The Blackwater Contract

looking to the RightIt went relatively unnoticed that Blackwater's contract in Iraq was renewed. Yes, it got some press and there were a few arguments over whether Blackwater was deserving and whether Iraq's government should have a say. When the dust settled though, the key point was missed. Before we go to the main point, we have to understand what a sweet deal Blackwater is for everyone connected to the White House. Blackwater is a subcontractor to a company called Regency that takes a hefty commission on the contract (remember, this is all public funds). So Regency gets a cut for doing nothing. But wait! Regency is a subcontractor to a company called ESS and ESS needs a big cut of that public money also because it does a lot of things like -- well -- uh -- O. K., it doesn't do anything, but it gets a cut. Now, that should be the end of the line, but ESS is really a subcontractor to a company called KBR and KBR gets a really big cut because KBR is a subsidiary of Halliburton, the prime contractor for the Pentagon and Halliburton gets a really big cut, so all these big corporations are feeding at that huge trough of borrowed government money. It's only fair that they should all get rich, don't you think? I mean, why else do we pay taxes?

 

The Real Point

Sample Image Patrick F. Kennedy, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Management said, "We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq. If the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq." when arguing for the decision to renew Blackwater's contract to protect American diplomats. The message here is clear, the Administration has failed to build a capable military in nearly 6 years Iraq occupation. This is astonishing when the Bush Administration has already been criticized for failing to support our troops. Our military men and women should have received the training to defend America and its diplomats. It would have taken only a fraction of the cost of mercenary contracts, but it wouldn't have made the right people rich. At the Regency level, a Blackwater manager costs about $1,100 a day. A single sergeant cost about $85 a day. General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad oversees more than 160,000 U.S. troops and costs us about $495 a day! One Blackwater contractor actually costs nearly 3 times as much as our top general in Iraq! That's pretty disgusting, but it sounds a lot worse when we think there isn't enough money to properly train our own troops!

 

What We Should Do

Sample Image That's pretty obvious. We should use Marines or the Rapid Deployment Force to guard diplomats. That's just the role Marines are trained for. If the training hasn't been adequate, let's make it adequate. We can pay for 10 Marines for every 1 Blackwater contractor and still have several hundred dollars per month for ongoing training. That would be a lot better than letting our military languish in despair while well connected companies make hundreds of millions of dollars doing a job that should be done by our troops. Renew Blackwater's contract if we have to. Admit the Bush Administration has another failure on its hands, but phase out Blackwater as we train our troops to do the job they are really already trained to do. You see, I don't believe our Marines or other military are as incompetent as the Administration implies. I think this is just a big payoff to friends of the Administration and that our troops are caught in the middle. They deserve better.

 

Return to Main Page
The cost of government is not what you pay in taxes, it is what the government spends plus what the government forces its people to spend plus the effect of what the government does (or fails to do) to keep the the economy favorable to its people. - Jenny Jerrome