Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
September 22nd, 2007 . by TexasFredWASHINGTON (AP) – Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press. Blackwater is based in Moyock, N.C.
Well, this isn’t looking good for the home team, but I am not going to blindly give Blackwater carte blanche and declare there is NO WAY they could have done this, and that is the exact same thing I said regarding the troops, Marines and Army, that have been brought up on charges lately, let the investigations take place and the chips will fall where they may…
Officials with knowledge of the case said it is active, although at an early stage. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, which has heightened since 11 Iraqis were killed Sunday in a shooting involving Blackwater contractors protecting a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad.
The officials could not say whether the investigation would result in indictments, how many Blackwater employees are involved or if the company itself, which has won hundreds of millions of dollars in government security contracts since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is under scrutiny.
If they’re not authorized to speak, why do they?? Is this something that the public has a serious need to know of at this particular time?? Is this a matter of grave national security??
No, it’s not, on either count, and it’s things like this that makes the job that much harder for the investigators trying to uncover all the facts, IF there have been improprieties, wouldn’t this anonymous outing of information make those involved take their operation underground so to speak?? These guys are specialists and they have the ability to simply disappear, it’s what they do…
In Saturday’s editions, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that two former Blackwater employees – Kenneth Wayne Cashwell of Virginia Beach, Va., and William Ellsworth “Max” Grumiaux of Clemmons, N.C. – are cooperating with federal investigators.
Cashwell and Grumiaux pleaded guilty in early 2007 to possession of stolen firearms that had been shipped in interstate or foreign commerce, and aided and abetted another in doing so, according to court papers viewed by The Associated Press. In their plea agreements, which call for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the men agreed to testify in any future proceedings.
There’s an old axiom that says, “2 people can keep a secret if 1 of them is dead…”, and there’s a lot of truth in that, IF you’re going to be involved in weapons smuggling you must have cohorts, and by having cohorts, IF your operation is discovered, someone is going to sing like a canary, it’s human nature, no one is going to take a fall by themselves if they can get a lighter sentence by taking you down with them…
I’m not saying that there have been any more Blackwater people involved, who knows, the 2 listed above may be the only ones and are just shooting in the dark and hoping for something to fall into place, and then again, maybe there is a deeper involvement, but the Bush administration needs to tread lightly and proceed with extreme caution on this matter, you never know WHERE the orders come from in the spook business, and the possible implications may be catastrophic, and there’s always a trail…
Read this one all the way through, it’s a good read, and there are some interesting points brought up and the possible implications are quite interesting…
Full Story Here:
Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
EDIT TO ADD:
Iraq Expands Blackwater Investigation
When it goes bad in Iraq, it goes really bad, I think someone has a bone to pick with Blackwater…
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Fred, these Blackwater guys are “the Home Boys” and we Tar Heels are not happy with what appears to us as an out and out attempt to shut down Blackwater just because they are damn good at what they do! So what if they are Mercs? Huh? I mean, had not the Clinton Administration gutted our Military we would not have to depend on guys with the expertise Blackwater has.
Oh, don’t pay our state press too much mind, ya hear? The few leftists we have left in the Tar Heel state either work for the universities or the newspapers!
In the meantime… I’m gonna side with Blackwater. There may have been some guys running a few guns, but Blackwater doesn’t have to make it’s millions doing that. They make their money by being our HIRED Private Military!
By the way… I like the Fred Thompson log below! HA!
Best regards!
Longstreet
Longstreet, I too have reasons for supporting Blackwater but I am not going to sit here and declare that there is NO WAY they could have done it, war, greed and opportunity have been known to bring about much stranger bedfellows than this…
That Fred Thompson thing?? Yeah, I stole it from some guy called Longstreet…
Way to go, Fred!
You are right, of course. (about Blackwater). But… it is beginning to look as if there is a vendeta going on. I can’t help but think that our less than friendly foes on the Left are out to get those guys because they don’t kiss ass and play those politically cvorrect games, that, unfortunately, our Military are now ordered to play.
I have to tell you… I’m glad I’m out. I can’t even imagine the frustration the field officers must endure…knowing that NOBODY can beat the US Military but the American people….knowing they have the personnel, and skill, to clean that rat’s nest out, over there, and be ordered fight a politically correct war. Arrrrrgh!
A retorical question now: Did we ever get US troops out of Bosnia???? I distinctly remember “Bubba” Clinton swearing they’d only be there “about a year”! My son-in-law and I laughed out loud when we watched him say that on national TV. We could tell he was lying because his lips were moving! God help, us if he gets back into the White House…. and right now, I would not be surprized if he did!
Longstreet
The’re bad apples in every bunch. When I was stationed in Michigan, range officials, senior NCO’s were busted for stealing ammunition and selling it at gun shows.
The way people get caught is someone can’t keep their mouth shut. It’s human nature to brag on accomplishments, even illegal ones. A finance NCO in England has developed a foolproof way to defraud the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The only way she got caught is her husband bragged about it when he made a trip back to the states.
The guys from Blackwater are doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world; a job I wouldn’t want to do. If I were to need protection, their the ones I would want guarding my life.
Hard to say if these weapons were “smuggled” in for their own use and were stolen. Hey, weapons get stolen from armories right here in the states all the time. Shoot, the Air Force just recently misplaces a few nuclear warheads, finally finding them 1000 miles away in Louisiana on the wing of a B-52.
One of the biggest problems we have here in America is “officials” who just can’t keep their big mouths shut. These “officials” love to parade before the media with their ” I know something you don’t know” attitudes and then speak on the condition of autonomy. These are the people who put our lives in danger every day.
Like the man in Montana said if you should see a wolf while hunting: shoot, shovel, and shut-up.
I agree with your support of the troops and your strong nationalism toward our government. However, I believe when profit is at stake, people will follow unethical and unjust means in order to accomplish their ends. That is why in this case, the United States Attorney General needs to conduct a deep probe into Blackwater USA. Looking at Blackwater’s history, it does not provide a clean slate on which to evaluate them. I am looking at this situation from an business viewpoint, and when a contracted government company is perhaps violating ethical standards, a huge red flag needs to be waved. I am skeptical of Blackwater in general, who the Associated Press in an article titled “‘Cowboy’ Aggression Works for Blackwater” outlines its in depth involvement with the Republican party. The article says, and I believe you also say, that Blackwater has one task: to protect state department diplomats. As part of their contract, they do abide by this principle. However, does our country want such an organization that compromises ethical behavior in order to not only protect lives but also make money at doing so? Putting aside their recent media storm, at the beginning of last year, two former Blackwater employees pled guilty possessing stolen firearms. The firm is also entangled in GOP fundraising campaigns, giving more than $200, 000, which according to the AP article has allowed Blackwater to operate in a “murky legal world” during the Republican reign.
By using Blackwater, the government becomes twisted into their transactions. Hopefully this issue can be resolved as justly as possible, and the government will let the situation unfold and hold Blackwater accountable as the legal system outlines.