This Is What They’re Defending
The colonel was furious. “Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers.” He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. ArmyHumvee on a street in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, “This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press.”
[source]
Of course it’s gossip, colonels in the US military are well known for their gossip sessions.
h/t: The Vanity Press
Nice to see you prefer the shoot first and ask questions later policy SL when it comes to propagating gossip.
Complete with anonymous source too, I see.
Exactly. Stop using those unknown little publications like “Newsweek”, SL – what is that, some PLO newsletter, I suppose?
Welcome back, RJ! Things in Iraq still going Much Better Than You Expected? As I recalled, last time you were particularly chuffed about the state of the Kurds – you must be thrilled about the proposed Turkish action.
RJ: Back in the early days of the war when Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction were not only the justification for the war but there was still a possibility of finding some, the supporters of Bush’s little adventure were fond of saying about their non presence, where there’s smoke there’s bound to be fire – in that case it was all smoke.
In this case there’s not only plenty of Blackwater smoke but current video footage, current images, and current eye witness accounts, plus a couple of current investigations – the majority of which back up claims of a bunch of trigger happy mercenaries operating essentially as a law unto themselves whose actions have been covered up by the US in the past.
Use the search box if you haven’t been following this story, there’s a bunch of stuff here.
Where ya been anyway?
Yes Balb, yes things in Iraq are going much better than expected. I know that to be the case, especially if you follow the journalists on the ground like Michael Totten, Bill Roggio, and Michael Yon. Of course, they don’t fit the narrative of Iraq is a quagmire that is necessary to feed your anti-Americanism, so I suppose that they don’t count. Oh yeah, and there’s the Washington Post saying that “The evidence of a drop in violence in Iraq is becoming hard to dispute.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/13/AR2007101301071.html
Oops. There goes the Iraq is a failure theory right out the window–giving it about as much credibility as the Kyoto accord has on halting anthropogenic global warming. (That’s none for you kids following along at home).
As far as the Turkish Parliamentary approval for military action in Iraq, I think a lot of that is sabre-rattling to try to ensure some Turkish influence on Iraq. It may be an opening for Maliki and Gul and the Kurds to get into some serious high-level discussions about future security in the region. Turkey may want to move in, but they don’t want to risk a) getting into a guerrilla war against the Kurds not only in Iraq but also on their own soil, b) getting into a shooting war that they’re really not prepard for, i.e. running their 1970s-era forces up against the high-tech firepower that the Americans have and essentially replicating the effectiveness of Saddam’s Iraqi army during OF, or c) running the risk that the Turkish Army may decide to replace the current Turkish Parliament as they threatened on Gul’s election in April of this year. Anyone want to dispute my analysis?
SL, could you explain to me why the following sources quoted in the Newsweek article you cited have any more credibility than Balb does on Iraq?
“The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named…” (of course he couldn’t be named–does he even exist?)
“His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company.” (Which company? Who was he? If he’s a competitor to Blackwater, would he have an interest in discrediting a competitor?)
“Blackwater operatives are often accused of playing by their own rules.” (accused by whom, I ask?)
“…said an American soldier who guards a gate…” (What soldier? What gate?)
“One military contractor, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution in his industry…” (He recounted an incident that happened in the film Black Hawk Down.)
“A U.S. Embassy staffer, who did not have permission to speak on the record…” (What staffer? Does he even exist?)
“But another State Department official, also speaking anonymously…” (Noticing a trend here?)
The only people that go on the record in that story are Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell and Blackwater chief Erik Prince.
Come on, in this story, you don’t even have smoke. I mean, what happened to journalistic standards? Or is it enough to make an accusation that fits the worldview and that is enough to get you to act like the Blackwater operators you’re lambasting here by shooting first and asking questions later? If so, do you really want to be led around by the nose like that by the MSM?
It’s always fun to drop by from time to time but I’ve got to admit I’m a bit saddened this time around. From looking around, It seems like the Bunker has descended into an echo chamber with an unwillingness to explore the alternate voices. Instead, it seems like there’s a pernicious credulity to accept anti-American and anti-Western narrative regardless of the veracity of the source.
I’ve been quite busy of late, but I have to admit that I’ve been having a tremendous amount of fun watching Parliament this past year and seeing the Conservatives take steps to restore Canada from the malaise that gripped it during the Chretien era.
I trust that everyone and their families and friends are doing well. Balb, is your wife’s research going well also? I seem to recall she was working on climate issues in Canada’s north.
I also seem to recall Balb and TH owing me a bottle of Scotch (the good stuff–none of this blended crap). Maybe I’ll collect one day. Anyhow, I think I’ll visit in another six months. I’ll stick around to respond to comments in this thread but other than that, I wish everyone well.
Yes, I noted that there was a forty-seven minute period at a particular intersection near the Green Zone where killings were lower than the same forty-seven minute period measured exactly three years ago. Amazing what you can construct by carefully cherry picking your criteria, terms of reference and observation period, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, the only real index of long term “success”…the consolidation of an effective representative government with the capacity to maintain domestic security…is no closer than it was at your last visit.
Not sure whether you caught my advice to Bush, but it appears he’s taken it. Use his “surge” to flatten insurgency in limited areas of the country where control is still possible: collect the best selective stats you can, and declare success: begin a withdrawal: and sorrowfully blame the subsequent collapse and civil war on Iraqi incapacity. So far, RJ, our batting average in the predictions department has been considerably better than yours, I fear…despite the deeply impressive list of reporters you read. Heh.
“I’ve got to admit I’m a bit saddened this time around. From looking around, It seems like the Bunker has descended into an echo chamber with an unwillingness to explore the alternate voices.”
Golly, RJ, that’s not a very nice thing to say to Candace, Nastyboy, Shlemazl, lrC, the Needle, SUZANNE, and our other Conservative or URQ-ish regulars. Have you been hanging out on those blogs where they mistake screaming for discussion? Perhaps you’ve forgotten that folks can actually disagree with shrieking?
Sparring aside, it’s actually been pretty good around here, with a civil, interesting and growing group of diverse commentators. You missed the whole Stageleft-as-Enemy-Of-Israel-And-The-Jews thing, for which you can be grateful.
‘Balb, is your wife’s research going well also? I seem to recall she was working on climate issues in Canada’s north.”
Thanks for asking. She published that one through McGill (it was just one paper, on the spread of Southern microfauna into the north), and is now working on a series of monographs on the regulation of natural health products. Not quite as sexy (her project, not herself), but she’s got a policy brain with a science bent, so she’s enjoying it.
Completely off topic, it is in part through this blog that I have learned that “Upper” bothers me more than “Right”.
Well Balb, nice to see that the snark is still healthy here, Mr. “Saddam Hussein Was Contained by Sanctions.” I think that everyone can agree that takes a special kind of disconnect from reality to believe that nowadays.
But I won’t get drawn into an argument on well-trod ground. I’d be happy to match my record against yours any day though.
Please pass along my congratulations to your wife on the publication of her article. Stay well.
“Well Balb, nice to see that the snark is still healthy here.”
It’s alway such a dilemma to figure out how to follow lofty, unsubtantiated argument from authority, for sure. Some favour a strong cheese with a light, sweet wine…others prefer a more a more robust port with a cigar. But give me snark every time.
Thanks, I will convey your congratulations to the Doc. Don’t stay away so long next time…even Springsteen is coming to Ottawa every six months or so nowadays.
Well, you are the expert on unsubstantiated argument…
Or is that Newsweek?
Anyhow, what is it about the two of us that we always end up lately stooping to the lowest level of flinging insults instead of engaging in substantive debate like we used to?
I’ll be back in 6 months. Stay well
I suggest you read your first response in this thread for the answer to that question, RJ.