Why Is Obama Still Using Blackwater?

Ridgeway, the Blackwater operative, admitted that he and the other Blackwater operatives "opened fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers on unarmed civilians." None of the victims that day "was an insurgent," he said, adding that "many were shot while inside of civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee." Full Story »

Posted by Randy Morrow - via The Nation
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Subjects: U.S.
Topics: War in Iraq
Member Tags: blackwater
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# Diggs: 3 (as of 2009-09-16)
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Posted by: Posted by Randy Morrow - Sep 16, 2009 - 2:53 PM PDT
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Sep 23, 2009 - 10:28 AM PDT

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3.4
by Walter Cox - Sep. 21, 2009

A story every American should read to become fully aware of just how destructive Blackwater has been to our efforts in Iraq. The article completely fails, however, to answer the question it poses: "Why, indeed, is Blackwater still being used." A larger question is just as important: " Why have we gone in the direction of using mercenaries at all?" Without even the veneer of professionalism associated with formal military training, we can expect nothing better from Blackwater--or ... More »

Frankly, I thought Blackwater was long gone. The only positive note here is that some Blackwater guards drew their weapons on their murderous ... More »

See Full Review » (12 answers)
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4.4
by Chris Finnie - Sep. 22, 2009

Scahill has done more than any journalist to expose Blackwater and its various criminal acts. For all its detail, this is simply a rehash of his earlier work. And it completely fails to answer the question of the headline--which is a good one. If you haven't read his earlier pieces, by all means do read this. If you have, then this will be little more than a repeat.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
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4.5
by Randy Morrow - Sep. 20, 2009

An account of the Blackwater Nisour Square massacre plus some update information on Blackwater.

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4.4
by Dwight Rousu - Sep. 22, 2009

The atrocities related support the exasperated rhetorical question in the title.

Killing people should not be a business for profit. "Protecting" civilian support personnel for the invasion and occupation has seen severe mission ... More »

See Full Review » (12 answers)
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3.7
by Ben Ross - Sep. 21, 2009

Old news ....completely misses the very important question posed by the headline.

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3.8
by Evan Langhorst - Sep. 21, 2009

this is a tragic story; something needs to be done to Blackwater.

See Full Review » (6 answers)
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4.0
by Abbey Skrzypek - Sep. 23, 2009

This is quality journalism because it is news to us now. Obama is a huge part of the news and any informative news about him is quality journalism.

See Full Review » (19 answers)
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4.4
by Warren James - Sep. 21, 2009

Yes. It is not very biased, and it gives the facts.

This is tragic.

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4.8
by Winston Steward - Sep. 21, 2009

It is a long and informative article, but waits until the final paragraph to discuss at all the main point of the title. The title suggests an analysis of the President's choices regarding blackwater, but instead, discusses in detail one of Blackwater's more heinous moments (of which there are many).

See Full Review » (6 answers)

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