Korean Job Discussion Forums

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/blackwater_prosecution

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Simplistic binary. They are neither, of course, unless one is looking for one or another propagandistic angle. I wish you had added "other" in your poll options, Tiger Beer.

Blackwater employs former American military personnel who perform security functions for the American govt in Iraq. This has become a controversial topic. No more, no less.

Kuros · Joined: 27 Apr 2004

Mercs

canuckistan · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject:

The guys on the hook are all under 30--average age: 26-27

Pretty much the same age as what generates all the phone calls from the MP bin at 2,3,4 AM every weekend.

These are boys. And as far as I can tell, not a single officer with any formal higher education amongst them.
These are high school-only pups.

Anything under 30 just doesn't have the maturity or life experience to be operating on the streets as a private security contractor with a gun in a place like Iraq without strict oversight 24-7.
And maybe the knowledge there's serious legal consequences before getting all trigger happy on 17 Iraqis.

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Right. They probably see it as analogous to the wild west, or something similar. A lawless place where anything goes -- and where they have the most powerful weapons.

This probably gets to the heart of the matter.

TECO · Joined: 20 Jan 2003

i got the book and the movie on my hard drive but haven't started reading or watching it yet. for me, itsounds like they're not behaving ethically based on what i've seen in the news. shooting people up for shits and giggles.

Canuckistan summed it up quite well, imo.

RJjr · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Location: Turning on a Lamp

I hate to see the guys get prosecuted when they were working for an incompetent company contracted by an incompetent government. The US government has been so incompetent at every turn in Iraq and can't make up its mind on why our troops were sent, if the mission is accomplished or not, if the bad guys should bring it on or not, if body armor and Humvee armor is important or not, etc.

How can we possibly expect these young men to know what the Hell is going on in sudden gunfights when the Commander in Chief, the Central Intelligence (or lack thereof) Agency, and the Pentagon can't even figure out what is generally going on in Iraq at all?

I don't want to see these young men used as fall guys or patsies. Our prisons are overcrowded and we can't afford to jail these men anyway. If we do, then we need to start with those who have committed the most epic crimes, Bush and Cheney for example, and work our way down to those who have been accused of much lesser crimes, such as these men who worked for Blackwater.

sojourner1 · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:21 am Post subject:

Well said RJjr.

I vote both as civilian contractors are mercenaries and usually are veterans. Soldiers also have this mercenary mentality going where they are individuals who would rather fight in Iraq than starve underemployed or unemployed on Mainstreet, USA. The US Army is meeting it's recruiting goals these days as their are no real opportunities for young adults and this is a real opportunity to do something with their lives, be it having a good paying career or simply getting blowed up. Statistically, a tiny % actually die. Either way, taking the opportunities far outweighs the risks. It's worse for young adults than what I experienced in the 1990's as retailers and restaurants are not even hiring now. Even in the 1990's we had a mercenary mentality where we joined for money reasons, because we were poor and not getting ahead doing low paying work. It's popular for poor young adults to join for the college benefits since they don't have rich parents to pay for college. And then they can get a job with a contract like Brown and Root if they specialized in a technical services oriented career field. You sure gotta know someone to get in as the internet HR application doesn't do it despite being well qualified.

Join Me · Joined: 14 Jan 2008

sharkey · Joined: 12 Oct 2008

lock these killers up

Cornfed · Joined: 14 Mar 2008

They're just like Mafia hit-men, except that their employers are much worse. Same goes for members of the American military.

T-J · Joined: 10 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae

T-J · Joined: 10 Oct 2008 Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae

As to the OP, I voted "vet."

The poll is slightly biased, but what poll isn't?

A mercenary fights with no allegiance and only for profit. I am not in a position to speak to their motives but if I had to venture a guess I would say that they are serving for the same cause, but with more compensation than the Army was offering. So, "vet" gets my vote.

To the point of them being "above the law," doesn't the fact they are being held accountable belie this view?

sharkey · Joined: 12 Oct 2008

cangel · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: Jeonju, S. Korea

I do believe that all of Blackwater security personnel are former soldiers and since the applicants far exceeds the need, they are mostly highly-decorated soldiers, many of whom are ex Recon, Rangers and SF. These soldiers have been decorated for combat operations in the middle east. Now, for Blackwater, you put them into a situation where the enemy is hiding amongst the civilians and you expect them to differentiate between them. Shoot now, ask questions later and if you don't, you're dead. What disgusts me is how quickly the US government has been rolling over on its soldiers in order to appease the critics.