Unfriendly Fire: Incidents Increasing Between US Military & Private Military Contractors In Iraq

I have not heard much of this, is it true? I know we have members who have been to Iraq have any of you seen this or heard of it.

Unfriendly Fire: Hostile Incidents Increasing Between US Military And Private Military Contractors In Iraq

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Baghdad, IRAQ – JUNE 13, 2005 – Reports about armed confrontations between active duty U.S. and coalition military forces and coalition armed private military contractors in Iraq have gone from a trickle to a steady flow. While fragging incidents between U.S. enlisted and officers were more commonplace in Vietnam than ever admitted by the Pentagon, the violence between active military and quasi-mercenaries in Iraq is a fairly new phenomenon, according to U.S. military experts.
[~~]
What is occurring in Iraq is not friendly fire but willful fighting between occupation forces.
Many private military contractors have committed atrocities against Iraqi civilians that are often blamed on the US military. The involvement of two contractors, CACI and Titan, in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, has added to the enmity between the military and contractors.
[~~]
This military-contractor schism has resulted in overall bad blood between the military and the privateers throughout Iraq and has resulted in armed confrontations between active duty military and Custer Battles personnel, especially in and around Baghdad International Airport, where Custer Battles has been involved in security operations.

Last November, there were a number of shooting incidents and other physical altercations between US Army troops and Custer Battles personnel at Baghdad airport. Some contractors have sought to downplay and obfuscate the fratricidal combat. They have insinuated in security alerts that Iraqi insurgents have masqueraded as contractor personnel in attacking Iraqi civilians and US military personnel.
The US military scoff at this notion.
[~~]
Many US military personnel, especially National Guardsmen and Reservists, are jealous of the large salaries paid to the private contractors. For every ten US military personnel in Iraq, there is now one private military support contractor. In Operation Desert Storm, the ratio was one in 60.
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The conflicts between the US military and contractors stem from disparity in pay and benefits between the military and contractors; the contractors’ lack of discipline and cultural awareness (“cowboy” and racist attitudes); illegal activities by the contractors; and a belief by contractors that the US military is not doing enough to protect them.

Read the complete article here scroll to the second last article on the page

[edit on 12/8/2005 by Sauron]

talk about using a very anti American source. yes there can be tensions between American personnel and contractors. but they still work together.

Originally posted by deltaboy
talk about using a very anti American source. yes there can be tensions between American personnel and contractors. but they still work together.

You are calling Wayne Madsen anti-American? I don't see why
He was a communication security analyst with the NSA in th 1980 and an intelligence officer in the US Marine Corps. He has testified on numerous occasions before Congress.


[edit on 12/8/2005 by Sauron]

Originally posted by deltaboy
talk about using a very anti American source.

The Christian Science Monitor is reporting the same thing:
US troops, security contractors increasingly at odds in Iraq

I remember a Similar Incident few months ago:

Marines 'beat US workers' in Iraq

Apparently they don't like each other.

"How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?" one of the marines is alleged to have shouted at the men, in an apparent reference to the large sums of money private contractors can make in Iraq.

I know some Army guys over there, and I know some contractors who work for ITT over there. The military and the contractors don't get along. It's all about the money. You have people doing the same job, but the other is getting 10x the pay. In fact, my friend who works with ITT says that even the contractors don't like each other. The Haliburton workers living conditions are more miserable than the ITT people, and Haliburton really treat their people like crap, so that creates a lot of animosity. Iraq seems like a huge experiment in privatization. Maybe we have too few troops on purpose. It creates jobs and contracts for big business.

Originally posted by Sauron
You are calling Wayne Madsen anti-American? I don't see why
He was a communication security analyst with the NSA in th 1980 and an intelligence officer in the US Marine Corps. He has testified on numerous occasions before Congress.


[edit on 12/8/2005 by Sauron]

aah excuse me anti Bush. anithing Bush does he reports on Bush's failure.

"Hayden's Heroes: A tale of incompetence and politicization at America's super-secret intelligence agency" (www.onlinejournal.com...), May 10, 2005, Online Journal
"The unholy trinity of electronic snooping: Bolton, Negroponte and Hayden" (www.onlinejournal.com...), May 5, 2005, Online Journal
"NSA intercepts for Bolton masked as 'training missions'" (www.onlinejournal.com...), April 25, 2005, Online Journal
"Was Bolton behind death of State Department official?" (www.onlinejournal.com...), April 20, 2005, Online Journal
"Bush administration's "Ministry of Truth" attacks American journalists who fail to adhere to the official line" (www.onlinejournal.com...), April 19, 2005, Online Journal
"Spy agency disruption reaches Fort Meade - America's 'ear' on terrorism war wracked by poor morale, management failures" (www.onlinejournal.com...), April 12, 2005, Online Journal
"Latest neocon target: The Vatican - The neocon strategy to ensure their candidate is selected pope" (www.onlinejournal.com...), April 5, 2005, Online Journal
"Italian agent Calipari: A target of opportunity for US assassins" (www.onlinejournal.com...), March 22, 2005, Online Journal
"Bush administration clears US troops in slaying of Calipari and wounding of Sgrena" (www.onlinejournal.com...), March 15, 2005, Online Journal
"Hariri reportedly assassinated to make way for large US air base in Lebanon" (www.onlinejournal.com...), March 11, 2005, Online Journal
"Time for Nuremberg II - The international community must reconvene the Nuremberg Tribunal and try the Bush regime's top officials" (www.onlinejournal.com...), March 9, 2005, Online Journal
"GOP pedophilia and S&M trysts - A long history going back to Bush 41 and Reagan" (www.onlinejournal.com...), March 3, 2005, Online Journal
"The GOP's many Talons - Did White House S&M ring order special videos from Abu Ghraib?" (www.onlinejournal.com...), February 23, 2005 Online Journal
"Gannongate threatens to expose a huge GOP pedophile and male prostitution ring" (www.onlinejournal.com...), February 18, 2005, Online Journal
"EXPOSÉ: THE 'CHRISTIAN' MAFIA - Where Those Who Now Run the U.S. Government Came From and Where They Are Taking Us" (www.insider-magazine.com...), February 7, 2005, Insider Magazine
[edit]Articles by Madsen in 2004
"Texas to Florida: White House-linked clandestine operation paid for 'vote switching' software" (www.onlinejournal.com...), December 6, 2004, Online Journal
"Votergate: More details emerge" (www.onlinejournal.com...), December 1, 2004, Online Journal
"More on the buying of electoral fraud by the Bush campaign" (www.onlinejournal.com...), November 26, 2004, Online Journal
"Saudis, Enron money helped pay for US rigged election" (www.onlinejournal.com...), November 25, 2004, Online Journal
"Bush Administration and Oil Companies Want Arctic Meltdown" (www.fromthewilderness.com...), November 11, 2004, From The Wilderness
"Grand Theft Election: Karl Rove's turd droppings all over this one" (www.onlinejournal.com...), November 5, 2004, Online Journal
"Osama bin Laden: a Texas-style Republican in Muslim clothing" (www.onlinejournal.com...), September 12, 2004, Online Journal
"Neo-Cons on the Brink" (www.counterpunch.org...), June 4, 2004, CounterPunch



[edit]Articles by Madsen in 2003 and earlier
"Bush's 'Christian' Blood Cult" (www.counterpunch.org...), April 22, 2003, CounterPunch
"Exposing Karl Rove" (www.counterpunch.org...), November 1, 2002, CounterPunch
"Questionable Ties - Tracking bin Laden's money flow leads back to Midland, Texas" (www.inthesetimes.com...), vol. 25, issue 25, In These Times
[edit]Other Links
"Madsen: End of Year Update on Investigation" (jamboi.dailykos.com...), December 31, 2004, DailyKos
[edit]See also
Jeb Bush
Coin Gate
Five Star Trust
[edit]External links
www.fromthewilderness.com...

look at all those titles. looks like he tryin to paint Bush's foreign policy as a failure by putting up reports on bad things only goin on in Iraq and Afghanistan. as well as bases in Central Asia.

Originally posted by deltaboy

Originally posted by Sauron
You are calling Wayne Madsen anti-American? I don't see why
He was a communication security analyst with the NSA in th 1980 and an intelligence officer in the US Marine Corps. He has testified on numerous occasions before Congress.


[edit on 12/8/2005 by Sauron]

aah excuse me anti Bush. anithing Bush does he reports on Bush's failure.


look at all those titles. looks like he tryin to paint Bush's foreign policy as a failure by putting up reports on bad things only goin on in Iraq and Afghanistan. as well as bases in Central Asia.

Well that could be Because Bush and his foreign policy are, Both, failures.


But back to my post that has been supported by links from other members. There does seem to truth to this.
Curme I think you could be right, less troops more for big business to supply at the expense of Joe & Jane Six-pack.

would it be embarrassing if i show u a video of contractors working with American troops? this is an incident. the contractors are American military. they are just like the U.S. troops but have better equipment and better pay. dont blame them for that. they left after their service is done and decided to join the PMC, maybe wen those American troops in Iraq are done with their service they can join as well.

Originally posted by deltaboy
would it be embarrassing if i show u a video of contractors working with American troops? this is an incident. the contractors are American military. they are just like the U.S. troops but have better equipment and better pay. dont blame them for that. they left after their service is done and decided to join the PMC, maybe wen those American troops in Iraq are done with their service they can join as well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming anyone for anything, I came across the story and wanted to know if it was true, and so far it seems that it is.
If they were to pay the troops the same as the merc's I think there would be less wars just because of the expense.

Probably have a lot more soldiers too

[edit on 12/8/2005 by Sauron]

Strange - UK forces have been reporting this for years. They give the
Americans a wide berth due to their poor fire discipline. GW1 blue-on-blue Deaths (thanks ANG!) probably haven't helped either.

US troops have fired on the Brits, killed a Bulgarian an Italian and counless 'friendly' Iraqis - this is not news to everyone else.

Not surprised private contractors have returned fire - only our NCO discipline and the Bad PR resulting (for us) from wasting allies have prevented UK troops answering in like kind.

If you ask me, the contractors got what they had coming. Going to war for big paychecks, that's just sick and absurd. They deserve to get beaten.

I have 150% respect for our soldiers, however, no matter what circumstances the war is fought under. And yet they're treated like garbage by our government and even our society.

Go Armed Forces!!!

Kinda funny how I've been saying this for quite a while and certain people said it was all lies.

Apart from mercinaries working for official companies and contractors in Iraq, you also have mercinaries working for all sorts of other people, from art collectors, treasure hunters and "freelance" archeologists to organized crime and other illigal activity affiliated mercinaries, not to mention mercinaries that are there to cause mayhem to keep Iraq nice and unstable.

If the official mercinaries and official army people aren't getting along and shoot at eachother, then how much Coalition soldiers might have already died, not at the hand of freedom fighters or terrorists, but at the hand of mercinaries working for the highest bidder with whatever objective?

Originally posted by sweatmonicaIdo
If you ask me, the contractors got what they had coming. Going to war for big paychecks, that's just sick and absurd. They deserve to get beaten.

...what...you think the 'Grunts' can actually beat the private contracted 'Security Officers' (read: Mercs) over there??

Knowing a few over there at the moment...and knowing where and whom they previously served...I doubt the average Grunt would have a snowballs chance in hell.

Originally posted by alien
...what...you think the 'Grunts' can actually beat the private contracted 'Security Officers' (read: Mercs) over there??

Knowing a few over there at the moment...and knowing where and whom they previously served...I doubt the average Grunt would have a snowballs chance in hell.

Which is why the U.S. military has an overwhelming advantage in numbers against the mercs.

Seriously, I know the mercs are super-humans, but they can't possibly count of defeating an entire company of infantrymen.