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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Apr 2, 2007 13:14:40 GMT -6
Private contractors have now become one of the biggest threats to American liberty and the rule of law. Private contractors, who are accountable to no one, are essentially Bush's own Brown Shirts. Their shear number makes them of great concern. Blackwater is the biggest "private contractor" provider of mercenaries in Iraq. According to one source, the Washington Post estimates there are 100,000 private contractors in Iraq. Estimates of how much they are paid vary, from $700/day to $100,000 per year. These numbers would mean a cost to American taxpayers of $10-25 billion/year (or more). Numerous articles have been written on the subject. Blackwater boasts that it provides "elite" forces for hire. As most have heard, these private soldiers are not subject to normal military laws and regulations, nor to any sovereign nation's laws. Unlike normal U.S. citizens, it is apparently legal for Blackwater to purchase and own automatic weapons. There are now several accounts of these private soldiers being deployed within the United States, the most notable case being in New Orleans following Katrina. Below is a link to an archived post on DU by poster Carbondate titled America's Private Army. Other links to information on Blackwater (and other contractors) can be found at: Inside America's Private ArmyWarriors for Hire
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Apr 2, 2007 20:01:28 GMT -6
Here are some more links to articles on Blackwater. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army-Part IBlackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army-Part IIA poster a Democratic Underground also likened Blackwater to the early Freikorps movement in Nazi Germany, even before the brownshirts were created: " like the Freikorps, privately raised armies that put down communists during/after WWI. The Freikorps were the direct precursor to the Nazi S.A. "brownshirt" organization (the NSDAP did not yet exist at the time of the Freikorps). In fact the use of the swastika in the nascent fascist movement in Germany originated with a particular Freikorps unit, the Erhardt Brigade. During the latter days of WWI, the Freikorps was recruited from among German regular army units to put down Socialist/Communist dissent and revolt (among citizens and military alike) against the wartime Imperial government. After the war, the official size of the German Army was limited by the Treaty of Versailles, and the Freikorps continued in expanded form as a "Black Army" (similar echoes heard in Black Water), in otherwords an armed forces auxiliary, or para-military, that was "off the books", as far as the Entente powers France, Britain and the USA were concerned. It also didn't answer to elected German authority, but instead obeyed officers from the great war and those who rose up among its ranks like Ernst Rohm, future leader of the S.A....
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jun 24, 2007 12:27:33 GMT -6
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Post by xtra on Jun 24, 2007 19:35:43 GMT -6
I read that nobody really knows how many private mercenaries are in the Middle East. They say between 80,000 to 300,000 and that they make 4,000 a day with military experiance and 1,000 without.
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jun 24, 2007 21:39:38 GMT -6
The number does seem pretty secretive. The last estimate I heard was 125,000 mercenaries.
It would really be interesting to see how much these mercenaries cost U.S. taxpayers per year. If they're making $1000-$4000/day their cost is astronomical. The annual cost of these mercenaries alone would be in the billions.
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Post by Ken on Jun 26, 2007 10:41:53 GMT -6
its not secretive. Its just that the administration has no idea how many there actually are. after all its just money and its outsourcing the war effort. I dont know how much the american people will put up with. If I were to ask someone here who blackwater security was they wouldnt know. I hear we used them in somalia too.
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jun 26, 2007 16:02:43 GMT -6
its not secretive. Its just that the administration has no idea how many there actually are. after all its just money and its outsourcing the war effort. It may well be true that this administration doesn't know how many there are. "Not knowing" something is characteristic of this administration, especially for the great 'decider' himself.
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