Seems Like Old Times

Ah, it's comfy, isn't it? Conservatives are feeling compassionate toward "the lesser people", Gen. Petraeus is running our war again, and working right alongside the troops who serve under him are those model warriors, the Boys of Blackwater — oops, I mean Xe of course.

The CIA has tossed a $100 million contract their way, for "protective services . . . in multiple regions." For $100 million, they must be doing a lot of guarding — of what, exactly, is not clear. The CIA doesn't like to talk about their bidness.

But the leak of this news follows last weeks' announcement that the State Department has awarded the Boys of Blackwater — oops, I mean Xe — a $120 million contract to guard consulates being built in Herat and Maza-e-Sharif. That decision was not well-received by the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which is investigating the use of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Oops, again — I mentioned Iraq, didn't I? Tacky of me, given that the Boys of — I mean Xe, well, they weren't Xe when it happened — I mean, Iraq expelled Xe Services from the country last year, owing to an unfortunate incident in 2007.

But, as a courageously anonymous U.S. official points out about the company, "Blackwater has undergone some serious changes." Well, of course they have! Hello! The name alone is 8 letters shorter. No-name continues:

They've had to prove to the government that they're a responsible outfit. Having satisfied every legal requirement, they have the right to compete for contracts. They have people who do good work, at times in some very dangerous places. Nobody should forget that, either.

It makes you proud when a government official stands up for people's — well, a corporation, but legally it's a person — rights, albeit anonymously, which makes it more of a crouch than a stand-up, but still.

There's nothing more to be said on the subject then, except: nobody should forget this, either.