Why did Obama just extend a contract to Blackwater?

[Carol]

link (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=latest_threads)

Oh, NO!! It's Blackwater!


sellitman (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:43 PM
Original message
Why did Obama just extend a contract to Blackwater?
New contract for mercenaries
Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, reveals that Blackwater is continuing to receive government contracts, despite disturbing new allegations about its founder.

August 11, 2009


Blackwater's heavily armed security forces
JUST DAYS before two former Blackwater employees alleged in sworn statements filed in federal court that the company's owner, Erik Prince, "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," the Obama administration extended a contract with Blackwater for more than $20 million for "security services" in Iraq, according to federal contract data obtained by The Nation.


http://tinyurl.com/my3qxv

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This isn't the change I voted for. This group is an ugly remnant of Bushco that needs to be put out of business.
Hmmm. One would think they'd have more to say considering all they said when Blackwater received contracts when Bush was President. They were actually vile then.
OmmmSweetOmmm (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:44 PM
Response to Original message
1. Why did he after all the information that has been coming out about BW over the last few years?
Recommended.

spanone (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:45 PM
Response to Original message
2. i imagine the military industrial complex has him by the balls
they are probably so imbedded in the function of iraqi & afghanistan wars he can't do squat....imho Nope. Nope. Nope. It couldn't be because Obama agreed with it an approved it. (They said Bush did, but now they can rationalize that Obama didn't.)
sellitman (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. Who is the President?
Who is the head of the Military?

Did things change that much under Bushco?
rcrush (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:48 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. I'm sure someone 'warned' him of what would happen if he said no
No lone right wing nut is going to be the one that attacks the president. You can be damn sure if it happens it will have something to do with our military or private military companies.

rcrush (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
3. I'd be afraid to say no them
They got real big over the last few years. A huge heavily armed mercenary group that works for Cheney. So, they got the contract because Obama was "afraid" of them. It implies that they threatened Obama.:rolleyes:

bride of gravelbot (10 posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:48 PM
Original message
Oy vey! I think I'm gonna hurl!!!!


Oops, sorry, just did!

This isn't a little disagreement or simply semantics; this is absolutely devastating to me. I voted for Obama based upon the wonderful campaign he ran. I had some major misgivings about some of his stances, but I thought that he'd be very likely to shift to the left once he won. But since I was in a very blue state, I could have voted for a third party and not worried about McPalin getting in. I WANTED to vote for Obama. That's what sucks so bad...I want him to do the right thing.

ZombieHorde (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:48 PM
Response to Original message
5. Hopefully the article is mistaken. nt

HughMoran (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:49 PM
Response to Original message
7. Yeah, heard this over a week ago on NPR
Looks like a couple more renewals before we completely cut them out of the picture. It sucks.

sellitman (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. Paying Blackwater 20 Million is backing them out of the picture.
IMHO??????

[SarasotaRepub]

Check that link Carol. ;)

[Bleda]

rcrush (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-22-09 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
3. I'd be afraid to say no them
They got real big over the last few years. A huge heavily armed mercenary group that works for Cheney.

You mean Dick Cheney's Assassination Squad? (http://www.imao.us/index.php/2009/03/dick-cheney-assassination-squad-faq/)

[cajunrevenge]

If Obama would allow his decisions to be influences by a threat from a group of mercenaries then he has no business being president to begin with. If anyone in Blackwater threatened the President they would have secret service agents crawling up their ass.

[Speedy]

JUST DAYS before two former Blackwater employees alleged in sworn statements filed in federal court that the company's owner, Erik Prince, "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,"

There is a problem here somewhere?

[noonwitch]

There is a problem here somewhere?


I guess that depends on whether we want our government paying people to kill all muslims or convert them by force to christianity (as Ann Coulter suggested shortly after 9-11), or whether we want our government building alliances in the muslim world with moderate leaders.

I'm from Grand Rapids, and I trust no one who carries the last name Van Andel, De Vos or Prince. The Amway/Blackwater companies are owned and operated by christian dominionists who would love to force their beliefs on the rest of the world by force-they are no better than the fundamentalist muslims we are supposed to be fighting. Hell, even John Engler knew when to break ties with them, as he showed when he refused to endorse the Michigan school voucher initiative put out by Erik's sister and brother in law (and it was subsequently shot down by the voters).

Obama shouldn't have renewed the contract.

[Speedy]

I guess that depends on whether we want our government paying people to kill all muslims

Maybe I am just dense, but there is a problem somewhere in here that I am missing?

[stsinner]

I guess that depends on whether we want our government paying people to kill all muslims or convert them by force to christianity (as Ann Coulter suggested shortly after 9-11), or whether we want our government building alliances in the muslim world with moderate leaders.


Guess you'd better get to reading up on the Quoran (or however the hell you spell it). That's exactly what they're directed to do-kill or convert by force.. Whether the politically correct types like it, or not, there are many Mooooslims in the world whose goal it is to see the Islamic flag flying over the White House...

And I don't know if you pay attention to the news, but while we're punishing our people for humiliating those whose goal it is to kill us in Guantanamo, they're sawing the heads off of innocent civilians, reporters and soldiers, as well as shooting school children, etc... They're not the most rational people in the world, so how do you reason with an irrational person? You relive them of their heart beat before they relive you of yours.

Of course, I'm not saying to just kill Muslims, but any that are identified with any terrorist organization on the battlfield or in a war theater should be killed, and any that we identify on our own soil should be imprisoned or put to death, depending on their level of involvement and crimes committed.

It's the Crusades all over again....

[AmPat]

Why did Obama just extend a contract to Blackwater? Because code pink or this http://i32.tinypic.com/eq2ko4.giftypical liberal can't get the job done.