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Blackwater crushed car with
three kids, old man to avoid traffic: former US official
John Byrne
Raw
Story
Sunday October 07, 2007
Janessa Gans, a visiting political science professor
at Principia College who served as a US official in Iraq from
2003 to 2005, opened fire on the private security contractor Blackwater
in Saturday's edition of the Los Angeles Times.
"When the Iraqi government last month demanded the expulsion
of Blackwater USA, the private security firm, I had one reaction:
It's about time," she begins in an editorial.
Gans says she witnessed firsthand "over-the-top zeal"
of the behemoth US mercenary force.
"We would careen around corners, jump road dividers, reach
speeds in excess of 100 mph and often cross over to the wrong
side of the street, oncoming traffic be damned," she writes.
"I began to wonder whether my meetings, intended to further
U.S. policy goals and improve the lives of Iraqis, were doing
more harm than good. With our drivers honking at, cutting off,
pelting with water bottles (a favorite tactic) and menacing with
weapons anyone in their way, how many enemies were we creating?"
(Article continues below)
Gans describes a particularly "infuriating" incident
where the lead Chevy Suburban in her convoy allegedly crashed
into a sedan ferrying an older man, a young woman and three children.
"As we approached at typical breakneck speed, the Blackwater
driver honked furiously and motioned to the side, as if they should
pull over," she pens. "The kids in the back seat looked
back in horror, mouths agape at the sight of the heavily armored
Suburbans driven by large, armed men in dark sunglasses. The poor
Iraqi driver frantically searched for a means of escape, but there
was none. So the lead Blackwater vehicle smashed heedlessly into
the car, pushing it into the barrier. We zoomed by too quickly
to notice if anyone was hurt."
"Where do you all expect them to go?" she allegedly
cried. "It was an old guy and a family, for goodness' sake.
Was it necessary for them to destroy their poor old car?"
"Ma'am, we've been trained to view anyone as a potential
threat," she says the driver, who she did not identify, replied.
"You don't know who they might use as decoys or what the
risks are. Terrorists could be disguised as anyone."
"Well, if they weren't terrorists before, they certainly
are now!" she says she replied.
According to Gans, the Pentagon's rules of engagement and the
private security contractor's seeming indifference created a stark
contrast for local Iraqis, who saw the US military as a more responsible
force. "Blackwater seemed to have no such rules, paid no
compensation and, per long-standing Coalition Provisional Authority
fiat, had immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law."
"As we do the work of bridge building and improving our
host citizens' lives, if the people providing our transportation
and security are antagonizing, angering and even killing the people
we are putatively trying to help, our entire mission is undermined,"
she concluded.
Founder and president of The Euphrates Institute, Gans also keeps
a blog, "Letters from the Sandbox."
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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