Maher on Blackwater in Iraq (VIDEO)

October 13, 2007 Are You Kidding Me?, Bill Maher, Iraq, Video, War on Terror Comments

Oh, geez… where do I begin? It’s that crazy privatization again that’s oh-so-evil. Again, Tucker goes to bat for Blackwater, and some very interesting exchanges take place.

Here’s a portion of the transcript, in which Blackwater is referred to consistently as mercenaries (except for Tucker):

Carlson: You can’t go anywhere in Iraq without them. You have to have them. The military is not going to protect you. And so if you want to deliver air conditioners or feed people or get up the phone lines, you have to have them.

Krugman: These guys have been a problem from the beginning, right?

Carlson: No.

Krugman: We basically lost any chance of a good outcome in Iraq in March/April 2004, and it was because a Blackwater mission went wrong in Fallujah.

Excuse me? A Blackwater mission went ‘wrong’ in 2004? Four contractors were killed, tortured, dismembered, burned and hung from a bridge in Fallujah! WTF is Paul Krugman talking about? Did he go to the Daily Kos “Screw them!” school of etiquette?

Tucker takes Krugman on further:

Carlson: Who protects your bureau? Who protects the New York Times’ bureau in Baghdad? Because the military is not going to. You wouldn’t have reporters there if it weren’t for private contractors.

Krugman: Well, we’re not worried about the New York Times…

Carlson: Well, I’m worried about it. They give…they let Americans know what’s going on there. Without private security contractors they couldn’t be there.

Krugman: But what I’m worried about is why does the U.S. Government continue to employ mercenaries there?

Carlson: But it’s not just them.

And Tucker continues the attack:

Carlson: I think we should make the New York Times live up to Mr. Krugman’s own standards. If we’re not allowed to hire…

Krugman: Come on, you know that’s an idiotic argument.

Carlson: No, it’s not. And I’ll tell you exactly why. I was in Baghdad in 2003 in January…

- crosstalk –

Carlson: If you don’t have private contractors in Iraq, you will get killed.

Krugman: I don’t mind that the shopping mall has private security, but I don’t expect the township of Princeton hiring mercenaries.

Carlson: But it’s not Princeton. See that’s the thing. You haven’t been there so you don’t know. It’s not Princeton. It’s really dangerous and you can’t go there without them PERIOD! The military will not protect you. You can’t… look… (exasperation)

You can watch the entire exchange here.