AP is reporting that everyone's favorite band of taxpayer-funded mercs, Blackwater, seized Iraqi military aircraft in 2005:
Blackwater USA tried to take at least two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq two years ago and refused to give the planes back when Iraqi officials sought to reclaim them, according to a congressional committee investigating the private security contractor.
They seized two Iraqi military planes and refused to give then back? WTF???
Fortunately, Waxman's committee is on the case:
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants the company to provide all documents related to the attempted shipment and to explain where the aircraft are now.
So, in addition to vacuuming the US treasury, our mercenaries are now collecting spoils of war? Why doesn't Cheney just drop the pretense already and start appearing in public in a fucking purple toga?
In a letter sent Friday to Erik Prince, Blackwater's top executive, Waxman said he learned of the 2005 attempt from a military official who contacted the committee. That official is not identified in the letter, nor is the type of aircraft.
This sounds like outright theft to me, and perhaps something more. What conceivable reason would a company like Blackwater have for playing "finders, keepers" with Iraqi military property? Its bad enough on its face, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something much deeper going on here.