How many more contracts will be awarded to these murderers by our State Department, and how many times must we ask?
A firm affiliated with the former Blackwater security company has been awarded a contract to provide protection to U.S. consulates and diplomats in the Afghan cities of Herat and Mazar-e Sharif, a U.S. State Department official confirmed on Saturday. [...]
The deal is a one-year contract with an option to extend up to 18 months. If the contract is fulfilled for that entire period, it would be more than $120 million.
Come on, isn’t there another group with a cleaner past? There must be something in Blackwater’s past history that would prevent them from bidding on contracts. It couldn’t possibly be the best qualified company to work in Afghanistan!
The State Department official, insisting on anonymity, said past history with Blackwater did not prevent U.S. Training Center from bidding on contracts and that in this case the company was the best qualified for the work in Afghanistan.
Seriously, what are they thinking? While they’re at it, why not hire BP?
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) agrees. She’s pushing to get rid of private contractors like Xe:
“Instead of punishing Blackwater for its extensive history of serious abuses the State Department is rewarding the company with up to $120 million in taxpayer funds [...] Though the name Blackwater has become synonymous with the worst of contractor abuses, the bigger problem is our dangerous reliance on such companies for the business of waging war.”
The congresswoman has introduced legislation that would phase these thugs out, and with good reason. Her point about relying on them to fight our battles– isn’t that what our military is for? And if it’s a question of low numbers, find a way. Our military is top notch, but hey, Blackwater pays better. You’d think we’d figure out a way to compensate, wouldn’t you?
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