[SurfNinja]

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


What do you guys think about this company? Saviors to our forces in Iraq? Mercenaries? The next mafia? There was a lot of debate over them a while ago; some think they are a great help to us and others think they are a huge problem.

Some vids:

About Blackwater (biased against them at some parts)


Blackwater personnel and Marines in a little firefight on a rooftop


The famous "turkey shoot" Blackwater sniper

[MJB23]

I'm a fan of Blackwater but they get screwed over so badly in Iraq. A lot of them have been charged with crimes here because of what they did there.

There's been some controversy about them in the past but I think they are a good company.

They are changing their name by the way to get away from the stigma around them.

[milkkid291]

Wow what's up with Surf with these hot debate topics?

I like it, but you never get into them that much.

Your mainly going to get bad news about Blackwater (Xe) though.

I like the good stuff they do and I do like them. Most people think that the majority of Blackwater is bad, which isn't true

[xeberus]

I think its balling

[Gluteal Cleft]

Read "Licensed to Kill", by Robert Pelton. It gives you a lot of insight into them.

[plazzman]

Wait so why don't these guys just join the Army?

[SurfNinja]

^ They are all ex-Marines or special forces of some sort, and Blackwater pays much, much better.

Originally Posted by Gluteal Cleft

Read "Licensed to Kill", by Robert Pelton. It gives you a lot of insight into them.

And what is your conclusion about them after reading it?

Originally Posted by MJB23

They are changing their name by the way to get away from the stigma around them.

Yes hence the (Xe) in the title, that's their new name.

[ShadyNismo]

I heard about them on CNN a while back regarding to Iraq.

[SurfNinja]

Originally Posted by milkkid291

Wow what's up with Surf with these hot debate topics?

I like it, but you never get into them that much.

I am not a great debater by any means, because I'm usually too lazy to do the proper research. Remember though, I made the Katrina thread to help me out with writing a paper, although I did enjoy the minor debate over who was to blame. I'd love to see stitch1z and my professor go at it.

Really I was just watching the Blackwater Youtube videos and wondered what everyone thought of them.

[Gluteal Cleft]

Originally Posted by SurfNinja

^ They are all ex-Marines or special forces of some sort, and Blackwater pays much, much better.

And what is your conclusion about them after reading it?

The crazy thing is that even though Blackwater pays MUCH more than the Army, they get the job done MUCH cheaper than the Army, because there is so much less overhead. They also get the job done RIGHT. As an example, the US government contracted with Blackwater to protect Hamid Karzai, because they knew that while they couldn't do it, Blackwater could. They have not lost a single "principle" to date.

They also do a lot of things that the regular Army can't. As an example, for years, American contractors have been trying to get the infrastructure of Iraq and Afghanistan back together, but various factions don't want that to happen, so they go out and bomb/sabotage their work. And every time an electrical engineer needs to go back to a power plant to fix the damage, SOMEONE has to escort him to keep the engineer from getting blown up. Same for water and other workers. One of my friends is a contractor who has been working in Afghanistan trying to rebuild infrastructure for years, and for his own safety, he WILL NOT leave the base unless he absolutely has to. If it weren't for private contractors, nothing like that would be possible.

They also do a great job of going into areas where the US military is not allowed to go, like into the tribal area of Pakistan, where the bad guys DO live and thrive, and even Pakistan itself can't even do anything about it.

Now, do their guys ever screw up and do things they shouldn't? Of course. It's a freaking war, those things WILL happen. It happens with the Army, Marines, and others, too - I don't think that Blackwater is much worse in that regard. And just like Blackwater, the military makes a habit of covering them up.

But, the bad part - up until recently, there was absolutely no accountability for their actions, they had complete immunity, and that's just wrong. That is changing, and things will improve for it.

It's really a mixed bag. Ups and downs.