Matt Ortega

In the week following the Fallujah massacre, Behrends organized two secret meetings. The first was between Erik and four GOP heavyweights in the House: DeLay, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (and now former CIA Director) Rep. Porter Goss (R-Florida) and Rep. Bill Young (R-Florida), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The second meeting involved GOP senators (and the fearsome foursome): Ted “Totally Tubular” Stevens (R-Alaska) of the Appropriations Committee (chairman), chairman of the Armed Services Committee John Warner (R-Virginia), George “Duke of Hazard” Allen (R-Virginia) and Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum (R-Pennsylvania).

In late 2005, The News & Observer reported, as part of the Bridge Series:

Neither Prince nor the politicians would discuss the meetings. Blackwater spokesman Chris Bertelli, who attended, described the meetings as “serious but collegial, not uncomfortable.”

In June 2004, Senators Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) offered amendments to the National Defense Authoritzation Act for FY2005 to curb profiteering. Both amendments were defeated (vote tallies: Dodd, Leahy).

From the June 17, 2004 edition of the New York Times (subscription required):

Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he feared the proposal to allow jail terms of up to 20 years for those found to have ”materially overvalued” goods and services could deter companies from seeking work in Iraq. He said such a step required more consideration .”I think the Congress should deliberate very carefully a criminal penalty of up to 20 years for these thousands upon thousands of companies that are currently engaged,” he said.

But Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said current prohibitions did not seem to deter companies from charging excessive prices.

”We constantly pick up the paper about a number of these companies that are obviously overcharging and nothing is happening to them,” he said. ”I am one frustrated American and would like them to stop.”

Five days later, Vice President Dick Cheney had his infamous run-in with Senator Leahy when Cheney told him to go “f— yourself.” I think Leahy declined.

Later that summer, in August, Blackwater joined the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), which sounds just as logical as “When we’re talking about war, we’re really talking about peace.” The IPOA website states:

IPOA was founded in April 2001, shortly after Mr. Brooks returned to Washington, DC from Africa. Supported by the Peace and Stability industry’s leading companies in the Peace and Stability Industry, IPOA has grown in size, capability and influence. Through academic and field research, media outreach, opinion editorials, policy papers, presentations, public testimonies, roundtables, sponsored conferences, and white papers, IPOA has become the most ethical, transparent, and effective voice of the Peace and Stability Industry in the world.Our member companies currently work in every peace operation in the world, doing everything from demining to logistics to air lift to armed security. Every day they prove that the private sector can provide the services critical to successful peace and stability operations, both cost effectively and ethically.

It appears to be a conflict of interest, if you ask me. PMCs thrive on death and destruction. In mid-November 2004, just two weeks after the election, Blackwater reported 600 percent growth. Without conflict, without chaos, without mortal danger, Blackwater seizes to exist. Blackwater’s participation in such a group should be chalked up to what it really is: theater and a public relations ploy.

Cofer Black, the former director of the Counterterrorism Center (CTC) from December 2002 until November 2004, was hired as vice chairman of Blackwater in February 2005.

Months later, in November, the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization was created by the State Department to oversee Iraqi reconstruction; taking over for the Pentagon. The IPOA pushed for its creation. That same month, the IPOA hired ASG to lobby Washington, D.C., from Intelligence Online (subscription required; scroll to bottom-right):

Last month IPOA contracted the lobbying concern Alexander Strategy Group, which has strong Republican connections, to see to its public relations in Washington.

Later that month, Senator Byron Dorgan’s (D-North Dakota) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to establish a special committee to investigate contracts was voted down, 44-53. The House proposed H.R. 4351 “to require the Secretary of Defense to review all defense contracts relating to reconstruction or troop support in Iraq involving any contractors, subcontractors, or Federal officers or employees that have been indicted or convicted for contracting improprieties” but it died without a vote. Other attempts by Congress failed to reign in war profiteers.

The GAO released a study in 2005 that showed the disparities of pay between the U.S. armed forces and hired contractors in Iraq. Bill Sizemore of the Virginian-Pilot reported July 25, 2006:

Private military contractors can earn substantially more money than members of the armed services.A Government Accountability Office study last year found that contractors were earning $12,000 to $13,000 a month working on security convoys in Iraq and as much as $33,000 a month guarding high-ranking government officials.

That compares to $4,670 in monthly base pay and housing allowance earned by a typical Navy SEAL with 10 years of experience – the sort of person private military companies like to hire.

[...]

The GAO study found that attrition in military jobs preferred by security outfits rose in 2004 after declining for two years, but was no higher than in 2001. [emphasis added]