.S. military, and BW and other merc outfits.
October 15, 2007 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the heads-up on that story, chisholm! The AP story that includes the raid by Blackwater ops on the HQ of another merc firm is here:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5207018.html
October 15, 2007 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink