Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of theWar on Terror (49 page)

More than four hundred of those
: Anthony H. Cordesman, “Iraq’s Evolving Insurgency: The Nature of Attacks and Patterns and Cycles in the Conflict,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, February 3, 2006.

some fifty-six hundred roadside bombs
: Ibid.

“one of the most visible and egregious”
: Joseph S. Smyth, “The Impact of the Buy American Act on Program Managers,”
Acquisition Review Quarterly
, Fourth Quarter 2009.

“tend to overreact to a lot of things”
: Sudarsan Raghavan, Joshua Partlow, and Karen DeYoung, “Blackwater Faulted in Military Reports from Shooting Scene,”
Washington Post
, October 5, 2007.

“I am one of the few members of Congress”
: Jan Schakowsky, “On the Issues: Contracting,” http://schakowsky.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2738&Itemid=64, captured February 11, 2013.

“extraordinarily professional organization”
: “Interview: Marine Col. Thomas X. Hammes (Ret.),” PBS
Frontline
, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/interviews/hammes.html, captured August 3, 2013.

“A Free Pass in Iraq”
: Tom Engelhardt, “Order 17: A Free Pass in Iraq,”
Nation
, September 17, 2007.

“Where Military Rules Don’t Apply”
: Steve Fainaru, “Where Military Rules Don’t Apply,”
Washington Post
, September 20, 2007.

“There is no law that restricts”
: Bassam Sebti, “The Criminals’ Kick Out,” www.bassamsebti.com/2007/09/criminals-kick-out.html, captured February 3, 2013.

“Order 17 gave new meaning”
: Tom Engelhardt, “Order 17: A Free Pass in Iraq,”
Nation
, September 17, 2007.

The relevant part of that notice
: “Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 17 (Revised),” Institute for International Law and Justice, www.iilj.org/courses/documents/Order17.Section4.pdf, captured August 8, 2013.

The CPA’s public notice concluded
: “Public Notice Regarding the Status of Coalition, Foreign Liaison and Contractor Personnel,” Coalition Provisional Authority, www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20030626_20030626_CPANOTICE_Foreign_Mission_Cir.html.pdf, captured August 8, 2013.

The order states in relevant part
: “Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 17 (Revised),” Institute for International Law and Justice, www.iilj.org/courses/documents/Order17.Section4.pdf, captured August 8, 2013.

“Rape, murder, smuggling, sex abuse, child molestation”
: Mark Hemingway, “Blackwater Down,”
National Review
,
September 2, 2007.

NATO’s official parties’ agreement
: “Agreement Between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Regarding the Status of Their Forces,” NATO, www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17265.htm, captured August 8, 2013.

National Defense Authorization Act added a new provision
: Uniform Code of Military Justice, www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm, captured August 8, 2013.

key words “or a contingency operation”
: Mark Hemingway, “Blackwater’s Legal Netherworld,”
National Review
, September 26, 2007.

contract concerns the “Safeguarding of Information”
: “Safeguarding of Information,” Statement of Work, U.S. Department of State Worldwide Personal Protective Services, contract SAQMPD-05-D1098, www.state.gov/documents/organization/136445.pdf, captured August 8, 2013.

One email from Moe to Blackwater
: Suzanne Simons,
Master of War
(New York: HarperCollins, 2009), p. 166.

“A Blackwater spokesman declined”
: John M. Broder and James Risen, “Blackwater Tops Firms in Iraq in Shooting Rate,”
New York Times
, September 27, 2007.

“They were there to assist”
: “Interview: Marine Col. Thomas X. Hammes (Ret.),” PBS
Frontline
, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/interviews/hammes.html, captured August 8, 2013.

“The contract was awarded”
: Jennifer K. Elsea, Moshe Schwartz, and Kennon H. Nakamura, “Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status and Other Issues,” Congressional Research Service, August 25, 2008.

That cost was significant
: “Review of Diplomatic Security’s Management of Personal Protective Services in Iraq,” U.S. Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors Offices of Inspector General, January 2009.

my company brought in some $340 million
: R. J. Hillhouse, “Condi Can’t Afford to Lose Blackwater,”
Wired
, October 11, 2007.

Blackwater’s take dwarfed the payouts
: Ibid.

And our manpower
: Ibid.

“Security is key to establishing”
: “U.S. Embassy in Iraq,” Congressional Research Service, March 11, 2005.

“It was the first time a majority”
: Dana Milbank and Claudia Deane, “Poll Finds Dimmer View of Iraq War,”
Washington Post
, June 8, 2005.

“With the presidency and control of Congress”
: Richard Simon, “Democrats Pile on Bush,”
Los Angeles Times
, November 3, 2005.

the “Three Stooges”
: Jacob Weisberg, “The Three Stooges,”
Slate
, March 8, 2006.

“For Democrats, Many Verses, but No Chorus”
: Adam Nagourney, “For Democrats, Many Verses, but No Chorus,”
New York Times
, March 6, 2006.

“Democrats Struggle to Seize Opportunity”
: Shailagh Murray and Charles Babington, “Democrats Struggle to Seize Opportunity,”
Washington Post
, March 7, 2006.

“Democrats Vow Not to Give Up Hopelessness”
: “Democrats Vow Not to Give Up Hopelessness,”
Onion
, February 27, 2006.

“I don’t support our troops”
: Joel Stein, “Warriors and Wusses,”
Los Angeles Times
, January 24, 2006.

CHAPTER 11:
CHARACTER COUNTS

“Once I did a little reading”
: Hal Brown, “Blackwater Revisited,”
Capitol Hill Blue
, September 18, 2007.

“vigorous condemnation of immoral killers”
: Lindsey Cameron, “Private Military Companies: Their Status Under International Humanitarian Law and Its Impact on Their Regulation,”
International Review of the Red Cross
, September 2006.

six conditions to be satisfied
: “Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977: Article 47,” International Committee of the Red Cross, www.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750057, captured August 8, 2013.

UN convention defines the term
: “International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries,” United Nations, www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/a44r034.htm, captured August 8, 2013.

“I just roll my eyes”
: David Isenberg, “Civil Discourse and Private Military Contractors,”
Huffington Post
, April 19, 2010.

President Bush was “a dog”
: “Journalist Hurls Shoes at ‘Dog’ Bush,” Agence France Presse, December 15, 2008.

“In a perfect world”
: Julian E. Barnes, “Soul-Searching at the Secret Service,”
Los Angeles Times
, December 16, 2008.

“You have to be disciplined”
: Ann Scott Tyson, “Private Security Workers Living on Edge in Iraq,”
Washington Post
, April 23, 2005.

“I like being someplace”
: Ibid.

“In certain circumstances, and when directed”
: “Physical Efficiency Battery Scores,” Statement of Work, U.S. Department of State Worldwide Personal Protective Services, contract SAQMPD-05-D1098, www.state.gov/documents/organization/136439.pdf, captured August 8, 2013.

American employers are affected by bad hires
: “Nearly Seven in Ten Businesses Affected by a Bad Hire in the Past Year, According to CareerBuilder Survey,” CareerBuilder.com, www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=12/13/2012&id=pr730&ed=12/31/2012, captured August 8, 2013.

he’d been drinking heavily
: John M. Broder, “Ex-Paratrooper Is Suspect in a Blackwater Killing,”
New York Times
, October 4, 2007.

Mahdi’s security guards were arrested
: Sam Dagher, “Arrests in Bank Robbery Create a Rift Between Iraqi Officials,”
New York Times
, August 2, 2009.

He died early the next day
: Mike Carter, “Widow of Iraqi Guard Sues Seattle Man for Blackwater Shooting,” March 20, 2009.

“blatant and egregious” violation
: John M. Broder, “Ex-Paratrooper Is Suspect in a Blackwater Killing,”
New York Times
, October 4, 2007.

Gary Jackson told reporters
: Bill Sizemore, “Blackwater Supports Inquiry into Fatal Shooting,”
Virginian-Pilot
, July 25, 2007.

a Garrity warning
: James Risen, “Efforts to Prosecute Blackwater Are Collapsing,”
New York Times
, October 20, 2010.

“earn an average of about $1,000 a day”
: Sewell Chan and Karl Vick, “U.S. Vows to Find Civilians’ Killers; Marines Move to Seal Off Fallujah; Army Steps Up Patrols in Baghdad,”
Washington Post
, April 2, 2004.

“make up to $1,000 a day”
: Jeremy Scahill, “Bush’s Rent-an-Army,”
Los Angeles Times
, January 25, 2007.

“It’s more than just salary”
: “Military Compensation: Army Benefits,” GoArmy.com, www.goarmy.com/benefits/total-compensation.html, captured August 9, 2013.

the Army’s recent, heavy push
: “Bonuses: Earning Extra Money,” GoArmy.com, www.goarmy.com/benefits/money/bonuses-earning-extra-money.html, captured August 9, 2013.

Soldiers are offered as much
: “Army Announces More Ways to Earn Up to $40,000,” Military.com, www.military.com/recruiting/bonus-center/resources/army-announces-more-ways-to-earn-bonuses-up-to-$40000, captured August 9, 2013.

the
College Loan Repayment Program
: “College Loan Repayment Program,” Army-Portal.com, www.army-portal.com/benefits/clrp.html, captured August 9, 2013.

The list of incentives goes on
: “Military Compensation: Army Benefits,” GoArmy.com, www.goarmy.com/benefits/total-compensation.html, captured August 9, 2013.

“because you could be dead the next day”
: Ann Scott Tyson, “Private Security Workers Living on Edge in Iraq,”
Washington Post
, April 23, 2005.

summarized the forty-four-page study
: Rick Maze, “A New Report Says You Make Twice What You Thought,”
Military Times
, July 16, 2007.

“While both Special Forces and military police”
: “Rebuilding Iraq: Actions Needed to Improve Use of Private Security Providers,” U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees, July 2005.

“This similarity indicates”
: Ibid.

oft-cited congressional memo about my company
: “Additional Information about Blackwater USA,” Memorandum to Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, October 1, 2007.

as I later explained to Congress
: “Blackwater USA,” Hearing Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg45219/pdf/CHRG-110hhrg45219.pdf, captured August 9, 2013.

On top of the overhead
: Ibid.

“This war has produced some of the most lavish”
: Ibid.

first thorough, nonpartisan examination of the issue
: “Contractors’ Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq,” Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office, August 2008.

“Because of the broad level of interest”
: “Warfighter Support: A Cost Comparison of Using State Department Employees versus Contractors for Security Services in Iraq,” U.S. Government Accountability Office, March 4, 2010.

The report noted that by using federal employees
: Ibid.

Those statistics echoed a 2007 refrain
: Patrick B. Pexton, “Gold-Plated Rambos,”
Washington Post
, October 2, 2007.

CHAPTER 12:
THE FALLUJAH FAMILIES

she reportedly drove the forty-five miles
: Wayne Drash, “Mom: My Son Was Mutilated and I Want Answers,” CNN, November 7, 2007.

“God has accepted Jerry’s soul”
: Andrea Simakis, “United in Grief, Two Mothers Want to Know How Their Sons Died While Working for Blackwater in Iraq,”
Plain Dealer
, May 30, 2008.

Racked by insomnia and grief
: Ibid.

Helvenston-Wettengel reportedly read
: Ibid.

highest award ever in Orange County
: Lisa Girion and Debora Vrana, “Massive Verdict for Biomedical Company,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 25, 2003.

business card boasts his being named
: Nick Schou, “Only Pawns in Their Game,”
OC Weekly
, July 13, 2006.

Callahan’s team filed the wrongful death lawsuit
:
Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security
,
www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline////shows/warriors/contractors/complaint.pdf, captured August 9, 2013.

“Had they been provided”
: Ibid.

“can’t wait to grill Blackwater”
: Nick Schou, “Only Pawns in Their Game,”
OC Weekly
, July 13, 2006.