They say "private security contractors," I say "Dreadnoks." But what the hell do I know? Just because the Blackwater USA group has been accused of shooting civilians and smuggling weapons doesn't mean they're a bad organization, right?
Well, Congressman Henry Waxman and his Oversight and Government Reform Committee will attempt to find out the truth today.
Buckle up...
From the C-SPAN site:
House Committee
Private Security Firms in Iraq
Oversight and Government Reform
Washington, District of Columbia (United States)
ID: 201290 - 10/02/2007 - 3:30 - No Sale
Waxman, Henry U.S. Representative, D-CA
A hearing was held on the mission and performance of Blackwater USA and its affiliated companies in Iraq and Afghanistan and to review whether the reliance of the U.S. government on private security contractors is serving U.S. interests in Iraq.
Witnesses:
• Erik Prince, Chairman, the Prince Group, LLC and Blackwater USA
• Ambassador David M. Satterfield, Special Adviser, Coordinator for Iraq
• Ambassador Richard J. Griffin, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Director of the Office of Foreign Missions
• William H. Moser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Logistics Management
Rules:
- No pics: pie, pootie or otherwise.
- We ask for volunteers to do transcripts for those who can't hear all of the yummy oversightness. We'll have a thread for the transcripts.
- Between 200-250 comments we'll get a new diary going.
In our last episode: Chairman Erik Prince (who looks just as comic bookish as his name sounds) claimed that Blackwater is doing the job that the military can't do (doesn't that sound familiar?), and that his company only kills "the bad guys" but he doesn't bother to do any follow up anyway. Oh, and the parties they throw over there? They are paid for with American tax dollars.
The Democrats are characteristically concerned about the waste of money and the casual dismissal of life; the Republicans have tried to adjourn the hearing, blame Clinton, and equate Blackwater to being "US Military Lite."
Live Blog Volunteers:
- gchaucer2 (the orginator)
- Ellicatt (includes info on all the Congresscritters involved)
- Omen (that would be me)
- MKinTN
From gchaucer's diary (the issue at hand):
The hearing will address three key questions: (1) Is Blackwater's presence advancing or undermining U.S. efforts? (2) Has State Department responded appropriately to the shooting incidents involving Blackwater forces? (3) What are the costs to U.S. taxpayers for the reliance on Blackwater and other private military contractors?
Check it out on C-SPAN 3 or the House Webcast.