Investigation on military contractors focuses on new Blackwater abuses
- Length: 3:57 minutes (3.62 MB)
- Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
As part of an ongoing investigation into military contractors, lawmakers on Capitol Hill today questioned current and former Blackwater and military officials about misconduct in Afghanistan. The company is well known for abuses in Iraq, including the killing of civilians. One of the issues raised in today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the many name changes Blackwater has gone through to continue winning contracts from the military, including creating the new subsidiary Paravant. Senators were also concerned with cases of Blackwater employees under the influence of alcohol who mis-used weapons, including opening fire on Afghan civilians. Claire McCaskill from Missouri, in an exchange with Retired Colonel Bradley Wakefield said Blackwater's conduct is particularly troubling in light of the US military's campaign to win support from the Afghan people.
CM: We have two groups of people, both Americans, both being seen as a unified front in terms of what they're doing in this country. We have one group of people that if one of the Army would have gone out there with an AK-47 they weren't supposed to have on top of a moving vehicle and shot a guy in the head and paralyzed him, something would have happened in that chain of command. And if they had kept somebody on the force that had been using cocaine that had been drunk that had been charged with larceny that had done all these things these guys had done, they went out and killed Afghan people in the Spring of 2009, something would have happened to them if they were in the military. Correct Colonel?
BW: Yes, ma’am.
CM: I mean this would have been a huge deal inside the military. That somebody wearing the uniform would have been engaged in this kind of conduct. And what's killing me about this problem with Blackwater is we have two sets of rules and one image."
In another incident examined during today's hearing, Blackwater employees allegedly took hundreds of AK-47s from a military bunker that were intended for Afghan Security forces.
Committee Chair Carl Levin and Blackwater's Vice President of Contracts, Fred Roitz.
CL: You're saying until today, you were not aware of the fact that those weapons were not in use for contractors but were intended for Afghan security forces, is that correct?
FR: That's correct, Mr. Chairman. But also I believe that the coordination, the paperwork withdrawing those weapons from Bunker 22 was not adequate or sufficient in its documentation. I believe the US military was part of the transfer of Bunker 22 weapons or with their knowledge or with their consent in the country of Afghanistan when they went to Blackwater.
CL: So what you're saying is that if you got weapons it was with the consent of the US military and you were not aware until today that you were not supposed to get those weapons, is that what you're telling us? I mean, look, you signed the contract. The contract says specifically that you need to comply with the applicable laws and treaties and directives, including specifically CentCom’s and what you are saying is that you were not aware of that CentCom rule until today, that's what you are telling us.
FR: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
CL: Thank you.
Blackwater's subsidiary Paravant was subcontracted to do work in Afghanistan through defense giant Raytheon. Also testifying today was Raytheon's Brian McCracken who is the former vice president of Paravant. The number of military contractors in Afghanistan exceeds US troops. Earlier this week, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressmember Jan Schakowsky introduced a bill to end the use of security contractors in conflict zones.
- Login or register to post comments
- Download audio file
