Contractors say Blackwater supplied forbidden guns

[laststeamtrain]

Source: AP

Contractors say Blackwater supplied forbidden guns
By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press Writer Thu May 21, 8:43 pm ET

RALEIGH, N.C. – The security firm formerly known as Blackwater armed some of its workers in Afghanistan despite U.S. military documents that prohibited them from carrying guns, said two former contractors who were fired after they were involved in a fatal shooting in the country.

Justin Cannon and Steven McClain said Thursday that they frequently asked superiors why the company distributed the AK-47 assault rifles without Department of Defense authorization.

"We were just told, 'Continue doing your job. Don't worry about it. That's above your paygrade,'" Cannon, 27, of Texas, said in an interview with The Associated Press. The men were involved in a shooting earlier this month that killed an Afghan and injured two others, and they recently returned to the U.S., saying they were cleared to leave after an interview with military investigators.

<snip>

Both men said they weren't drinking and hadn't drank since arriving in Afghanistan in November. Their attorney, Daniel J. Callahan, said he believes the company is making up the alcohol issue so it can avoid scrutiny over contractors being armed.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090522/ap_on_bi_ge/us_afghan_contractor_shooting

[saigon68]

1. Killers for hire Another war Crime of Dick 5 Deferments

He belongs in an Orange Jump suit.

[nc4bo]

2. Why is Blackwater/Xe still allowed to exist. Not only exist but

still successfully bidding and winning contracts?

I guess because they are soooo good at what they do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA

Xe, which had been operating in Iraq without an Iraqi government license, applied for one for the first time, but the request was denied by Iraqi officials in January 2009. The Iraqi government announced that Xe must leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi–US committee finishes drafting the new guidelines on private contractors under the current Iraqi–US security agreement. Umm Tahsin, widow of one of the men killed by Xe employees in the Nisoor Square shooting, said of the denial, "Those people are a group of criminals. What they did was a massacre. Pushing them out is the best solution. They destroyed our family."<168> On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that the agency would not renew its security contract with the company.<169> The Washington Times reported on March 17, 2009, that the U.S. State Department had extended its Iraq security contract with Xe's air operations arm, Presidential Airways, to September 3, 2009, for a cost of $22.2 million.<170>

On April 1, 2009, the U.S. State Department announced that Triple Canopy, Inc. would replace Xe/Blackwater as the department's security contractor in Iraq.<171> The contract, for $977 million, was awarded on March 31, 2009, and took effect on May 7, 2009. The Iraqi government has speculated that Blackwater/Xe may still be able to profit from the deal because Triple Canopy may subcontract a portion of its Iraq contract to the Falcon Group, an Iraqi company rumored to have financial ties to Blackwater. A Blackwater spokeswoman, Anne Tyrell, denied that Blackwater had a relationship with Falcon Group.<172> In spite of the ban on Blackwater in Iraq, the State Department issued a task order for Blackwater to provide security for diplomats in Hillah, Najaf, and Karbalah until August 4, 2009.<173>

and from the Army Times:

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/ap_blackwater_042009/

Blackwater security contractors still in Iraq

By Matthew Lee - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Apr 20, 2009 18:27:19 EDT

WASHINGTON — Armed guards from the security firm once known as Blackwater Worldwide are still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, even though the company has no license to operate there and has been told by the State Department its contracts will not be renewed two years after a lethal firefight that stirred outrage in Baghdad.

Won't even bother getting into why Cheney and the Bush crew are still walking around spewing lies everywhere they go..

A SERIOUS thorough independent investigation of the entire previous administration would go a long way to uncover the truth.

[saigon68]

4. I guess the "PRESENT REGEIME" is in awe of their abilities

[rocktivity]

3. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

NATIONALIZE BLACKWATER? Give them all the status--and pay--of their military counterparts, and let's see how much they love their country!

:mad:
rocktivity