iiss dot org publicationsRemotely piloted aircraft - or drones - in operation at Creech USAF base in Nevada (unknown at this time which of these particularly are connected to the Blackwater operations)
US Drone -- Reuters News Service Photo
Here are PLENTY of reasons to say NO to Blackwater in any disquise -operating ANY vehicle, helicopter, drone - any moving item - manned or unmanned - or even any Blackwater employee walking on foot:
According to a New York Times report, the Blackwater private security firm (now known as Xe) has taken up a role in America’s most important and contentious counterterrorism program: the use of unmanned drones to kill (supposed) militant leaders.
Dawn.com Leading Pakistani Newspaper
here
C.I.A. Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones:
WASHINGTON — From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees.
The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft ...SNIP...
In interviews on Thursday, current and former government officials provided new details about Blackwater’s association with the assassination program, which began in 2004 not long after Porter J. Goss took over at the C.I.A. The officials said that the spy agency did not dispatch the Blackwater executives with a “license to kill.” Instead, it ordered the contractors to begin collecting information on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda’s leaders, carry out surveillance and train for possible missions. CONTINUED...
here
Blackwater’s Unwritten Death Contract By Ray McGovern, outspoken former CIA analyst who points out the behind the scenes supposed "legal" and rampant "Nuremberg Defense" justifications of US war crimes and related shenanigans
here
Khalid Mohammed/Associated Press Blackwater security contractors flew over Baghdad in 2007. For years, Blackwater played a significant role in the Iraq operation.
Earlier Breaking Article and Comments: New York Times here For years, Blackwater played a significant role in the Iraq operation. COMMENTS: here
Leading Expert on Blackwater Jeremy Scahill's latest with alarming quotes
here
Another by Scahill
here
Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince
In Explosive Allegations, Ex-Employees Link Blackwater Founder to Murder, Threats
- In sworn statements, two ex-employees claim Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince, murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. One also charged Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.” We speak with investigative journalist and bestselling author Jeremy Scahill, who broke the story for The Nation magazine. More on Blackwater's more than questionable history in Democracy Now!
here
NORTH CAROLINA News & Observer August 21, 2009 (where Blackwater has been based) Watch for comments here by people who know of this corrupt group - See Box and watch for future Columns and related articles here
Feds hired Blackwater to hit Qaida brass -- Related Breaking News
here
Erik Prince and the last crusade The Economist
here
REFERENCE: The Drones of War May 2009
here
One Apt Commentary on US involvement:
Reality Is Its Own Caricature for U.S. in Afghanistan and Pakistan
here
Watch for Blackwater officials and contractors in disquise - using other names and titles - read their history. US and Pakistani citizens and concerned legislators/leaders have the right and responsibility to act NOW! This is the time to say NO! en large and growing numbers. Much recent history and many records support saying NO! to Blackwater - a large contributor to War Crimes USA. The current and former administration of the US and all who cooperate with these crimes must be stopped NOW!
Final note: Why would Pakistan ask US military and possibly therefore Blackwater for drone technology known to be counter-productive - inaccurate to kill an estimated 9 civilians for every 1 so-called militant and to lose the hearts and minds of the people?
How might we also apply the following to US involvement in Pakistan?
ReplyDelete========
Friends Committee on National Legislation - A Quaker Lobby in the Public Interest
***Take Action: Astound Your Friends and Neighbors with Hard Evidence that "War is Not the Answer"***
WELCOME TO FCNL'S GREATER MIDDLE EAST DIPLOMACY UPDATE FOR AUGUST 21, 2009
"To put it simply, all key issues in the Middle East… are inextricably linked." Iraq Study Group, December 2006
**Afghanistan: U.S. Public Grows Skeptical of Afghan War as Further Troop Increases Hinted**
Afghans went to the polls yesterday amid growing skepticism in the United States about the war and reports that experts advising U.S. commander Stanley McChrystal say 45,000 more U.S. troops are needed in Afghanistan.
A poll taken this week showed that, while 60 percent of people in the United States support President Barack Obama's handling of Afghanistan, for the first time a majority, 51 percent, say the war was not worth fighting. Only 24 percent in the Washington Post-ABC News poll think U.S. troops in Afghanistan should be increased, while 45 percent think U.S. troops should be drawn down. http://action.fcnl.org/r/84350/58021/0
Washington-based security analyst Anthony Cordesman, one of several outside experts appointed by Gen. McChrystal to review the U.S. posture in Afghanistan, has said that this country might need to send up to 45,000 additional troops to suppress the Taliban insurgency. Cordesman, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, noted that the Taliban have expanded their presence from some 30 of Afghanistan's 364 administrative districts in 2003 to 160 districts at the end of 2008.
http://action.fcnl.org/r/84351/58021/
Reports of this recommendation have prompted Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other Pentagon spokespersons to say that the review scheduled for release later this month or next will not include a specific request for more troops. They have, however, left open the possibility that a request for additional troops could follow.
Public attitudes toward troop levels will greatly influence the debate on Afghanistan policy when Congress returns to Washington in September. "It is too early to know what Congress would do" if the administration moves to authorize another troop increase," Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Carl Levin (MI) said last Sunday. "It depends on what the facts and the arguments are. It depends what our commanders in the field say. It depends also I think in part what our NATO allies are willing to do." http://action.fcnl.org/r/84352/58021/0 .
Russ Feingold (WI), meanwhile, has said he is "likely to oppose" any further U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan. "I don't think the case has been effectively made for continuing to send more and more troops into Afghanistan," Feingold said in one of the first statements by a senator indicating opposition to a further troop increase. http://action.fcnl.org/r/84353/58021/0