Hired Gun

Of interest to the excessively aspiring privatizer:

As a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince should know the difference between the U.S. military and the U.S. postal system. But apparently he doesn't.

"We're trying to do for the national security apparatus what Fed Ex did for the postal service," explained Prince, founder and CEO of the private military contractor Blackwater USA, in a congressional hearing Tuesday. "They did many of the same services that the postal service did--better, cheaper, smarter, and faster."

Prince was trying to justify his company's involvement in Iraq, which according to the International Herald Tribune now consists of about 850 security workers (also known as mercenaries) on the ground and over $1 billion in State Department contracts. Prince and his company have been under a steady stream of media fire since the September 16th incident in which eleven Iraqis were killed, and their record of aggressive incidents in Iraq dates back to 2004.

Such were the accusations (including the drunken murder of an Iraqi security guard Christmas Eve) against which Erik Prince defended himself for three hours on Tuesday. His consistent theme was Blackwater's status as a private company, and its excellent record of achieving objectives with maximum speed and minimum price.


But it's not Blackwater's efficiency that's on trial, it's their collateral damage. Prince's defense betrays his deepest misunderstanding: a complex military campaign can't run on privatized contracts, because its objectives do not exist in isolation. In the postal service, when the package is delivered the job is done, and no one worries what other effects have been set in motion in the course of delivery. But in the military--especially in a volatile and complex occupation like Iraq--immediate objectives are means to ultimate mission objectives. When short-term objectives are met at the expense of long-term ones, the military is failing.

That's why privatization has worked for the postal system but not for the military. In Prince's self-acclaimed "corporate mantra," you hire a contractor to do a specific job, and when the job is done he gets paid. It's not his business or his problem how that job fits into your ultimate goals. Thus Erik Prince can boast that no official under Blackwater protection has ever been killed, without considering the damage his mercenaries have done to the ultimate mission in Iraq--a mission stated very clearly in COBRA II (the original U.S. war plan) as "regime change."

It is true, as Prince asserts, that his company has met all the obligations of a private contractor--but Machiavelli didn't call mercenaries "useless and dangerous" because they're fast or cheap; he called them "disunited" and "without discipline." The money the State Department saves in short-term objectives by employing Blackwater is paid back in American lives when our failure to achieve long-term objectives--like a functioning, Western-friendly regime in Iraq--comes home to roost.

2500 years ago the great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu instructed generals to "induce the people to have the same aim as the leadership, so that they will share death and share life." Do Blackwater mercenaries share life and death with the US. army? Probably not unless it's specified in their contract.

Calm Like A Bomb

The zombies in 28 Weeks Later, directed Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, really represent the movie compared to other zombie horror flicks. In your average scare movie, the zombies move slowly, they basically limp. There's no dawdling in the 28 franchise. The mindless flesh eating monsters move as fast -nay, faster than their victims. Their speed sums up 28 Weeks Later's intensity compared to other horror flicks. Not only is it a rush, it's like an Olympic runner's rush.
The movie takes place roughly twenty-eight weeks after the first installment, 28 Days Later. The shock from the destructive Rage Virus (a disease spread by any kind of human fluid such as saliva or blood that turns the infected into an overly rabid zombie) is over. Britain has been overrun by the Rage Virus and quarantined. An American led NATO force comes to the U.K. to "civilize" the country. What could possibly go wrong? Well, beyond the Iraqi tested "saviors", as luck would have it, a genetic abnormality is discovered that makes some people immune to the Virus. Unfortunately the family possessing this trait seem to have been born without common sense. Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and Tam (Imogen Poots), the youngest of this family, decide to leave the safe Green Zone (another subtle reference) and venture back to their house in wasteland London. Through a series of events -some of which always brings the audience to exasperated sighs from watching sheer stupidity- the Virus spreads. The U.S. military can't control the situation (possibly the most believable part of the movie) and chaos ensues.
28 Weeks' story depends on the surprising outcome of the character's choices. What seems like a pure action can have disastrous results, and the reverse is true. Character depth or development tends to be an optional attribute of any horror movie and there's not much here. But there isn't much opportunity for anything other than fear and a panicked desperation to survive.
The main characters are likable for their values, which motivates them to go against orders. Jeremy Renner plays Sergeant Doyle, a Delta Force sniper who decides to save people rather than kill them. Rose Byrne plays Scarlett, an Army major and the occupation force's chief medical officer. Scarlett sees the value in Tam and Andy as a possible cure to the virus. Doyle and Scarlett both leave their posts and eventually meet up with Tam and Andy. These rogue officers make a valiant effort to keep the children -possibly the future of human civilization- safe.
The movie's problem lies neither with its scariness nor its lack of imagination. 28 Weeks Later misses in the basic logic department. A main character turned Infected seems to have more intelligence than the rest of his kind and the movie's ending provokes a "how could that have happened?" response concerning the intelligence of the Infected and the choices some characters make. Also, the movie is kind of a downer. At the end of 28 Days Later, the hippies win and the solution to Rage (viral or otherwise) is pacifism. 28 Weeks Later is not so clear cut. The peaceful die, the intelligent die, the ignorant die, the angry die -and kill as undead. Not every movie comes with a lesson though and that seems to be the case with 28 Weeks. It's a speculation movie about what would happen in a world with a Rage Virus. The answer: chaos, death, and more chaos. The movie also does demonstrate that chaos and emergency brings out the worst in people and the best. People can't control the results of their actions but that doesn't make an endearing choice worthless. Regardless, 28 Weeks is definitely scary and for those who like horror, action, and don't mind a few holes of logic, 28 Weeks delivers on all counts.

Where Is My Mind?

Last week Daniele Mastrogiacomo, an Italian reporter for one of his nation’s newspapers, La Republica, was traded for five Taliban prisoners Italy recently admitted, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Despite the exchange’s success, this should not count as a win for Italy or its allies. The Times reported that this seems to be the first open hostage swap in a war involving the United States.
If there’s one thing that the Bush Administration has done well -and this may be that one thing-, it is adhere to the “never negotiate with terrorists rule.” In the Times article, Sean McCormack of the State Department, said the United States does not “negotiate with terrorists, and we don’t advise others to do so either.” Well there really wasn’t much the United States could do; the five Taliban prisoners were held by the Afghani government, not NATO forces, but it’s likely that this time the Bush Administration is telling the truth, for once.
Admittedly, in the past few years, Italy has taken a few hits from its involvement in W’s War Against Terror (or as he puts it, “War on Tehrrr”). Most recognizably, there was Italy’s involvement in the Middle East conflicts –2,000 Italian soldiers were sent to Afghanistan. There have also been numerous attacks by terrorist organizations, like ETA, on Italian soil. Clearly a bold stance must be made. But Italy’s surrender to terrorist demands comes as a surprise. By openly giving in to demands aren’t they encouraging more fighting, more hostage taking, more terror? It would seem so.
Not only does this damage Italy’s political clout, it also discourages worldwide news organizations from sending reporters to the Middle East. Besides the newswires, there are only three U.S. publications in Iraq: The New York Times, USA Today (sometimes), and The Los Angeles Times (which may change due to internal reasons). To any news group toying with the idea of reporting what’s really going on over there rather than what Bush’s Administration says, the decision seems a little bit clearer: send no one. Now, if you want Italy or a member in the Coalition of the Willing (although these days they seem more Unwilling) to do something, grab yourself a journalist!
The Italian government has repeatedly stated that any means necessary to save a life is justified in this war. Yes, one life was saved through this dealing but now how many more will die in an attempt to repeat this outcome?
Washington and London have been saying this but this is no time to point fingers. After all, who was it who started the war in Afghanistan? And who was the biggest supporter of those upstarts?
When President Bush marched onto an aircraft carrier, flight suit and all, declaring the “mission accomplished,” it was pretty doubtful that all major military operations in Iraq had ended but that major conflicts in Afghanistan had stopped seemed plausible. Unfortunately the tumult continues in Iraq and Afghanistan -which America has left to the clean-up crew. This is just another example of how that disaster needs more attention before the problems are gone and the mission is anywhere near accomplished.
Thankfully, Mastrogiacomo returned home safely but besides that nothing about this deserves an aircraft carrier stunt.