Oh and Tombob, you cannot judge the character of those men by the picture above, BUT one can judge YOUR character by the comments that you post...childish and assuming...

Putting her on full auto and moving her right to left and back isn't "pray and spray". Its "playing typewriter".

When are we going to quit listening to the liberals and let our forces fight this war. People forget this is a WAR and war isn't pretty. As long as we put restraints on our troops as to the rules of engagement we are never going to get our part of this war over with and our troops home. I praise Blackwater, no one seems to remember our special forces and recon troops in Vietnam, but I remember the marines you didn't mess with, they were dirty, smelly and carried wires on their cartridge belts with ears showing the number of kills. We train our young men and women to kill and not be killed then we asked them to go over to Iraq and fight with one arm tied behind their backs (just like Vietnam). Let Blackwater alone and let them provide the protection to our contractors and anyone else they can help. I only wish I could help them out. What would General Patton say about this situation? I'm sure he would be done with Iraq by now and on to Iran and Pakastan. Its either now or later

Ken,

I don't believe that it is up to us to "let Blackwater alone." That decision rests with the Iraqi government, and I believe they have determined that Blackwater needs to go. Now, if you believe that the "sovreign nation" of Iraq is only sovreign so long as they do what we want them to do, then you negate everything this war was supposedly fought for (At least the "second" everything. I think the "first" everything was WMD, but with Bush I just get so confused!)

First of all... I can't take anyone seriously that can't edit what they type. Like speach reflects quality of thought, so does written word. So that rules out quite a few posts from the start. Punctuation and Spelling is your friend. If you aren't intelligent enough to convey your thoughts adequately then you have no business posting in a public forum.

I do not think that Blackwater USA is a band of petty mercenaries. To even get into the program you have to show proficiency with firearms. You don't get recruited--you go to them and you PAY to show them what you can do. If you fail a test you pay to retake it, just like Computer certifications. They don't just put joe-blo from the street behind a fully automatic weapon. Police Officers and prior military are the majority of who go there. These people have put themselves in harm's way again--almost all of them have served their country in some capacity. Our military isn't compensated adequately--an E-5 in the military, (single income family) with two dependants, wife and one child; that E-5 QUALIFIES FOR FOOD STAMPS. I was there. I was an E-5 supporting four. I left the military due to an injury, and I wish I was still there, but I don't complain about the pay differences.

They aren't egomaniacs, they aren't adrenaline junkies... They want to take of their families and make a difference just like they did during their time active duty.

Someone made a bad decision. It could have been a US Service Member just as easily. If they broke the law under which they are allowed to operate then prosecute the offenders. Blackwater USA is not liable in my opinion.

Honestly I was offered a job in Iraq recently. I could make 4x what I did in the USN per year as an E-6. First thing I asked was if I would be armed. The answer was "no". So was mine. If I was attacked, I would want to be able to defend myself. That is a warzone. The insurgents don't follow our "rules". Those guys are in danger all the time, I don't know the details but I can't say that I would have reacted differently with a bomb going off and someone shooting at me.

If you haven't been in that situation you certainly can't judge.
Just my .02