Basically, though, I can see that the calculations at the beginning of war would be influenced by the (by now llaughable) expections that BW would only be needed for a relatively short period. Then reality showed up.

When a BW employee shot and killed Iraqis while drunk, BW fired him and fined him. They, of course, could do no more. The case should have been taken up by both DOJ and/or State immediately. More importantly, it should have been the red flare that says: somehting’s wrong here!

It looks as if a big rug was sought instead. under which to sweep the whole thing. They should know by now that the creepy-crawwlies swept under rugs eventually come out.

I can understand how the BW role expanded as the unforseen length and difficulty of the war expanded. I can’t see how and why nobody was paying enough attention all these years to ask what was needed to keep contractors under control

A chilling comment: “Blackwater is no worse than the other security contractors.” That was said by way of explaining the whole matter away.

‘No worse’ does not reassure.

It seems no one has been in charge for all these years, and that’s just inexcusable.

The good news (I think): Gates will be doing his own investigation.

Prince, a 38-year-old Navy SEAL and messianic right-winger

Messianic means “relating to a messiah promising deliverance.” What sort of deliverance is Prince promising and to whom is he promising it? Do you mean that he’s promising State Department employees safe delivery to the Green Zone?

Where, oh where, is this overstretched US military supposed to find the 1000 plus troops to replace contractors protecting Congress members and US diplomats in Iraq?

Blackwater has received $835 million in contracts with the Dep. of State alone. Has it been worth the money? Hard to say.

But if it’s costing you that kind of money to defend diplomats and congressmen sooner or later you have to ask if it’s worth having diplomats and congressmen running around outside the Green Zone (or for that matter, within it), regardless of the conduct of the PMC’s.

So we pay our army to move forward with Petreaus’ COIN doctrine and simultaneously pay Blackwater and others to undermine that very doctrine?

Just another pathetic example of the total lack of thought that was put into our grand Iraq stragegy.

The appearance by Prince, a 38-year-old Navy SEAL and messianic right-winger with close ties to the White House and Pentagon, comes on the heels of a blistering new report prepared by the committee’s Democratic majority staff.

Can’t get much clearer than that.

Besides which, you are merely looking at the problem as it now exists and not the source of the problem.

Waxman is right, and even Bart Simpson could figure out that the per diem payment for a Blackwater operative is about four times what General Petraeus earns. I also would argue that his troops would do a better and more responsible job of guarding Condi’s precious employees.

But all of this is moot because this war was going to be fought on the cheap and the troops would be home by Christmas. Rumsfeld just didn’t specify which Christmas.

And by the way, we’re going to put in the hands of private contractors certain work done by you and your peers in your occupational field, but they’ll be responsible to no one and untouchable by any local, state, national or international law. Glad to read that you’d be just fine with that.

Waxman’s theorizing was absurd…suggesting it would be cheaper to have US soldiers doing the work.

Perhaps so…but haven’t the Democrats and liberals been screaming about the army being broken and manpower stretched to its limits.

Where, oh where, is this overstretched US military supposed to find the 1000 plus troops to replace contractors protecting Congress members and US diplomats in Iraq?

Waxman doesn’t really care about the answer to that. This is about damaging Bush…nothing else.

Man, look at some of the Blackwater “outrages” in the Democrat’s report that Shaun doesn’t mention.

For example, a Blackwater helicopter helped US servicement in taking out a sniper in a mosque minaret!

Outrageous! Clearly these helicopter pilots must be put on trial. What did Bush know about Blackwater assisting US troops against snipers, and when did he know it? This is grounds for impeachment, for sure.