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leveymg

(36,418 posts)
6. Blackwater's also mixed up in this Libyan fighters to Syria regime change operation:
Mon Sep 24, 2012, 09:41 AM
Sep 2012

Note that Blackwater has its contracts with the State Dept, and State seems to be the driving force behind the regime change program.

LEAKED STRATFOR EMAILS:
The US Government Sent Blackwater Veteran To Fight With Rebels In Libya And Syria

Michael Kelley|March 20, 2012|
4,255|0


The former director of the security firm Blackwater aided the Libyan opposition and was subsequently sent to contact Syrian rebels in Turkey at the request of a U.S. Government committee, according to leaked Stratfor emails reported on by Al-Akhbar English.

Jamie F. Smith, former director of Blackwater, is currently the chief executive of the security firm SCG International.

In an email sent to Stratfor on February 11, 2011, Smith praised the company's intelligence gathering and said his "background is CIA and our company is comprised of former DOD [i.e. Department of Defense], CIA and former law enforcement personnel. We provide services for those same groups in the form of training, security and information collection."

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-20/news/31212864_1_stratfor-provides-syrian-opposition-regime-change#ixzz27OWCEP1I


Wow... dkf Sep 2012 #1
They were there also to coordinate Jihadi groups going to fight in Syria. leveymg Sep 2012 #2
Unsubstantiated. joshcryer Sep 2012 #3
Completely obvious. leveymg Sep 2012 #4
Doesn't fit the DU meme that these are all pure grassroots, Arab Spring "revolutionaries" nt riderinthestorm Sep 2012 #5
Blackwater's also mixed up in this Libyan fighters to Syria regime change operation: leveymg Sep 2012 #6
It certainly fits the xenophobic, paternalistic meme that they needed coercion... joshcryer Sep 2012 #14
What it fits, is a pattern established by a history of interventions in the region. ronnie624 Sep 2012 #15
Are you deliberately obtuse? There are many, many substantiated accounts of western involvement riderinthestorm Sep 2012 #26
Yes, Gaddafi was actually loved by most Libyans. UnrepentantLiberal Sep 2012 #24
Most DUers realized that the Libyan 'revolution' was in no way similar to the sabrina 1 Sep 2012 #29
Yeah, that's the thing about covert operations. Comrade Grumpy Sep 2012 #7
Or maybe the truth is even worse. harmonicon Sep 2012 #10
Could you explain the logic behind what could be gained by that? joshcryer Sep 2012 #13
No. They don't think that far ahead. harmonicon Sep 2012 #17
So you don't actually have a logical reason behind such an approach, then? joshcryer Sep 2012 #21
It's an illogical approach, but one that the US has used many times over. harmonicon Sep 2012 #22
I know you can't accept it but Libya was an internal uprising. joshcryer Sep 2012 #23
An internal uprising that wouldn't have succeeded without support from the US. harmonicon Sep 2012 #25
Debatable. joshcryer Sep 2012 #31
Yes, it's debatable, but a moot point now. harmonicon Sep 2012 #33
It's gone quite well. joshcryer Sep 2012 #34
It's also the only country... harmonicon Sep 2012 #35
That's false. There have been many attacks before. joshcryer Sep 2012 #37
Thanks for the clarification. harmonicon Sep 2012 #38
"the civil war there is not over yet" joshcryer Sep 2012 #39
I wish you wouldn't use such a broad brush. harmonicon Sep 2012 #40
Thousands of Libyan people are "some Libyan people"? joshcryer Sep 2012 #41
Let me give you a comparison: harmonicon Sep 2012 #42
Are you contending that the Libyan elections... joshcryer Sep 2012 #43
You're reading too much into the point I'm trying to make. harmonicon Sep 2012 #44
Libyan fighters have admitted to going to Syria. There's no connection with the CIA. joshcryer Sep 2012 #12
BS - What do you think the Administration means by "technical assistance" to the Syrian opposition? leveymg Sep 2012 #28
"helping allies decide" "could provide support" joshcryer Sep 2012 #32
Blowback is the one thing the CIA does really, really well. nt bemildred Sep 2012 #8
"The attack has raised questions ronnie624 Sep 2012 #9
The computer tech, Sean Smith, died destroying files. Ash_F Sep 2012 #11
No truer punchline ever existed: ronnie624 Sep 2012 #16
He probably had extensive information on all US covert ops in Libya, amandabeech Sep 2012 #18
Does the Administration's hesitancy to fill us in make sense then? dkf Sep 2012 #20
A think that there is a little of both. amandabeech Sep 2012 #30
Another hero. dkf Sep 2012 #19
Why were that many CIA and contractors in Benghazi? They weren't just counting noses. leveymg Sep 2012 #27
I think we can finally start putting this as some random occurence to bed. wutang77 Sep 2012 #36
So does anyone still think this whole charade was *really* just about some bad movie? Blue_Tires Sep 2012 #45
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