Saturday, September 29, 2007

Bush and Cheney's Private Gestapo


From the first paragraph of a front page article in today's New York Times:
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"The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department, according to Bush administration officials and industry officials."
Reported by John M. Broder and James Risen
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Take a good look at the photo above. These are mercenaries who are in the employ of a private, for profit security firm called "Blackwater" (an ominous name if ever there was one). They have been hired by your president to enforce his law. They have been used in lieu of the National Guard and the US Military to "keep order" not only in Iraq but in your country as well. You may recall that they were responsible for the deaths of a number of citizens on the streets of New Orleans two years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; some of whom were innocent bystanders who only, inadvertently, walked into their cross hairs. They operate outside the mandates of the Constitution and the Geneva Convention. They are George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney's private gestapo. They are not - by any stretch of any one's imagination "a well regulated state militia" as prescribed in the second amendment. They are a direct threat to your liberties. They are just one more example of the madness of the far right and their pathological obsession with privatization.
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As of this writing, it is estimated that Blackwater has been paid nearly three quarters of a billion dollars from a no-bid contract to "secure" the streets of Iraq. How were they able to arrange such a sweet deal, you may well ask? Its CEO, Erik Prince, was a major contributor to the 2000 and 2004 Bush/Cheney campaigns....Ah! You can smell it, too, huh?
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Blackwater is a company that is so at odds with the historic American view of governance, it should be put out of business immediately. There is not a single piece of paper from our Founding Fathers to be found in the National Archives (whether in documents of public policy or in private correspondence) that would have tolerated - or even hinted at - the idea that a private citizen could have the means at his disposal (and I use the masculine term here - women are smarter than that) whereby he could - in the case of a "national emergency" - make war on other Americans at the behest of a murderous, unbalanced chief executive....umm....sort of like the one we've got now.
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I'm telling you, one doesn't have to be a constitutional scholar to figure this stuff out, folks. This ain't rocket science, kids; this is Civics 101.
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What you have here is but one of literally hundreds of examples of the creeping fascism that has been overtaking this once-great nation at such a snail's pace for the past quarter of a century, the overwhelming majority of the American people haven't even noticed it. From the "free speech zones" enforced by the S.S. (Secret Service) whenever the First Fool comes to town, to the illegal, warrantless wiretapping of the Bush "Justice" Department, to the persecutions of the brave men and women working in the government who have tried valiantly to put an end to and expose the Bush Mob's criminal looting of our national treasure; all of these things - and more - should have every thinking person outraged. Instead, the foolish American people, thanks largely to the distractions of the corporate media, are more concerned with the latest misadventures of Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton. The day after Ms. Spears' ill-fated appearance on the MTV music awards, that was all the main stream media could find to talk about! This at a time when thousands of men, women and little children are being massacred in Iraq every month.
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Blackwater is not the only private security firm making big time hay off of our taxpayer dollars. In an excellent piece posted this morning on AlterNet (a link to which may be found on this site), Bill Maher reported the following:
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"Donald Vance, a Navy veteran, was working for an Iraqi-owned outfit called the Shield Group Security Company. Vance said that he witnessed Shield Group selling guns, land mines, and rocket launchers to to Iraqi insurgents, American soldiers, State Department workers, and Iraqi embassy and military workers. Vance described Shield Group as "a Wal-Mart for guns." Vance reported this to the FBI, and instead of a pat on the back, he got 97 days at Camp Cropper, a military prison outside of Baghdad. In fact Saddam Hussein's old crib. Vance was placed in solitary confinement, subjected to head-banging music blaring from dawn to dusk, and interrogators screaming the same questions over and over again in his face."
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/63893/
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Isn't it a shame that we've gotten to the point in our history where we have to rely on a comedian to keep us informed? Did you ever get the feeling that you were living in the fall of the Roman Empire??? Jeepers creepers, I sure do!!!
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Katrina was only a dry run of the Blackwater Show, make no mistake about it. They and other, GOP-connected "Private Security Firms" will no doubt make themselves known on the streets of this sad and troubled country once the citizenry finally stands up and shouts - as one - "ENOUGH!", in a voice so loud, no one will be able to pretend that he or she cannot hear it. Blackwater is not an organization that is bound by any strict code of military conduct. Their behavior on the streets of Baghdad during the last four and a half years is proof of that (as if any more proof was necessary). Of this you may be absolutely certain: When the day arrives that Blackwater is, again, contracted out by the half-witted, murderous little thug in the oval office to "maintain order" in the next American city to undergo a major crisis, they will not be bound by the sham "compassionate conservatism" that so many people are still stupid enough to believe is the hallmark of this disgusting administration's agenda. These homicidal bastards are gonna shoot to kill. Count on it.
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The only way We, The People can be spared the threat that a semi-fascist organization like Blackwater poses to our democracy, is by challenging its very existence in the courts. Unfortunately, that challenge may have to wait until there is a Democrat in the White House who is able appoint one - or more - justices of a reasonable, moderate judicial temperament. To even expect some of the reactionary fools currently sitting on the Supreme Court (Scalia and Uncle Thomas come readily to mind) to act in accordance with the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution is wishful thinking, to be sure. Enlightenment on that court is desperately in order.
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I am a pacifist by nature. I have never advocated violence nor do I do so now. Non-violent, passive resistance, when applied lovingly and with great thought and care, can move mountains. Mahatma Gandhi proved that in his day, as did - more recently - Martin Luther King. Non violence is, indeed, in perfect compliance with the words of Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peace makers." It is the only path that, I believe, a true Christian can possibly take. And yet, having said that, here is something else that also needs to be said:
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When Blackwater finally brings its twisted little act to your city, you have the right, the constitutionally guaranteed right - if not a God given one - to shoot back.
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Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
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suggested reading:
THE FREAKING CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES - HELLO???

11 Comments:

At 1:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beside privatizing our army it’s the breakdown in our constitutional government that allows Blackwater mercenaries to exist and it was in 2001, that fateful year, when both Democrats and Republicans (with the sole exception of Congresswoman Lee, my hero) handed over to Bush the Unelected the power to declare war. The imbecile then proceeded to take the ship of state straight toward the rocky shore. Heard there was the start of an investigation over Blackwater’s recent conduct in Iraq that was blocked by Rice. Big surprise. The junta in the White House has made sure the democratic process no longer works, the framework has disintegrated and. we are not far from a military dictatorship. Anyway, these Blackwater bastards are also under suspicion for smuggle weapons to designated terror groups in Iraq. They don’t care who they help. As long as you’ve got the money to pay them.

 
At 3:47 PM, Blogger Todd said...

Yeah, Blackwater is just bad news. I believe someone in N.O. has said they were told by a Blackwater member that "this isn't the last time you'll see us" (paraphrasing, probably not well).

 
At 1:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pinkertons

 
At 2:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the Pinkertons to the PATRIOT Act: The Trajectory of Political Policing in the United States, 1870 to the Present
By Churchill, Ward
Publication: CR: the New Centennial Review
Date: Thursday, January 1 2004

 
At 3:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You certainly have hit the nail directly on the head, Tom. Great post! Blackwater is, indeed, Bush's filthy, thug-infested Gestapo. I think, at this point, Bush hates the citizens of this country. The majority of us no longer support his insanity.(Those of us here, never did.)They dont even publish Cheney's poll numbers anymore. Dubya and Darth Dick have always considered the public to be easily manipulated fools, who would buy any amount of snake-oil they chose to sell. Without the pliability and gullibility of the majority, Bush and Cheney's arrogant disdain has turned to hatred and anger. If they cannot fool us, they are quite likely to try to subjugate us. Blackwater is in the wings waiting to do just that. Owned by the narcissistic son of billionaires, Blackwater is the epitome of evil. Prince claims he is an Evangelical Christian. Where does it say in the New Testament to "Go forth and murder and plunder."But, you combine avarice, a sense of entitlement, and religious zealotry, and you have all the ingredients of a very nasty (terrorist?) group. Do you know the background of most of the Blackwater recruits? How many have been in right-wing militias? How many have been survivalists? It would be interesting to know the answers to those questions.Anyone who wants this country to return to Democracy had better be looking long and hard at Blackwater. Alas, we no longer have a Democracy, so investigating Blackwater will fall through the cracks; like all the rest of the crimes committed against truth and justice. Condoleeza Rice will throw up her usual witches brew of thick smoke and cracked mirrors, which she will label an investigation. As usual, it will go nowhere, produce nothing of substance, and end up in File 13. She is as morally reprehensible as she is incompetent. Just another ass-kissing Bush Toady in designer clothing. If Bush/Cheney leave office in January of 2009 without attacking Iran, destroying the economy, and trashing this country to get revenge on its people for not sucking up, it will be cause for a major celebration and a nationwide sigh of relief. Bush only tolerates flunkies and sycophants. If he doesnt get his way, he retaliates. That has been his life-long pattern. Cheney is like a Mafia don. If he doesnt get his way, he puts out a hit. I hope I am not being an alarmist, but I am alarmed. Blackwater is but one symptom, one symbol of the poisoned water that flows through the veins of America under Bush.

 
At 10:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your well written posting. The thing that we all have to realize, and damned fast, is that there is not going to be an election in 2008 or if there is, there will not be a change of government in 2009. These thugs are entreanched and here to stay. They have carefully and step by small step laid their plans and plotted to remain in power and democracy be damned.

If you think back, shortly after Bush and Co was appointed (I refuse to say that he was elected) there were reports of strange building projects going in the dead of night at Cheney's residence. The neighbors complained of the noise and inconvenience, but NO ONE knew then or now just what the hell was being constructed there.

With regards to Blackwater, the analogy to Hitler's Gestapo is
right on target. It is time for the American people to wake up and realize that we have a dictator (and a feeble minded one at that) in the White House and no election is going to remove him.

 
At 7:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Matewan - will happen again because of groups like Blackwater who will do someone's bidding without thinking for the right price.

I fear Iraq is a dress rehearsal for Iran, which may be a "fine tuning" for what may eventually happen here.

Non-violence will work, but those who are on the front lines may be asked to pay a dear price for their moral stance. Certainly those in the civil rights movements across the world have paid that price.

For all of us, it is ours to decide how much we will pay for the freedoms we see vanishing before our eyes. There has to be a bottom line.

 
At 10:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When Bush bought his 90,000+ plus Paraguay "spread" we all assumed it was a hidey hole in case impeachment went down. Sending a dingy daughter to close the deal didn't sound like good business sense for which Bush has never been famous.
A savvy friend whose son is a Tampa Florida newspaperman emailed that Bush's land is directly over the world's largest aquifer.
Then an epiphany, Bush NEVER but NEVER puts up his own money, I speculated what cartel he could be fronting for and my friend emailed back Bush's land adjoins the infamous Reverend Moon, poppy's benefactor.
Later my friend mentioned Bush's efforts to overthrow democratically elected South American leaders.
After Blackwater I emailed my friend that Paraguay would be a perfect place to train mercenaries for Bush's Gestapo.
Uncle Sam (now known as Uncle Dick) would provide state of the art securiy so deep secrecy would be possible.
See you in Gitmo

 
At 4:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Bush fear machine is already getting us primed for a war with Iran. Bush is a zealot whose paranoia is rampant. Don't assume that the '08 elections are a given. Herr Bush might just not give up his reign that easily. Surrounded by military drones to do his bidding, a coup is not that far fetched. The fascist mentality that animated the Third Reich is alive and well with the Neocon turds that have and are currently despoiling our Democratic ideals. The cesspool belches and up comes the likes of Blackwater! Bush has shamed us all!

 
At 4:05 PM, Blogger stoney13 said...

Tom,

Just got through servicing every firearm I own, and sent one off for some custom work I couldn't handle with the equipment I have.

They think the Iraqis gave them a headache? WAIT'LL THEY GET A LOAD OF ME!!!! MWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

I've traipsed these North Carolina mountains man and boy for the better part of fifty years! I know ever hole, and holler!

There's some "good ol' boys" around here that get really REALLY pissed when you try to take their guns away from them! I happen to be one! (Even though I'm a LOT more socially liberal then they are!) I'ld hate to be on our bad side, and Blackwater just got there! I almost feel sorry for them!

MMMMMNAAAAAW!!!! I really don't!

 
At 1:26 AM, Blogger the Texan Cyclist said...

When the Impeachment of Tricky Dick stopped (along with pursuit of all his henchmen) and the Church Commission created a secret court, I knew we were loosing our country. When Raygun and his co-horts skated on Iran-Contra I knew we had lost. As I watched the current Resident build his cabinet out of the same people that populated the afore mentioned fiascoes, I could only cry at the stupidity of the American people. Me, I've got a spring-fed pond and a determination to use the first and second amendments to the constitution to the limits of my ability.

 

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