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    Repiglican Roast

    A spirited discussion of public policy and current issues

    Name:
    Location: The mouth of being

    I'm furious about my squandered nation.

    Thursday, January 17, 2008

    This is called Destroying Evidence

    Blackwater Worldwide repaired and repainted its trucks immediately after a deadly September shooting in Baghdad, making it difficult to determine whether enemy gunfire provoked the attack, according to people familiar with the government's investigation of the incident.

    Damage to the vehicles in the convoy has been held up by Blackwater as proof that its security guards were defending themselves against an insurgent ambush when they fired into a busy intersection, leaving 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

    U.S. military investigators initially found "no enemy activity involved" and the Iraqi government concluded the shootings were unprovoked.

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    Thursday, November 08, 2007

    How Blackwater Sniper Fire Felled 3 Iraqi Guards on Feb 7

    BAGHDAD -- Last Feb. 7, a sniper employed by Blackwater USA, the private security company, opened fire from the roof of the Iraqi Justice Ministry. The bullet tore through the head of a 23-year-old guard for the state-funded Iraqi Media Network, who was standing on a balcony across an open traffic circle. Another guard rushed to his colleague's side and was fatally shot in the neck. A third guard was found dead more than an hour later on the same balcony.

    Eight people who responded to the shootings -- including media network and Justice Ministry guards and an Iraqi army commander -- and five network officials in the compound said none of the slain guards had fired on the Justice Ministry, where a U.S. diplomat was in a meeting. An Iraqi police report described the shootings as "an act of terrorism" and said Blackwater "caused the incident." The media network concluded that the guards were killed "without any provocation."


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    Wednesday, November 07, 2007

    State Department wants ANOTHER 1.5 billion dollars for private mercenary companies who are destroying the military

    [...]

    The bid to boost security spending by one-third in 2008 comes as the department confronts mounting criticism over problems with construction of a massive new embassy in Baghdad, heavy-handed tactics by private security guards and a plan to force U.S. diplomats to serve in Iraq.

    Lawmakers who control the flow of money are questioning the department's appetite for more. Over $500 million of the proposed 2008 spending would go to three private security firms, including Blackwater Worldwide, which has been denounced since a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad left 17 Iraqis dead.

    [...]

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