Thread: Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence...

Worth reading.

The military intelligence source drew a distinction between the Blackwater operatives who work for the State Department, which he calls "Blackwater Vanilla," and the seasoned Special Forces veterans who work on the JSOC program. "Good or bad, there's a small number of people who know how to pull off an operation like that. That's probably a good thing," said the source. "It's the Blackwater SELECT people that have and continue to plan these types of operations because they're the only people that know how and they went where the money was. It's not trigger-happy fucks, like some of the PSD [Personal Security Detail] guys. These are not people that believe that Barack Obama is a socialist, these are not people that kill innocent civilians. They're very good at what they do."

, though...

The military intelligence source says that the CIA operations are subject to Congressional oversight, unlike the parallel JSOC bombings. "Targeted killings are not the most popular thing in town right now and the CIA knows that," he says. "Contractors and especially JSOC personnel working under a classified mandate are not [overseen by Congress], so they just don't care. If there's one person they're going after and there's thirty-four people in the building, thirty-five people are going to die. That's the mentality." He added, "They're not accountable to anybody and they know that. It's an open secret, but what are you going to do, shut down JSOC?"

Wilkerson said the JSOC teams caused diplomatic problems for the United States across the globe. "When these teams started hitting capital cities and other places all around the world, [Rumsfeld] didn't tell the State Department either. The only way we found out about it is our ambassadors started to call us and say, 'Who the hell are these six-foot-four white males with eighteen-inch biceps walking around our capital cities?' So we discovered this, we discovered one in South America, for example, because he actually murdered a taxi driver, and we had to get him out of there real quick. We rendered him--we rendered him home."

Edit: Oops, forgot the link. Thanks P_m

Have they accidentally outed their own source in that last para you quote or is Wilkerson the jorno writing this stuff?

Nothing new, nothing to see.

Air America? Cambodia? Bay of Pigs? Extraordinary Rendition etc etc etc ad infinitum?

All this Geneva convention stuff, and playing nice is for those who like to hug dolls and things. When you're up against people who'll fly planes into buildings or broadcast the slow sawing off of civilian heads, then fcuk it; off come the gloves.

Here the link to the article:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill

no problem Rumpel.

Originally Posted by Biped

All this Geneva convention stuff, and playing nice is for those who like to hug dolls and things. When you're up against people who'll fly planes into buildings or broadcast the slow sawing off of civilian heads, then fcuk it; off come the gloves.

Yes Biped and normally I'd agree, but when exactly would you say that 'terrorising the terrorists' is doing nothing more than fuelling the fires of a war we cannot possibly win.

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

Makes for interesting reading, sounding more like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, though I suppose it was only a matter of time!

Not much of a secret now is it?

Shades of the Vietnam Phoenix Programme

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Program

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

I've had that on the shelf for months. Any good?

Originally Posted by Biped

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

I've had that on the shelf for months. Any good?

I thought so but it's more about the politics of it all rather than a tale of mercenary derring-do. Goes on a bit but if you've got an interest in it it's worth a blast.

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

Originally Posted by Biped

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

I've had that on the shelf for months. Any good?

I thought so but it's more about the politics of it all rather than a tale of mercenary derring-do. Goes on a bit but if you've got an interest in it it's worth a blast.

Its not brilliant insight into the PSC world because its sole purpose is to slate Blackwater! It is interesting if you take it with a VERY liberal pinch of salt. A few good facts forming the basis for a large amount of speculation.

Dominick Donald's RUSI short books are better for a balanced, less opinionated view on the PSC world and its future. (He actually knows what he's talking about, as an employee of a major PSC).

Originally Posted by Biped

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

I've had that on the shelf for months. Any good?

Scahill is a hippy twat.

Read it, shelved it, thought it was shyte. Not even called Blackwater anymore! Silly twat

Originally Posted by Scoteh

Originally Posted by Biped

All this Geneva convention stuff, and playing nice is for those who like to hug dolls and things. When you're up against people who'll fly planes into buildings or broadcast the slow sawing off of civilian heads, then fcuk it; off come the gloves.

Yes Biped and normally I'd agree, but when exactly would you say that 'terrorising the terrorists' is doing nothing more than fuelling the fires of a war we cannot possibly win.

Well it worked for us in Malaya!

Originally Posted by jk22

Originally Posted by Biped

Originally Posted by jack-daniels

This books worth a read about Blackwater:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackwater-R...9071437&sr=8-4

I've had that on the shelf for months. Any good?

Scahill is a hippy twat.

Read it, shelved it, thought it was shyte. Not even called Blackwater anymore! Silly twat

Aren't they called "Xi" now ?