Bush era mercenaries declare: Yes We Can

You may have already seen, heard and read a lot about the private contractor Black Water and its sinister role in Iraq and Afghanistan but how well did you follow its story after Mr. Obama took office?  Jeremy Scahill, the award winning journalist and author of the 2007 renowned book about the private army company has never stopped following the story for a simple reason:  it is a continuing saga whose bizarre details don’t cease to intrigue and amuse with every new unfolding episode.

So how did the Obama administration fare on the issue of Black Water (or XE, its new innocent looking outfit brand?)  How did Black Water’s “business” with the US government change?  Who is Erik Prince the founder of Black Water and what beliefs does he espouse?  Check out the following interview with Scahill conducted yesterday (hot out of the oven) by one of the best moderators of dialogue in the business, Terry Gross, on her very successful radio show Fresh Air.  You can also read the script if you prefer at this link.

Immediately before addressing the Islamic world from Cairo, president Obama chose General Stanley McChrystal to command the American forces in Afghanistan.  This is the same General McChrystal who initiated the troops surge hoopla and ended up with 30,000 thousands more troops to raise the total number of uniformed American army personnel in Afghanistan to about 100,000.  But you may be surprised to find out that even with the surge the US Army will still be the second largest force operating on the grounds.  The number one force is private contractors who already count 104,000 strong and are expected to increase along with the increase of the American troops at a one to one ratio.

The Cairo speech and the appointment of McChrystal were clearly two mixed signals.  Unfortunately, the positive signal did not amount to more than lip service while the negative signal has had and continues to have tremendous practical consequences on Muslims and the Islamic world.  McChrystal was the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 reporting directly to Rumsfeld and Cheney who are much maligned in the Arab media today after leaving office.  They are depicted as symbols of an era gone by with all its wretchedness.  Yet, Rumsfeld and Cheney’s favorite General who was in charge of dirty business (or black ops as per the military jargon) gets promoted by Mr. Obama to head the American (and subsequently NATO) forces in Afghanistan.  What does Scahill think about this decision?  Well, you need to listen to the interview to find out.  It is only 40 minutes long and quite worth your precious time.