Ray Sansom: Man of Values Part II

I wrote a post called "Ray Sansom: Man of Values." I noted that Sansom's professed religious values didn't match his actions. The charges against Sansom have been dropped. Sansom immediately lays it on thick with his Christian spiel.

"God has sustained us," Sansom said after the case was dismissed. "We held strong with his grace."

Perhaps Sansom can explain how inserting a secret earmark to get a $110,000-a-year job was following the gospel. In return for the job, Samson gave Northwest Florida State College $750,000 in start up funds. Jay Odom, a longtime campaign contributor to Sansom, got a remodeled hanger.
Sansom did another secret earmark to Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater. The legislation would allow Xe to run privatized prisons in Florida. Fortunately, the legislation died.

The job Sansom received was was no-bid. Former Northwest Florida State College president Bob Richburg kept the meeting closed to the public. Richburg did not hold the meeting at NWFSC, instead at Florida State University. Florida Sunshine laws requires that the meeting for job opening, involving anelected official, have the minutes recorded. Richburg waited ten mouths to post the minutes.

Sansom spent $173,000 of the nonprofit Republican Party of Florida money, on lavish meals and tuxedo rentals. Sansom's crwedit card spending spree hardly follows the Christ parable of the Good Sararitan. Especial when Sansom his not spending someone else's money.

In my two years of covering Sansom, I haven't seen him do one thing that wasn't too his personnal benefit. Sansom's faith is no different than Jimmy Swagart or Jim Bakker professing a love of Jesus after publicly being caught in a scandal. If Sansom wants to make me believe he is a Christian then he can start by professing his ethical lapses. I doubt Sansom's values are strong enough for that kind of candor.

Ray Sansom's Blackwater Deal

In 2008, former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom inserted an amendment that would privatize five state prisons. The contracts would go to Blackwater. The company is now known as Xe Services LLC. Blackwater best known for the controversial killing of 17 Iraqi civilians. Judge Ricardo M. Urbina dropped the charges against the accused Blackwater guards.

Florida Sen. Paula Dockery is opposed to the Blackwater contract. The town of Sneads's economy depends of the state jobs provided by the prison. Dockery issued a press release.

Senator Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland), is strongly opposed to the lengthy proviso language that was quietly inserted into the Senate’s proposed budget during last week’s Ways & Means Committee hearing. “The proposal to close unnamed existing correctional facilities resulting in the layoffs of over 1,000 state corrections officers to move inmates to private facilities is a policy decision that deserves to be vetted through a completely transparent process. As chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, I find it outrageous that major change in how we run our state correctional facilities was not reviewed by committees that were created for this explicit purpose,” said Senator Dockery. “Transparency cannot exist when there has been no opportunity for debate or testimony.”

A hush contract given to Blackwater. Maybe this is what Ray Sansom meant by saying he was a man of values. Those same values allowed Sansom to use the Republican Party of Florida credit card to buy expensive meals and tuxedo rentals. Sansom's strong values allowed him to never repay the RPoF for his lavish spending.

Mercenary Contractors Still Abusing Tax Dollars

Blackwater changed their name to Xe. Unfortunately, the Obama administration is still using the marcenary company's services in Iraq. Xe will continue to provide helicopter transport to embassy officials to and from the green zone. DynCorp International is to take over duties. DynaCorps have experienced the same problems as Blackwater/Xe.

The company is not short on controversy. Under the Plan Colombia contract, the company has 88 aircraft and 307 employees - 139 of them American - flying missions to eradicate coca fields in Colombia. Soldier of Fortune magazine once ran a cover story on DynCorp, proclaiming it "Colombia's Coke-Bustin' Broncos."

US Rep. Janice Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, told Wired magazine that hiring a private company to fly what amounts to combat missions is asking for trouble. DynCorp's employees have a history of behaving like cowboys," Schakowsky noted. "Is the US military privatizing its missions to avoid public controversy or to avoid embarrassment - to hide body bags from the media and shield the military from public opinion?" she asked.

The Obama administration isn't attempting to change the dependence on private military personal. The Defense Department is switching to DynCorp because they are a less offensive name brand to progressives and the media. DynCorp has the same level of corruption and incompetence. April G. Stephenson, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stephenson told the commission DynCorp overbilled the Defense Department by $50 million.

There is more: DynCorp subsidiary Global Linguist Solutions was awarded a $4.6 billion contract to provide linguistics services. GLS cut a deal with L-3 Communications. In total, GLS awarded $2.9 billion of it's DoD contract to 18 subcontractors. Stephenson testified that these subcontracts never underwent Defense Department review.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama was asked if he intended to stop using companies, such as Blackwater and DynCorp. Obama made it clear he will continue to use private contractors. Obama is more concerned with image than changing the current military culture that awards mercenary contractors.

I want you to walk to a mirror and say, "Obama is change I can believe in."

Xe

In need of an image makeover, Blackwater Worldwide changes it's name to Xe. If becoming a laughingstock is Blackwater's new PR goal then mission accomplished. I can't wait for the new logo.

Five Blackwater Accused To Turn Themselves In

The Assiociated Press reports the 5 to-be-indicted Blackwater guards will surrender in Utah. The five men were involved with the 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqi civilians. They will turn themselves in to the FBI on Monday. The men have been identified as Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Nick Slatten, Paul Slough and Evan Liberty.

The FBI investigation revealed members of Blackwater fired the only shots. The Iraqi government may file a civil suit against the Blackwater company.

Legal problems will a rise because members of Blackwater have immunity deals with the State Department.

Some legal scholars and the defense lawyers have argued that the law does not apply to the Blackwater guards because they were working for the State Department. Such a position was buttressed by the Congressional Budget Office in a report in August that said the law does not apply to civilians working for agencies other than the Defense Department.

Prosecutors are likely to argue that a 2005 amendment to the law expanded it to include contractors "supporting the mission of the Department of Defense." Prosecutors could argue that Blackwater security guards were helping the military by protecting State Department officials, legal experts have said.

The State Department wants nothing to do with the indicted men.

The State Department says its agents did not offer blanket immunity from criminal prosecution but only promised statements the guards made on the scene could not be used against them in any prosecution.

But when the investigation was turned over to the Justice Department to examine possible criminal activity, FBI agents discovered some guards believed they were immune from prosecution and therefore refused to be interviewed again, complicating the FBI investigation.

The State Department has covered for Blacwater for years. Blackwater has gotten into trouble with the Iraqi government and have fired upon U.S. military personal. State turned the case over to the Justice Department and is willing to allowed indictments. DoS could have claimed the Blackwater guards had immunity. State is saying the opposite.

Blackwater Indictments

Two sources told CNN that 5 members of Blackwater will be indicted. The charges stem from the 2007 shotting that killed 17 Iraqi civilians.

Related: Justice Served to Blackwater

The Associated Press reports the Blackwater mercenaries involved in the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians could be charged as early as Monday. The Blackwater contractors face charges of manslaughter and assault. The strangest possible charge is prosecutors using the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Under the ADA Act, any person committing a crime with a fully automatic weapon are sentenced to 30-year prison terms.

Update: I found the CNN article is online. The charges are sealed. The prosecutor may announce the charges Monday. The CNN Wire blog post reports a sixth Blackwater guards made plea bargain deals. Which is how I figured the prosecutor would have to make his case. There may be Iraqi eyewitnesses in court.

Proving murder will be hard. A manslaughter and weapons charge under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act is more likely.

Update: Five Blackwater guards have been told to surrender to the FBI. Two Blackwater guards are lokking at the most prison time. Dustin Heard and Paul Slough are alleged to be the most proactive paticipants in the shooting.

Justice Served to Blackwater

The Associated Press reports the Blackwater mercenaries involved in the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians could be charged as early as Monday. The Blackwater contractors face charges of manslaughter and assault. The strangest possible charge is prosecutors using the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Under the ADA Act, any person committing a crime with a fully automatic weapon are sentenced to 30-year prison terms.

The State Department granted immunity to the Blackhawk personal involved; in exchange for their testimony. FBI agents told the Washington Post that any information from those testimonies is inadmissible. The Justice Department had to use other investigative methods. Forenic evidence and eyewitness reports from Iraq civilians. Another possibility is the DoJ got a member of Blackwater to come forward. I am looking forward to finding out how prosecutors were able to build their case.

I truly hope the AP story pans out. I never thought Blackwater would have to answer for these senseless killings. This gives me new faith in the justice system.

Obama's Inaction on Blackwater

Democracy Now has an excellent story on how Barack Obama has no plans to end the use of Blackwater and other private contractors. Obama states that private mercenaries can not be replaced because of the lack of U.S. troops.

Obama: Here's the problem. We have a 140,000 right there (in Iraq.) Unless we want to replace all or a big chunk of those with U.S. troops; we can't draw down the contractors faster than we can draw down the troops.

What Obama fails to realize that Blackwater's actions make U.S. troops and diplomats less safe. Blackwater's actions and illegal killings galvanizes extremists. Osama bin Laden attacks the United States because of her policies. He has made that clear in his messages. He has portrayed U.S. troops in the Middle East as crusaders. Blackwater helps feeds bin Laden's propaganda. Obama is foolish to think the Blackwater USA will be U.S. interests safer in Iraq.

Joe Garcia on FISA Bill

Florida Congressional candidate Joe Garcia issued a press release on the FISA compromise.

“The laws that were created under FISA were sufficient to meet our country’s national security needs. What the Bush administration has done, again, is present Americans with a false choice between national security and civil liberties, while this bill increases neither. I oppose any broad retroactive immunity provided to companies who may have broken the law. The legal purpose of immunity is to use the protection granted by such immunity as an inducement to divulge information about what occurred. Immunity in this case would do the opposite: it would shut down any investigation into what actually occurred. “

Tough-talking rhetoric is fine. If words matched deeds then Joe Biden would be the Democratic nominee.

Given companies immunity from prosecution has already proven to be a stupid idea. KBR can not be prosecuted for crimes on Iraq soil. Jamie Leigh Jones was gang raped and can not take the perpetrators to criminal court. Many other women have been sexually abused in Iraq because Congress approved not allowing contractor to be prosecuted.

The State Department granted Blackwater security members immunity after the killing of Iraqi civilians. The FBI's investigation was destroyed. No Blackwater member would talk to federal investigators. They all cited their immunity deals.

Congress gave the Bush White House a blank check to allow their corporate allies to commit more crimes. Silly Blue Dog Democrats never learn. The question is has Joe Garcia learned that fundamental lesson?

Blackwater Uses Gas On U.S. Troops

The New York Times reports a disturbing story of Blackwater using gas on U.S. military personal. CS gas can only be used under the orders of senior military commanders. Which makes Blackwater's use of the gas highly questionable.

A Blackwater helicopter and armored vechicle used CS gas at the checkpoint nicknamed Assassins’ Gate. 10 American soldiers and Iraqi civilians were exposed to the gas. Fortunately, none of the soldiers were injured. The Times does not know if civilians needed medical attention.

“This was decidedly uncool and very, very dangerous,” Capt. Kincy Clark of the Army, the senior officer at the scene, wrote later that day. “It’s not a good thing to cause soldiers who are standing guard against car bombs, snipers and suicide bombers to cover their faces, choke, cough and otherwise degrade our awareness.”

Mercenary contractors are not cool. A controversial video of random shootings at Iraqi motorists was allegedly executed by Aegis Defence Services.

Military Contractors Attack Civilians

Posted Nov 28, 2005

Conservative bloggers will say that Blackwater contractors were forced to use gas. Eyewitnesses from the Third Infantry Division tell another story.

Officers and noncommissioned officers from the Third Infantry Division who were involved in the episode said there were no signs of violence at the checkpoint. Instead, they said, the Blackwater convoy appeared to be stuck in traffic and may have been trying to use the riot-control agent as a way to clear a path.

I spoke to a friend whom served in the Army. He said it was normal for convoys to plow through traffic if motorists wouldn't move. The fear was having no exit route from an insurgent attack. That certainly doesn't excuse Blackwater's behavior.

Army officer Robert Bateman wrote about how he was almost killed because of Blackwater's recklessness. A Colonel told Newsweek that Blackwater drew weapons on U.S. soldiers and forced them to lie on the ground. The Colonel was part of the follow-up investigation. No charges could be pressed against Blackwater because contractors are void from criminal prosecution.

The State Department can not confirm if there is an investigation into the gas incident. Blackwater falls under State Department supervision. The State Department will either investigate or not. If they don't then I don't want to hear the Bush administration say they support troops more than Democrats. Their past actions have suggested otherwise.

Hillary Clinton On Blackwater

Hillary Clinton spoke out in Iowa against the Bush administration's use of Blackwater and other private contractors.

"We have got to rein them in," Clinton said. "They have no accountability, we have seen that with Blackwater."

"It is a disgrace that they have got all that money, they are not answerable to anybody."

I'm glad to hear her take this position. At this point, Hillary is the candidate most-likely to become President. Having the frontrunner speak out against Blackwater puts pressure on the Bush administration to get Blackwater out of Iraq. Word is Sec. of Defense wants Blackwater out. The Iraqis have made their intentions clear. No one wants Blackwater in Iraq except Bush.

Blackwater Granted Immunity

The Washington Post reports that Blackwater guards may not be prosecuted because State Department investigators granted them immunity during questioning.

FBI agents called in to take over the State Department's investigation two weeks after the Sept. 16 shootings cannot use any information gleaned during questioning of the guards by the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is charged with supervising security contractors.

Some of the Blackwater guards have subsequently refused to be interviewed by the FBI, citing promises of immunity from State, one law enforcement official said. The restrictions on the FBI's use of their initial statements do not preclude prosecution by the Justice Department using other evidence, the official said, but "they make things a lot more complicated and difficult."

This makes no sense from a prosecution standpoint. That was probably why the State Department did it. The affect is the FBI investigation has been sabotaged. Blackwater guards are citing their immunity to the FBI and refusing to answer questions.

"You can't use the fruits of that statement," another law enforcement official said. "It doesn't prevent them from talking [to the FBI], but . . . why run the risk? I think any lawyer would advise against it. "

The State Department refuses to share interview transcripts and other information pertaining to the Blackwater investigation. The Bush administration is fighting against a bill that would put Blackwater and other contractors under military law. This is a malicious effort to protect a company that neither the Iraqi people or U.S. military personal want in country. U.S. Army infantry officer Robert Bateman wrote an op-ed about how he was nearly killed twice by Blackwater.

This understanding of the backlash effect from dishonoring an Iraqi is included in a past military counterinsurgency manual, "Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq during World War II," recently re-published by the University of Chicago Press. But the reality is that Blackwater USA, from top to bottom, just does not care.

What employees of the private security firm care about, and I have heard this from the Blackwaters with whom I interacted in Iraq, is their paycheck. They care about their huge compensation packages, and about getting home alive to spend them. Blackwater USA has already taken in more than $1 billion from the public coffers.

When Iraqis see Blackwater shooting at innocent civilians they associate the company and the U.S. military as one and the same. Their behavior endangers American soldiers and the mission in Iraq. The administration that condones torture doesn't care about the civilians they claim to be liberating. They Iraqis as collateral damage.

Blackwater On 60 Minutes

Superstar reporter Lara Logan interviews Blackwater founder Erik Prince about the State Department investigation into his company's activities. Blackwater was involved in a shooting that led to the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.

P.S. Lara Logan is up there with Cat Power in the super-hot goddess department.

Blackwater Is On the Outs

The investigation into Blackwater is unearthing (unsurprising and) disturbing new information.

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.

The State Department has stonewalled the FBI. An October 11, 2007 New York Times article reports that the FBI and Iraqi police have not been allowed to talk to Blackwater. The FBI has been asking the Iraqis for information because their own government has not cooperated.

The U.S. military investigators have been given the same treatment.

The senior U.S. military officer said the State Department has also refused to provide details of its ongoing investigation. “We have asked questions,” the officer said. “They have not responded back on those.”

Two Blackwater employees smuggled weapons into Iraq. No one knows who bought the weapons. It is disturbing to think that taxpaid contractors are very likely arming insurgents.

There is the disturbing video of Blackwater shooting at random motorists for no justifiable reason.


Blackwater Shoot People For Sport - Click here for more free videos

Robert Gates is pushing to have Blackwater removed from Iraq. What is sad is there shouldn't even be a debate. The Iraqi people and U.S. military have both had negative experiences with Blackwater. No one likes them. There is the issue of who will provide security for diplomats. The Bush administration constantly told the American public that the Iraq venture could be done on the cheap. Now diplomats are shitting themselves because they may have reservists providing protection.

What kind of deal can the Bush administration cut with the Iraqi government that can keep Blackwater in the country? The President isn't going to threaten to leave Iraq. Prime Minister El Maliki would lose what little credibility he has with Iraqis if he caved to the White House. Bush has never understood that one does not make a democracy by pissing off the country's population.

Blackwater Money

The New York Times reports that State Department records indicate Blackwater has been in more shooting incidents than security companies DynCorp International and Triple Canopy. This isn't shocking. The reason is why the Bush administration puts up with Blackwater's constant fuck-ups. The answer is sadly predictable.

The company’s close ties to the Bush administration have raised questions about the political clout of Mr. Prince, Blackwater’s founder and owner. He is the scion of a wealthy Michigan family that is active in Republican politics. He and the family have given more than $325,000 in political donations over the past 10 years, the vast majority to Republican candidates and party committees, according to federal campaign finance reports.

Mr. Prince has been very generous towards the Republican Party.

Blackwater Hell

Lindsay Beyerstein has a fascinating post on her encounters with Blackwater in New Orleans.

The Blackwater dude was acting as a glorified rent-a-cop on the sidewalk, about two blocks from the main media staging area for New Orleans, which was already amply secured by US military and law enforcement.

What I didn't realize at the time was that these Blackwater guys thought of themselves as frontline soldiers in a literal war zone, ready to use deadly force at the slightest provocation. That was an unfounded estimate, in the middle of the day in downtown New Orleans several days after the city had been secured by the legitimate authorities.

We certainly weren't seeing that level of aggression or anxiety from the 82nd Airborne or the NOLA police, or the National Guard, or anyone else in the vicinity.

Newsweek's Michael Hirsh wrote the best opening paragraph I have read in an op-ed in ages.

Imagine a universe where a man can gun down women and children anytime he pleases, knowing he will never be brought to justice. A place where morality is null and void, and arbitrary killing is the rule. A place that has been imagined hitherto only in nightmarish dystopian fiction, like “1984,” or in fevered passages from Dostoevsky—or which existed during the Holocaust and Stalinist purges and the Dark Ages. Well, that universe exists today. It is called Iraq. And the man who made it possible is George W. Bush.

U.S. military personal has been in shootouts with Blackwater. Servicemen view mercenaries with complete disdain. The Iraqi people hate Blackwater even more intensely. The Bush administration simply makes matters worse by allowing Blackwater to do what they want without fear of criminal prosecution. Bush refuses to public chastise the security firm. The White House wonders why things work out poorly for them. Blackwater is a classic example.

In related news: the Iraqi government claims they have a video of Blackwater security personal opening fire at civilians.