AP is reporting (MSNBC here) that:
"BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four of the five Americans killed when a U.S. security company’s helicopter crashed in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad were shot execution style in the back of the head, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday.
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"The helicopter was shot down after responding to assist a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that came under fire in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, said a U.S. diplomatic official in Washington."
Since there doesn't seem to be an open thread on the front page today I'll just throw my comments here and see what people make of it.
We all know that Blackwater is a private "security" firm under contract to provide, well, "security" in Iraq. I doubt these fellows are much like the ones who wear T-shirts that say "Security" on the back at concerts. Or maybe they are. I don't know. For one thing, they have helicopters. I assume they are painted black. Some call these guys "contractors." Others call them "mercenaries," sometimes with a touch of vehemence and vitriol. It really makes little difference to me what they are called. In either case I'm sorry these men were killed.
What I want to know is why it is that when a U.S. Embassy convoy cruising through a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad comes under fire, a private company is dispatched to get our people to safety. That is or should be a job for the U.S. military. I have no cost figures to offer, but I've never heard anyone seriously question anecdotal evidence that these contractors or mercenaries or whatever you want to call them are paid a great deal more than U.S. soldiers who might be assigned similar tasks. I'd imagine we pay separately for helicopter time as well.
On the other hand, at least the Blackwater people were there voluntarily, as opposed to being some poor kid who joined the National Guard for college money and is now stuck in his or her second or third rotation in a war zone. But that's not my point.
What I really wanted to say is that to me, this offers a glimpse of the degree to which people who can be safely assumed to be friends of this administration are directly profiting from our continued involvement in the debacle of Iraq. The last I heard, our military has helicopters and a bunch of people with guns who could be doing this kind of thing, and there is no reason to hire private companies to do it other than to spread money around in the private sector or possibly have people doing war jobs who are not constrained by the rules of engagement and conduct that govern the military. Whatever the reason, it seems just plain wrong.