Blackwater Security Guards Charged
There is news today out of Utah that five Blackwater Security Guards have been charged in the firefight that left 14 Iraqis dead and others wounded in a 2007 Baghdad attack. They have been ordered to appear in Washington in January, where they will enter pleas of not guilty. As a former JAGC officer, I get the need to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes, but this is wrong. These Security Guards are all former military service members who were offered more money to fight as mercenaries in Iraq. They likely made ten times as much money to do the same work, but this time they did so without the benefit of the law of war. And who decided that we should fight the Iraq war by proxie? The same leaders who have lacked the will to put enough military service members in the field to do the job. Ranting? OK, a little - but I have been contacted by a former Blackwater Security Guard (not yet indicted) and I have empathy for their plight. They were there to provide security - a job that is ordinarily reserved for military police. The government now has left these men hanging - and charged them with crimes. I say support them. Got a different opinion (no matter how wrong)? Let's hear it.
Im not as sympathetic. Blackwater is an enormously profitable business and is in Iraq precisely because there are enormous profits to be made. These guys didnt go to work for Blackwater because they wanted to simply serve their country. It was as much a business decision as any other.
You could be right Richard, but most of us joined for more than simply "to serve." They served first, saw what was happening and went back to try and provide a safer environment. Blackwater is no hero, but that is not the point. These men are to be tried in a case thousands of miles from the site of the incident. They will face enormous obstacles in getting a fair trial, and they will not enjoy the "benefit" of having been combatants - their actions will be judged by a different standard. If the government did not need privateers in this war they would not be there. Thanks for the comments.
Chuck,
I agree with you 100% these are young men, highly trained and skillful young men trying to make a living. They are loyal and faithful but were smart enough to be able to see the value of their trade. They went their under to do a job which most of time requires that they put their lives on the line for U.S. dignitaries and other foreign dignitaries.
This is no different then prior to the Revolutionary War a patrol of English soldiers were arrested for the death of a colonist and tried for doing their job in a uber dangerous environment with laws that fluctuate with the setting of the sun.
I wish you well and should you need a hand, I am here.
remy