The scene in Fallujah was unforgettable: four Americans shot, their bodies defiled, two of them hung from a bridge. They weren't soldiers, but private guards working for a North Carolina company. Their fate sparked outrage and left many questions. This is their story.
The article, which has it's link at title of entry, would seek to make this phenomena a global issue. I don't recall hearing of the tradition of hanging people on bridges a global issue. I guess it's the mutilation part the Charlotte News and Observer was plugging into. Well, we know that terrorist networks do mutilate/blow up/kill people, but, this isn't a terrorist network. These are people of Baghdad. Iraq. And while they aren't a terrorist network, they sure ain't happy, now are they?
...Working for Blackwater
The four men had been brought together in Iraq to work for Blackwater USA, based in Moyock, in North Carolina's northeast corner. The company, and others like it, made money by doing work the military once handled on its own.
Blackwater had several jobs for the U.S. government in Iraq, including a $21 million contract to protect L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian who ran the country until June 28.
The company's owner -- a 35-year-old former Navy SEAL named Erik Prince -- had strong connections. His father, Edgar, owner of an auto parts manufacturer that sold for $1.35 billion, had donated tens of millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations. Erik Prince interned in Congress and for the first President Bush, campaigned for presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan and gave heavily to conservative candidates.
Zovko, Batalona, Teague and Helvenston had signed short-term contracts with Prince's company, earning about $600 a day. They knew little about Prince, but they knew that the company was run mainly by former SEALs, people like them in many ways, men highly trained in military operations.
Helvenston, 38, of Oceanside, Calif., had been not just a SEAL but an instructor, teaching underwater techniques and advanced parachuting -- SEAL stands for the attack routes of sea, air and land. He had parlayed his 12 years with the commando unit into acting and consulting on Hollywood movies, selling a line of fitness videos and working as a fitness trainer and climbing guide....
The four men had been brought together in Iraq to work for Blackwater USA, based in Moyock, in North Carolina's northeast corner. The company, and others like it, made money by doing work the military once handled on its own.
Blackwater had several jobs for the U.S. government in Iraq, including a $21 million contract to protect L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian who ran the country until June 28.
The company's owner -- a 35-year-old former Navy SEAL named Erik Prince -- had strong connections. His father, Edgar, owner of an auto parts manufacturer that sold for $1.35 billion, had donated tens of millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations. Erik Prince interned in Congress and for the first President Bush, campaigned for presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan and gave heavily to conservative candidates.
Zovko, Batalona, Teague and Helvenston had signed short-term contracts with Prince's company, earning about $600 a day. They knew little about Prince, but they knew that the company was run mainly by former SEALs, people like them in many ways, men highly trained in military operations.
Helvenston, 38, of Oceanside, Calif., had been not just a SEAL but an instructor, teaching underwater techniques and advanced parachuting -- SEAL stands for the attack routes of sea, air and land. He had parlayed his 12 years with the commando unit into acting and consulting on Hollywood movies, selling a line of fitness videos and working as a fitness trainer and climbing guide....
