Saturday, September 29, 2007
Pissed-Off, Passed-Over Bully-Boys
"Testosterone-fueled excess", indeed. NBC's Richard Engel has it spot-on. I will be interested to know how the State Dept., who has stalled a House demand for documents , will spin these incidents. The last incident forced Condi off the dime and she has now sent a team to Iraq to investigate. The Iraqi's are investigating, too, but currently Blackwater and other security firms operate above the law in Iraq. Great commercial for American values such as justice and freedom, eh? Hearts and minds anyone? Watch and see if State does anything more than absolve Blackwater to cover their own asses. SecDef Gates is worried about these guys, too. Given the military nature of their mission and the harm they can do it is unconscionable that they are not subject to Iraqi law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I hope that will change soon. These types do far more harm for our interests than good. It's the excess that hurts, not the fact that they shoot. That is sometimes necessary - it's the indiscriminate shooting that is as damaging as it is unforgiveable. The sense of entitlement and haughty, holier-than-thou image the project is also no help. At least their well-deserved infamy has put their expansion plans on hold. Check out an interesting perspective that Gumby provided.|
