From Denny: And yet another reason why you don't create a shadow army without legal sanction or Congressional oversight just because you feel like it on a whim like Vice President Cheney and President Bush thought they could do without consequence.
Our American tax dollars went to a mercenary army - built up as large in number as the 160,000 troops we had in Iraq which is why we were spending over a $1 billion a month for the Iraq War - upon which our government and law had absolutely no control or law to restrain, contain or task them appropriately. In short, these guys were junkyard dogs off the leash doing whatever they felt like without risk of prosecution or seeing any jail time.
Yet Bush and Cheney set up the CIA to hire Blackwater back in 2004 anyway as assassins to go after the bad guys in the Iraq War, the top al-Qaeda leaders. Bush and Cheney also ordered these assassins to go after these bad guys not just in Iraq but also in friendly countries where if their presence were detected it would bring considerable "blowback" from those governments with whom America is allied. No reasonable country likes it when they find out spies and assassins are operating in their country: duh!
Read that as the CIA's own para-military knew what Bush and Cheney were doing was one thing: breaking established law - as it must be by Presidential directive each time for each situation to use lethal force abroad - and not at the contractor's (assassin's) discretion or whim. They also knew if they participated they could easily end up as Bush and Cheney's cannon fodder, so they refused to be party to it, hence, the outsourcing of Blackwater to do the dirty work for which government employees like the CIA were bound by the law not to do. Basically, what really happened here under the Bush administration is that the CIA employees told their Air Force boss turned director still in uniform - a real turn-off of the military holding control of what is supposed to be a civilian agency - is they refused the order to break the law. So, Bush and Cheney turned to the illegal mercenaries to break the law for them.
The Bush administration needs to be investigated from top to bottom. There is so much corruption that has yet to see the light of day there on so many fronts. Obama and Holder need to get serious and quit wimping out on the prosecution. Be a one-term President if you must but get some justice for a whole lot of people who were wronged during the Bush years of arrogance and trampling of just sheer decency as well as the "rule of law" as the hypocritical Republicans are so fond of screaming yet never feel applies to them equally.
Blackwater has since changed its name to Xe (sounds like Z) and is also under grand jury indictment. The CEO of Blackwater has stepped down. Most of its contractors have been rehired by our government in other positions like protecting diplomats abroad. There are 5 other contractors on trial for killing Iraqi civilians back in 2007 and a sixth has pleaded guilty. What a legacy of war for hire.
Update: There were such a great comments on this story that I just had to repost this story for you to read. I really like it when someone wants to seriously discuss a social issue. What comes out of any good discussion is more understanding and some new facts to investigate. I have an inkling that this story is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Time will tell as more reporters look into the veracity of the experts and the accusers.
Federal Agents Investigate Burger Kings Treatment of Foreign Students - An excerpt: "RIVERTON, Wyo. – Federal agents from the Department of Immigrations are expected to arrive in Riverton today to investigate a possible indentured service case involving foreign students. Five university students working in the states through an exchange program said they were fired from the local Burger King and evicted from squalid living quarters provided by the company after they complained about the conditions.
They described the 15x15-foot house as a boiler room prison, because the windows wouldn’t open, bunkbeds with air mattresses were the beds, a hot-plate on a counter sufficed for a kitchen stove and the toilet and shower stall were unsanitary due to corrosion.
Riverton police, who executed the eviction notice over the weekend, were appalled at the conditions found and reported the situation to immigrations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Local Burger King management has refused comment and corporate officials in Florida say they were unaware of the situation. The students were matched with the local Burger King through the work/travel programs of Worldwide International Student Exchange (WISE) and Aspire Worldwide. They paid $3,500 to $5,000 each to participate, and were told adequate housing would be provided at an affordable fee.
They said rent for the house was $1,800 a month, paid to Burger King District Manager Peggy Handran. Her phone number listed on the work agreement is no longer in service.
The university students are all men, ages 18-21, coming from Turkey, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and the Ukraine. They have found temporary sanctuary with a neighbor, Donna Michel."
Click on the title link for the rest of the story.
The Discussion
Comments:
smbpott said...
This case is unfortunate and I feel bad for the kids, but the vast majority (95%) of exchanges are positive for the students and the families and communities which host them. I urge the press to investigate Danielle Grijalva, director of Committee for Safety and Chris Gould, a retired British police investigator and PURPORTED consultant to foreign exchange programs worldwide. They say mistreatment of foreign students is significantly underreported. What basis do they use to show underreporting? What is the board make up of the committee for safety? What foreign exchange programs is Chris Gould a consultant for? You will find these two people have NO basis for their setting themselves up as experts, and that they are acting together, but essentially alone (no real committee, no board oversight of organization, restraining order against Danielle...), just trolling the internet for sensationalized cases of exchange student abuse and posting them on one website repeatedly.
16 July, 2009 22:21 Denny Lyon said... Hi, smbpott, thanks for visiting and leaving your comment!
As with most stories like this, it isn't about how well the majority has been treated but rather about the abused minority that went unreported or not investigated.
This story is really not about the concept of foreign exchange students as it is a great idea culturally. It isn't about the whole organization either.
What this story is about is the fact that nothing was done to address these problems, not enough or perhaps any oversight on the part of our government - most likely the vast majority of issues happened during the Bush years of "non-doing."
It was foolish for our current State Dept. not to fine tooth comb every project they had in operation during the Bush years looking for this kind of thing. As it was the GAO was prevented from investigating AND reporting by Bush and Cheney. Normally, they handle these kinds of investigations as these problems always follow one culprit: follow the money. Most likely, Bush and Cheney cut the funds for oversight and hired outside political cronies as payback for campaign funds.
BTW, do you have proof to back up the stats you give that 95% of the foreign exchange students do not encounter any problem? If there was no oversight, no reporting, no surveys, where did you get this stat?
In the end, we are both coming at this problem from different sides and meeting in the middle in complete agreement: not enough oversight to prove either the good or the bad satisfactorily!
I'm glad these people have finally gotten the courage to speak up and speak out about their abuse. It went pretty much the same in the religious community, especially Catholic, when for decades people complained about sexual abuse. The same arguments abounded that it wasn't that bad, it wasn't true, that 95% etc., etc. Since then the abused began to speak up and the whole truth came out: there were thousands worldwide who were badly abused for decades.
My policy is never to deny a listen to anyone who has been abused, especially when it was as a result of an institutional entity for which as part of the public I am partly responsible.
17 July, 2009 08:57
From Denny: This is a video story I tried to put up yesterday but CNN did not yet have it up on its site until today. Unbelievable what foreign exchange students have lived through when visiting the United States during the Bush years and recently. The truth is just now coming out.
It's a real horror story that our own government funded this abuse and did not take the interest to regulate these agencies that promote and place these students in American homes. Some of those homes were convicted felons, students were raped, starved, forced to live in filthy situations, even placed with known and registered sex offenders! How perverted can you get?
Politics foreign exchange students rape sex offenders starvation abuse America United States State Department investigation
The struggle to settle on a speaker for Monday's big congressional Republican fundraising dinner underscores the tough time the party is having finding national leaders to help them form a message and go head-to-head with President Obama.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ended up headlining this year's Senate-House Republican dinner, capping an awkward back-and-forth in which Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's advisers in Washington initially agreed for her to deliver the keynote speech only to have her Alaska office later argue that she never committed. The party's former vice-presidential nominee was then reinvited to attend but told she could not speak out of fear she might upstage Mr. Gingrich.
Despite the back-and-forth, the event's sponsors -- the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) -- said the dinner had raised $14.45 million to aid Republican congressional candidates in the upcoming election cycle.
"We simply have to take both of them back," NRSC Vice Chairman Orrin G. Hatch of Utah said of the two chambers.
Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin added: "We've got to be the reform party we used to be. We've got to be the party of ideas."
Mr. Gingrich, who stepped down from the House a decade ago, recently earned headlines for describing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a "Latina racist" on the social networking site Twitter.com, a comment he later backed away from. But he was given a rock star's welcome at Monday night's dinner at the Washington Convention Center, receiving a standing ovation after a speech that spanned American history, judicial philosophy and economic policies.
"The challenge for the Obama administration is simple: Americans know better," Mr. Gingrich said, citing the president's plan to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, which has stalled in Congress. "Reagan used his rhetorical skills to shine light on truths and fundamental facts. Obama uses his rhetorical skills to hide fundamental facts."
Mr. Gingrich, like Republican analysts, appeared to shrug off the Palin drama as inside-the-Beltway chatter, giving the hockey-mom-turned-politician a public welcome. "I felt, looking at John McCain and Sarah Palin [tonight], this country would have been amazingly better off had they been in the White House," he said.
Since Mr. Obama's victory over Sen. John McCain of Arizona in November, Democrats have mocked the Republican Party for recycling former leaders while attempting to paint polarizing figures such as talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh and former Vice President Dick Cheney as titular party heads.
But Republicans pointed out that it's not surprising to find a field of several potential leaders after losing the White House, and argued that electoral success hinges more on ideas than a single party leader. "After [the loss of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry] 2004, before Barack Obama, the Democrats didn't really have a leader," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden.
Other analysts downplayed the Palin drama as inside-the-Beltway chatter. "In the end, she's coming to the dinner and it's all much ado about nothing," veteran Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said.
But the behind-the-scenes intrigue did little to help promote Republican Party unity. In addition to Mr. Gingrich, a possible 2012 presidential contender, former 2008 presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee -- both of whom appear interested in reviving their campaigns for the White House -- have been active on the public circuit, appearing on television and campaigning for Republican candidates across the country.
Mr. Gingrich, who stepped down from the House a decade ago, recently earned headlines for describing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a "Latina racist" on the social-networking site Twitter.com, a comment he later backed away from.
After two bruising election cycles, the Republican Party is eyeing next year's midterm contest as a chance to redeem itself as the party of fiscal responsibility amid a trend of record-setting spending by Democrats.
As part of that effort, Mr. Gingrich said, Republicans should not be afraid of interparty debates between moderates and more conservative members of the party.
"I am happy that [former Vice President] Dick Cheney is a Republican. I am also happy that Colin Powell is a Republican," he said. "A majority Republican party will have lots of debates within the Republican party -- that is the nature of a majority."
Republicans are particularly focused on the Senate, where Democrats will have 60 votes if disputed Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken is seated. The Republicans will have to work hard to keep the seats of retiring Sens. George V. Voinovich of Ohio, Christopher S. Bond of Missouri and Mel Martinez of Florida in the Republican column next year while it holds out some hope of knocking off a few Democrats up for re-election.
The party has set its sights on defeating veterans Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut as well as newly appointed Sens. Roland W. Burris of Illinois and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is also being targeted by his former party after switching sides ahead of next year's re-election battle, though he could face a tough primary if Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak decides to challenge him.
Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has said he would not seek re-election next year but has acknowledged pressure from his Republican colleagues to reconsider his decision.
House Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to narrow the Democrats' margin of power, which is 256 to 178.
WRITTEN by Kara Rowland at The Washington Times on June 9th, 2009
An extraordinary scene played out Thursday with what amounted to a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate between a popular sitting president and an unpopular former vice president. The former veep won, hands down.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney's speech at the American Enterprise Institute had been scheduled for weeks before President Obama quite obviously tried to drown out Mr. Cheney by speaking on the same topic beginning exactly two minutes before Mr. Cheney was scheduled to take the AEI podium. In his 50-minute jeremiad, Mr. Obama repeatedly took nasty shots at Mr. Cheney and the administration he served, questioning not just the preceding administration's judgment, but also its motives and integrity.
Against Mr. Obama's insults, rhetoric and studied poses at his teleprompter, the former vice president answered with forceful words married to an understated tone of utter seriousness, with no electronic aids.
Mr. Obama accused the Bush administration of jettisoning the principles of the Constitution "for expedience sake." He accused his critics of "political posturing." And he said that "our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford."
Mr. Cheney responded that neither values nor the law had been set aside. He said that carefully selected CIA agents had been "especially prepared to apply techniques within the boundaries of their training and the limits of the law. Torture was never permitted, and the methods were given careful, legal review before they were approved. Interrogators had authoritative guidance on the line between toughness and torture, and they knew to stay on the right side of it."
Those interrogations, Mr. Cheney said, "prevented the violent death of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of innocent people." The former vice president complained, rightly, that memos about the interrogations that Mr. Obama released provided "less than half the truth" because they were "carefully redacted to leave out references to ... specific terrorist plots that were averted." Yet: "For reasons the administration has yet to explain, they believe the public has a right to know the methods of the questions, but not the content of the answers."
The chattering classes have been blasting Mr. Cheney for weeks for speaking out so forcefully on these issues on behalf of positions the chatterers say are deeply unpopular. However, they can't accuse him of self-serving ambition. As he noted, he spoke "as a private citizen - a career in politics behind me, no elections to win or lose, and no favor to seek."
The remarkable sight of such a harshly criticized former leader standing so unbowed brings to mind some words from poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Mr. Cheney is exhibiting "some sense of duty, something of a faith, some reverence for the laws ourselves have made ... some civic manhood firm against the crowd."
The crowd ought to heed Mr. Cheney and rally behind him. By defending our intelligence officers, he defended America.
WRITTEN as a Washington Times editorial on May 22nd, 2009
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uhdm_JTEada3e82lZ55zOM8rE2K5wJo_hbM6xZKLSZX7f0tQuKTxAnpIlKO1DloDOZcgyv58ihAG4Zop8UFE2Oxmqs8vxbIKV8Isat__-iX_dJInL3mQBSnx24a7mwbPFwXTnoFjgMJZNxp-64FDOP=s0-d)
