Heckuva job Blackwater

There was a time when, if you screwed up enough, there were consequences. Lets say your woeful incompetence exacerbated the destruction of an American city. There was a time that would have immediately cost you your job. Not in the Bush administration. Under Bush, such utter imbecility is rewarded with a pat on the back.

So what happens if you kill 17 civilians and further damage our reputation, already sullied by Abu Ghraib, water boarding and the preemptive war in Iraq? Blackwater Worldwide is the largest of the security firms who have, combined, as many as 30,000-100,000 mercenary soldiers in Iraq. They have born the brunt of some of the more horrific attacks on US interests, with several of their contractors killed, dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge. They have also been responsible for their own ruthless attacks.

Last year Blackwater was responsible for the shooting of 17 Iraqis. The FBI determined that 14 of the shootings were completely unjustified and Blackwater was accused of attempting to cover up what had happened. It seemed for a moment that their actions might prompt a reexamination of the use of military contractors to provide services typically provided by the military such as security. This weekend we were reminded that we still live under the Bush Regime.

Outrage over the killings prompted the Iraqi government to demand Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and led to a criminal investigation by the FBI a series of internal investigations by the State Department and the Pentagon, and high-profile Congressional hearings.

But after an intense public and private lobbying campaign, Blackwater appears to be back to business as usual.

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

The US has said that Blackwater is one of only three companies in the world that can provide them with the security services they need. There was once a time when the US Military was actually responsible for providing security to US interests. In those days we had the ability to ensure some level of accountability. Now, no matter what our contractors do, we seem to have no choice but to pat them on the back, give them a raise and say, “Heckuva job.”