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Blackwater’s Secret War in Pakistan – The Nation — Good Lord. These clowns again. Why is Obama continuing to sanction their use and give them access to high level intelligence? What’s to stop Blackwater, or should I say Xe, following their own agenda?
At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.
[…]
One of the concerns raised by the military intelligence source is that some Blackwater personnel are being given rolling security clearances above their approved clearances. Using Alternative Compartmentalized Control Measures (ACCMs), he said, the Blackwater personnel are granted clearance to a Special Access Program, the bureaucratic term used to describe highly classified “black” operations. “With an ACCM, the security manager can grant access to you to be exposed to and operate within compartmentalized programs far above ‘secret’–even though you have no business doing so,” said the source. It allows Blackwater personnel that “do not have the requisite security clearance or do not hold a security clearance whatsoever to participate in classified operations by virtue of trust,” he added. “Think of it as an ultra-exclusive level above top secret. That’s exactly what it is: a circle of love.” Blackwater, therefore, has access to “all source” reports that are culled in part from JSOC units in the field. “That’s how a lot of things over the years have been conducted with contractors,” said the source. “We have contractors that regularly see things that top policy-makers don’t unless they ask.”
Thank you Obama and thank you Blackwater.
Nothing scares a progressive more than a white man with a gun.
God Bless Blackwater/Xe. They are doing what that weakling Obama won’t let the US military do: rid the world of the islamist evil. The world will be a better place once their job is done.
Yes, onward Christian soldiers.
“Why is Obama continuing to sanction their use and give them access to high level intelligence?”
I could say look it up because the answers never change and the fact that you don’t know speaks ill of you. There is a major shortfall of volunteers. You don’t have to count the dead bodies on your side or the other side nor provide medical care for the wounded nor rehab. You can disclaim what they do. You can use them to break all the rules. You don’t have to worry about prisoners. When the fighting ends you can fire them.
You might try reading _The Prince_ by Niccolò Machiavelli written in 1513. I think he covered the advantages and disadvantages of using mercenaries rather well.
PS. The man thought they were a huge mistake. Are the Gurkha a huge mistake? Hard to know. Those that serve are now British and can live in Britain and the British are dying out while non natives are moving in and taking over.
#5 Deowll
Did Machiavelli say anything about letting the mercenaries into your bedchamber?
The use of mercs is not really the issue here. Its that the CIA and JSOC appear to be giving them the keys to the Pentagon.
#7. on point.
Obama isn’t a “take charge” kind of president. I’m not sure we had one of those in years, if ever. Maybe Lincoln was the last. But most presidents just go along with whatever the military machine tells them is gonna happen.
And now we don’t have just a single, rarely accountable, military entity, mucking up the world. We have private mercenary contractor armies, that are completely unaccountable (thanks to Congress) and without security vetting. Personnel could just as easily be spies and enemies under deep cover. And apparently nobody really cares, anymore. They just care about the end results, or the money allocated to achieve it.
My only fear is that eventually, these taxpayer financed private armies, will someday be used by the Donald Trumps, the Bernie Madoffs, and the RIAA & MPAA, of the future. To protect their amassed billions, within their castles and mansions. While the starving hordes (aka the rest of us), look on. And we’ll wonder if we can pry a tiny bit of their ruling power away from them, by slaughtering their asses? If only their Blackwater knights we’re on the job. Damn our shortsightedness, for having allowed our taxes to fund their existence in the past. Or for foreboding the formation of any private armies, under US Constitution. When did that become a legal option?
First it was only the official military fought wars. Then Reagan and succeeding presidents allowed the use of National Guard. And now we’ve got private commercial armies? With less accountability at every stage. Who will they turn to next, the Mafia? Or will Blackwater become the next organized crime entity? Because they things generally run the cycle of becoming more corrupt, over time.
Glad to see Obama holding Blackwater accountable for finishing the job they were paid to do.
The Cheney administrations decision to outsource the combat dirty work to Blackwater fell short of results. Obama message to Blackwater is “You got the check, finish the job”.
#6 “the British are dying out while non natives are moving in and taking over”
Which British is that then? Stone age people? Picts, Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans? or all of them plus some of the more peaceful invaders in the last 950 years or so.
I voted for Jimmy Carter also. I think I’ll stop voting.
John Kennedy was the first president to enter the nation into a war for the sake of adventure instead of necessity. This political trend continues and helps explain why winning is no longer a Washington objective.
Since Presidents no longer allow military victory it’s not surprising that when mercenaries like Blackwater perform warlike actions that might lead to victory they are quickly slapped down by politicians and the media.
After all present political sensibilities require our enemies love us.
What a world.
First of all, the fact that stories of this nature get leaked is criminal, the person who released information about a current operation, covert or not, should be tracked down and charged. This is the sort of shit that gets people killed unnecessarily.
Second, the article complaining about Blackwater being given access to secret information is just plain dumb. The whole point of hiring a company like Blackwater is to skip all the crap that comes with involving the big army in any operation. This role is normally filled by SF dudes, but there just aren’t enough of them to go around. Give them the necessary freedoms and Blackwater can be many times more effective than any military organisation, but hamstring them by cutting away their information, and they become nothing more than very well paid security guards. If the company is going to be hired at all it needs access to this sort of intel.
third, #15
“Since Presidents no longer allow military victory it’s not surprising that when mercenaries like Blackwater perform warlike actions that might lead to victory they are quickly slapped down by politicians and the media.”
The blame is usually with the generals rather than politicians. Historically generals can rarely acknowledge that they are in an unwinnable situation. So the issue is not so much that presidents don’t allow victory but that generals insist on trying to punch above their weight.
Thats it for now, but im sure ill think of something else soon.
“Why is Obama continuing to sanction their use and give them access to high level intelligence?”
I see two possibilities
A) Obama is not actually in charge
B) Obama is just another fascist scumbag
C) Blackwater is a scapegoat so the US can say “hey it’s me it’s those guys.”
Who else is Obama going to get to fight our dirty wars? Blackwater is it! I don’t see these type of operations on every street corner. Freedom fighter with a paycheck is what they are. Probably less messy then having military directly involved.
Clearly, Blackwater is a front for the CIA.
#11 You’re shameless…
At least Blackwater is not as dangerous as ACORN which has done more harm to America than Blackwater/Xe has.
#11 I don’t know if I can explain this to you Dallas but what it means is the Blackwater or whatever the present name may be is still on the pay role and doing very much the same things they did under Bush.
#12 I think Obama is going to make Carter look good but if you disagree rest assured time will tell.
#7 He was pretty harsh about the results of counting on mercs rather than citizen troops. However as long as they stay outside the homeland and represent only a tiny fraction of your real forces I’d say the risk is less but if you let it grow…They can and have ruined people as has using auxiliary troops from other nations.
A major mistake made by both Carthage and Rome.
On the other hand arming tribal groups in locations you have no intentions of remaining may not be stupid…You just have to remember that it was Germans led by a man trained by the Romans and a veteran of warfare inside the empire that terminated a couple of legions for the Romans in Germany and of the course the Sepoys in India that revolted against the British in 1857.
Heck we used the Taliban as proxy fighters against the Soviet Union and gave them the surface to air rockets they needed to win. You can see how well that worked out for us.
“What’s to stop Blackwater, or should I say Xe, following their own agenda?”
This is the dumbest question I’ve heard yet. What you think,….they operate over there all by themselves. No they follow rules given to them and they’re under the control of Gov staff personnel. This is like asking the question, “what if a group of gov employees decided to follow their own agenda?” They have no power and no decision making abilities. They conduct their statement of work as laid out in their contract.