I know it seems like a long time ago, but think back a bit and see if you can recall anything about a paramilitary company called Blackwater. Ring any bells? Well, they go by the name of Xe, these days, but that’s probably an attempt to disassociate themselves with all of the events they were involved in when they worked for the US Government in Iraq. In September of 2007, they were involved in a shooting in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed. Iraq revoked their license to operate in Iraq. Thankfully, Blackwater’s contractor status ended shortly after Obama took office.
Well, it looks like Blackwater, or more specifically, their CEO, Erik Prince, is back in the news. Last evening, lawyers for Iraqi civilians filed a number of sworn affidavits from former Blackwater employees. These affidavits allegedly contain details about murders, gun smuggling operations, deception, and destruction of evidence.
The identities of the witnesses have been kept secret, both citing a fear of reprisals from Mr. Prince and his associates. One of the witnesses has gone on record stating that he has been contacted by Blackwater management, since his departure, and has been threatened with death and violence. He also goes on to state that Mr. Prince thinks of himself as a “Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.” Mr. Prince allegedly encouraged his employees to kill as many Iraqis as possible, all in the name of religion.
This seems to be a running theme in the former Bush administration, as other Bush officials and allies used religion as an inspiration during war. What ever happened to separation of church and state?
So how long will we have to pay for the mistakes of the past? How long will we have to clean up the mess left by Bush and his associates? Will we still be paying for this after Obama has left office? Will we ever be able to live down the atrocities committed by Bush and company, all in the name of national security?
My hope is that we can move beyond the past, look towards the future, and prove to the world that we can overcome our past mistakes.