posted
This is why we had no business 'contracting" out parts of the war- this islike Fukushima and Chenrobyl, once you cross a certain line? It never goes away:
Lawmakers Ask Hillary Clinton to Explain Erik Prince's Mercenaries in the UAE Jeremy Scahill on May 23, 2011 - 6:43 PM ET
Five members of Congress have called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to clarify if Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s recently disclosed deal to provide a small mercenary army to the United Arab Emirates complies with US law and export regulations. “We question whether private US citizens should be involved in recruiting and assembling forces, as well as providing military training and support to foreign governments and militaries,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Representative Jan Schakowsky, a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. “The implications of allowing a US citizen to assemble a foreign legion in any foreign country, and especially in a combustible region like the Middle East, are serious and wide-ranging.”
On May 14, the New York Times revealed that Prince was leading an effort to build an army of mercs 800 strong—including scores from Colombia—in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They would be trained by US, European and South African special forces veterans. Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, also known as R2, was bankrolled to the tune of $529 million from “the oil-soaked sheikdom,” according to the Times, adding that Prince was “hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi” Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
why is htis any differnt form say dealing in stingers and AK-47's?
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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i have a lot of respect for spec op people... unfortuantley, i think balckwater pulled a certain set of people out of our military that we are eventually going to miss rather badly... can't really blame a guy for wanting to get paid 100 grand a month instead of 100 grand year tho... those figures are not exact, but darn close from what i've been able to tell....
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by glassman: i have a lot of respect for spec op people... unfortuantley, i think balckwater pulled a certain set of people out of our military that we are eventually going to miss rather badly... can't really blame a guy for wanting to get paid 100 grand a month instead of 100 grand year tho... those figures are not exact, but darn close from what i've been able to tell....
I highly doubt it is 100 grand a MONTH. I talked to them once before I got out since all the guys in my unit fit the qualifications. At the time we knew about them but not the political stuff. The pay was $865 a day, and we would have been supplied with body armor, a sidearm, an m-4, and a shotgun. Blackwater didnt appeal to me like Triple Canopy did.
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cash, when i lived in Chesapeake Va? i had 28 acres and only three next door neighbors. one was aretired fast attack nuke sub captain, one was the pilot of Marine One for GH Bush and theother was a seal... i worked at eh base just down the street that was the marine anti-terrorist training center. these guysa re my frinds, they do get 3 grand perday for the hard work... they don't work 12 months per year tho... the guys that fisrst ran the armory down there? i used to run a turkey shoot with them.... 1 dollar a shot and you get 5 to ten guys shooting so it comes out to 5- 10 dollars tot eh guy closest to the mark... they would never let me use my own gun after i took all their money a few times, and i would still win shooting theirs after i got the windage figgered out... 3 grand per day i know it for fact and hell no that isn;t to drive a truck
one more thing? this was pre-9-11 by just a little, and alot of them were leaving anyway cuz they were being forced to sign papers swearing that they would not follow posse comitatus rules. whch th enavy was never signed onto anyway.. think about that for a few minutes...
i left Va to live in CA for a few years and even thoe we lived on a university campus? my wife and i would always go down to hang at eh bars around 29 palms or barstow... much better folks.
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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Im not saying a lot more is possible. Depends on your skill level and quals.
-------------------- It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so. Posts: 6949 | Registered: Apr 2004
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BTW? don't and never did know Prince... i dunno whjere he came from, but he wasn't one of the locals in teh great Dismal swamp when i lived there.. he could have been but he didn't hang it in the woods with us rednecks.
they called it blackwater cuz o'the Northwest River, and the swampwater which was my backyard, most of my land only 1 foot above sea level which was great for controlling the neighbors:
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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hmmmm.... maybe i got out of there just in time i wouldn't want to be caught up in thsi mess, and i doubt i would have been able to say no to good moeny playing with good toys. even tho i was injured and cannot carry an 80 pound pack, i do like to shoot:
A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."
In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety. In a separate sworn statement, the former US marine who worked for Blackwater in Iraq alleges that he has "learned from my Blackwater colleagues and former colleagues that one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information about Erik Prince and Blackwater have been killed in suspicious circumstances." Identified as "John Doe #1," he says he "joined Blackwater and deployed to Iraq to guard State Department and other American government personnel." It is not clear if Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is "scheduled to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq." Like Doe #2, he states that he fears "violence" against him for "submitting this Declaration." No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provide
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by glassman: hmmmm.... maybe i got out of there just in time i wouldn't want to be caught up in thsi mess, and i doubt i would have been able to say no to good moeny playing with good toys. even tho i was injured and cannot carry an 80 pound pack, i do like to shoot:
A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."
In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety. In a separate sworn statement, the former US marine who worked for Blackwater in Iraq alleges that he has "learned from my Blackwater colleagues and former colleagues that one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information about Erik Prince and Blackwater have been killed in suspicious circumstances." Identified as "John Doe #1," he says he "joined Blackwater and deployed to Iraq to guard State Department and other American government personnel." It is not clear if Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is "scheduled to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq." Like Doe #2, he states that he fears "violence" against him for "submitting this Declaration." No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provide
I think you were safe glassman. Don't think they are looking for aged Navy gunners.
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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yeah, i know i wasn't going to be in ops, way too old for that at 40. but there are other jobs associated with it. i've always had real knack for finding things and peoples... just like cut-n-pasting for here i looke d up the last sale price of my old place and i want to puke... the guy i sold to made a killing....
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