Dear Editor,
In its fight against terrorists the United States decided to use outside forces, private mercenaries, some might say, for what the former Vice President confirmed was a necessary walk on “the dark side.” Among those the US government recruited was Blackwater Inc, a paramilitary outfit. (Blackwater has since renamed itself Xe Services.) In sworn statements filed in a US federal court on August 3, two former employees alleged that the company’s owner arranged the murder of witnesses who were cooperating with federal investigators.
While the company was in the employ of the American government, an ex-marine said it smuggled weapons into Iraq hidden in bags of dog food. The weapons were used by persons not licensed by the State Department, to kill or injure Iraqi civilians.
Another ex-employee accused the owner of Blackwater of setting up a web of companies to obscure wrongdoing, fraud and other crimes, including money laundering, illegal arms dealing and tax evasion. This former worker also claimed that the owner was a frequent visitor to the company’s “man camp” in Iraq’s Green Zone and failed to stop his men from drinking heavily, taking steroids, and using prostitutes including “child prostitutes.”
Blackwater has been the target of at least four grand jury investigations and accusations of tax fraud, improper use of force, arms trafficking and overbilling. The company has denied the allegations filed in federal court. Now we learn that Barack Obama, whose government some are hoping will investigate the ‘phantom squad’ killing of terrorists in Guyana, has gone ahead and signed contracts with Blackwater to the tune of $174 million, plus untold millions more for aviation services. Just last month, Blackwater’s Presidential Airways received a US Army contract for aviation services in Afghanistan worth $8.9 million. The company is also free to bid for further US government contracts and is currently doing so. The Nation magazine reports that while Obama inherited a mess when it came to Blackwater’s entrenchment in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has continued the widespread use of armed private contractors in both countries. So it seems the Obama administration is paying some alleged criminal contractors in his fight against the terrorists and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I wonder how he will judge us in our fight against the people who were on a crime spree of terror and murder in Guyana and how he will view this country’s battle with the Taliban in Buxton?
Yours faithfully,
Justin de Freitas