Monday, June 11, 2007

Blackwater gets serious

There has been quite a bit of discussion going on at various blogs and alternative news sites over the past few days regarding the lawsuit by Blackwater Security Consulting against the families of the 4 Blackwater contractors who were killed in Fallujah in 2004 in a now infamous attack. The background and shadowy details of Blackwater and it’s right-wing extremist president, Erik Prince, has been garnering more and more attention of late with books being published about him and this private army, as well as the troubling rise of contractors in Iraq. I’ve posted briefly about Prince in an earlier post but to get a more well rounded set of information about him I strongly advise the reader to spend some time Googling his name.

One of the most worrisome aspects of this lawsuit against the families is the effect it could have on other families who may wish to sue Blackwater in the future if their loved ones meet their demise in Iraq or elsewhere in the world. It could also have a chilling effect on any potential Government investigations into their work in the “War on Terror”. Among the attorneys who are pursuing the lawsuit against the families are Fred Fielding (current counsel to President Bush), Joseph Schmitz (former Inspector General of the Pentagon), Kenneth Starr (of the infamous Starr investigation of President Clinton) and Cofer Black (former Director of the CIA Counter Terrorism Center).

What Blackwater has done in retaining these lawyers in this case is troubling when you consider their connections to the upper echelons of the recent power structure in Washington. Fielding’s involvement is quite troubling as his presence creates a direct pipeline of information between the President, Rove, Cheney and Blackwater. Attorney/Client privilege is supposed to prevent information from leaking out of cases like this but do we really believe that these people care about the law and privacy? One thing about those who wield true power in this country is that they do not view the laws of this nation as something that applies to them.

The last thing Blackwater needs is to have it’s inner workings exposed before the American public, especially in a case that would generate public sympathy for the families of the deceased contractors. In fact, a full disclosure of the inner workings of Blackwater is what this nation needs. We need to wake up to the dangers presented by a rogue, private army being led by a far right-wing extremist that is being supported by extremist ideologues within our own Government.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloodsucking Lawyers
This story (http://blackwatervictims.com/) is outrageous, and everyone's heart goes out to the families. But Callahan and Miles (the guys who wrote the story) are trying to take you to the cleaners. These guys are California personal injury lawyers (can you say ambulance chasers) who took the case on a contingency basis--the families aren't paying lawyer bills! Even if they were, it says right in the fine print of this story (and in the court documents themselves) that the claims are against the lawyer running the estates and against the estates--the families aren't even parties to the case!! These mega-rich lawyers, who brag one their website about one case alone where they won almost a BILLION dollars (http://www.callahan-law.com/victories.php?select=26), are just trying to get you to give them money out of sympathy for the poor families and/or hatred of Bush and his cronies. Here's what I propose: If you check out the facts (not blogs!) on this and you believe the families are paying lawyer bills, donate your heart out. BUT, if you see that these two yahoos are just trying to get line their pockets and get more rich off your nickel, do this: make a donation so the families know you support 'em, but make it only a penny. Enough one cent donations and we'll tell these ambulance chasers they are no better than Blackwater.

The CT Blogger said...

Thanks for your comments, Anonymous.

I'm no fan of lawyers either but my posting wasn't an anti-legal beagle rant. The subject matter was Blackwater and the lengths it is going through to ensure it's practices are kept out of the public eye.

Regardless of whether or not "ambulance chasers" are involved with the law suit, the issue at hand is whether or not the families of deceased Blackwater contractors have the right to know details specific to the circumstances surrounding the death of their family member. Blackwater is apprently considering the potential release of information to be great threat to them considering the legal team they have assembled so far.

You mention in your comment that they, the legal team, is trying to "get you to give them money out of sympathy and/or hatred of Bush" Can you elaborate a bit on this statement? I don't have a financial stake in Blackwater, so your comment strikes me as odd. Can you explain what you meant?

The CT Blogger said...

Something just didn't sit right with me about the comment posted on the 12th. To the original poster I'd like to ask a question, why are you pasting the same comment at blogs that are commenting on this case?

http://www.rooksrant.com/2007/06/blackwater_sues_slain_employee.php

http://ctblueblog.com/?p=146

http://blogs.delphiforums.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=glenashman&entry=362