For those who aren't familiar with them, Blackwater Training Facilities is a private company that is contracted for undisclosed purposes across the world. Currently over 1,000 contractors are employed in Iraq to support the U.S. military. Contractors are held accountable for anything that happens to them while engaged in a job and no responsibility is held by the company itself.
Recently one woman, the mother of one of these contractors, is suing Blackwater to take responsibility for the poor equipment that her son received while in Iraq. Her son, an ex Navy Seal and 3 others were killed while on a mission. Many detest Blackwater's involvement in the war because they are not an official military and are not forced to adhere to the same laws and morals as the military does. Some feel they are a dangerous and unchecked private army.
I believe Blackwater should be more open about its operations and take more responsibility in the people they employ in the field. And although they may be a necessary evil in a war torn environment I think more checks and government should be in order. However, this may be a difficult task because Blackwater helps fund the republican party and undoubtedly has connections within upper levels of government.
How do you feel about the use of hired contractors in Iraq? Do you think they might do more interference with military operations than support? Should they be held more accountable for the men they hire and the equipment they supply them?
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I dont think that companies like Blackwater are interfering with the United State's operations primarily based on the fact that they are on the same side we are. They are not going out and killing our soldiers. I do agree that proper regulation and punishment should be enforced for these companies, but when the government thinks enough is enough they will do something about it.
I don't know enough about Blackwater to say if they are interfering or not, but they could be. If they were attacking our soldiers, that wouldn't be interfering, that would be engaging in war against us. Interfering would be if they were engaging in activity that prevented our soldiers from completing their mission. For example, if our troops were trying to win approval of the Iraqi population and Blackwater was killing innocent Iraqis, that would interfere with the goals of the troops.
Yes that could possibly be a detrement to the Americans. I wonder though how it is possible to run such companies almost undetected. I am willing bet that many people didn't know agencies like this existed outside the movies. The media needs to be more of a watch dog than a gate keeper in this regard.
Blackwater Worldwide (www.blackwaterusa.com)is contracted by the United States government, so to say that they interfere with military operation is way off base. They might interfere with the way the Iraqi people view the U.S., but not much can be done about that by the military anyway. As far as benefits for their employees, I do agree that they could do more as far as death benefits and stuff of that nature, but they do make anywhere from 500-1000 dollars a day while deployed so they could easily provide life insurance for themselves.
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