Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the US, Israel, and Egypt have agreed that control of the Rafah border crossing that connects Egypt and Gaza will be handed over to a private American security firm.
The report came after Israel captured the border crossing in an operation that was approved by the Biden administration. The private American firm was not named, but Haaretz said that it employs veterans of elite US Army units and has been employed in several Middle Eastern and African countries to guard sensitive sites.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller was asked about the report and said he wasn’t aware of any plan for Israel to transfer control of the border crossing.
Under the reported arrangement, American mercenaries would take responsibility for overseeing the border crossing, which would include monitoring goods coming into Gaza and preventing Hamas from taking control. Vital deliveries have been cut off since Israel took control of the crossing early Tuesday.
The Haaretz report said the arrangement was part of an effort by Israel to “win agreement” from the US and Egypt for a Rafah operation. The report said Israel had given assurances that it would limit its attack on Rafah to securing the border crossing, although Israeli bombs have been pounding the city.
IDF, American mercenaries, it does not matter. The aid will be slow coming, hungry Palestinians will be shot if they approach the trucks. American soldiers have rules of engagement (sort of), whereas mercenaries do not. Meanwhile, the IDF will keep shooting up Gaza.
Blackwater… Or whatever the f they call themselves these days.
Hopefully they won’t be returning.
So which band of mercenary scum is this administration patronizing? Bush the Elected and Clinton had Dyncorp, until they got caught enslaving and sex trafficking women. Shrub and Obama were fans of
BlackwaterXe, even replacing the US Marines at embassies and some consulates with paid psychos, while Rump was had done business with them even before entering office. Wonder which group of hired killers our tax dollars will be paying for now.Spot the hell on, Bixby!
my main concern is what if somebody attacks these American mercenaries getting rich off of this crisis? Are we going to then have our patriotism importuned on again and see us start another stupid war again? are we supposed to “support the[se] troops”? they are just there for the money not for our country.
Remember the Liberty! 🇺🇸
You mean like Fallujah, where the probably justifiable deaths of a handful of Blackwater
mercenary scum“civilian contractors” provoked the total destruction of one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the Middle East along with a large portion of its population? That may be the point of doing it. Biden can’t get away with using US troops to help starve the Palestinians to extinction yet because of the upcoming election, but if they can “prove” to the MSM that the people of Gaza somehow “deserve” it by getting them to kill a bunch of American psychos then that may change.idk much about the specifics but I did read in Bing West’s book that they destroyed 39,000 buildings in Fallujah. not at all clear how any of that advanced our general welfare or led to american peace and prosperity.
the total destruction of one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the Middle East along with a large portion of its population?
And we still lost.
Everything coming from Israel/Biden Administration, is LIES. We are watching the Genocide of Palestinians for the purpose of STEALING their Land by the USA and Israel. Biden said NO to Israel going into Rafah, was that a lie? Of course it was, the UN should know this, the Members of the UN should know this, the Arab/African/Muslim Nations should know this, so when does someone take Netanyahu’s War to Tel Aviv, into the heart of Israel, to STOP this?
They’re afraid to send in the Marines because within a month they’d be siding with Hamas…
Something to do with honor.
I recall reading on this very site how the SEALs sent in to assassinate OBL in Pakistan hated the mission, because they’re not assassins.
You didn’t hear that from me.
I think they sent in the SEALs because they’re assassins.
Well, no, I mean, despite what any service member is ordered to do, I’m inclined to believe that Navy SEALs, (Marines, airmen etc) are first and foremost honourable warriors. Ask ’em to crawl into a hostile hornets’ nest and shoot their way out, cool.
But order them to home-invade a Pakistani safehouse to chase an unarmed old man into a bedroom and gun him down then, and once their replacement helicopter arrives, dump the corpse out over the mountains… I’ve read & I believe the Team Six gents found it dishonourable.
“dump the corpse out over the mountains” There are 1000s of sailor on the Carl Vinson who will refute your comment.
Ah yes, the unnamed “1000s” who each personally inspected and verified the contents of the Totally OBL Shaped Shrouded Body every single sailor aboard witnessed given over to the Deep.
As there were “five hundred” equally unnamed and equally unverified witnesses to the Risen Christ 2,000 years ago – which I ALSO do not believe. I mean, all the recipients of Paul’s letter(s) had to do was travel from Greece or Italy to Jerusalem fifty-odd years after the claimed event & find any of them.
I suppose all YOU need do, to start to convince me, Timothy, is name ONE sailor aboard who personally witnessed the verified body of Osama Bin Laden (not his blood or tissue samples, which WERE brought back) buried at sea as claimed.
You hold the burden of proof to demonstrate that your version happened. My position is, “I do not believe you.”
You heard wrong. They’re fucking nut jobs.
And you believed that non sense?
What “non sense” ? If I am not mistaken, it was Seymour Hersh reporting this version, and I believe antiwar carried the article, among other sources.
Yep, found a link (to an overview, with sub-links) :
https://original.antiwar.com/shamus-cooke-2/2015/05/20/behind-the-medias-assault-on-seymour-hersh/
It’s OK, the private firm is probably modelled after the TSA. Palestinians will just have to remove their belts, shoes and discard 3-oz liquid containers to cross, and wait for one of six hefty middle-aged women at each security kiosk to decide which of them (all Sergeants, from all the chevon-patches I’m seen on ’em in US airports) has to collect up the Grey Plastic X-Ray Bins and move them to the start of the line.
Just arrive at the Sinai border 2-3 hours in advance of your crossing. 1-2 hours if you’re signed up with the Apartheid State of Israel version of NEXUS (which the Israeli gov’t calls “GTFO”).
Let me guess why the company is never mentioned on the article. I bet its blackwater, the dirtiest of dem all
dirtiest of dem all
I see what you did there . . .
Black water rebranded
Reflex Responses Management Consultancy LLC operates as a private company. The Company works to provide its clients with comprehensive security services. Reflex Responses Management Consultancy LLC offers its services to individuals and businesses. Reflex Responses Management Consultancy LLC works from its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0848570D:UH
Taking care of the dirty work
US military operations in the Middle East after 9/11 spurred the growth of private military contractors. Tied to the Pentagon and State Department, the companies recruited mercenaries to carry out the most dangerous missions or take care of ‘dirty work’. The men were an ideal resource: their deaths had no impact on US politics or national morale. Contractors worried little about accountability, as their actions fell into a grey area of international law.
Mercenary activity was long notable for its diverse theatres (Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq etc) but predictable sponsorship (almost always the United States). That changed. In May 2011 the New York Times revealed that many Colombian veterans had shipped off to Abu Dhabi posing as ‘construction workers’ (2). They were then placed under the command of a former high-ranking Colombian military official. These fighters swelled the ranks of the mercenary army deployed in Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition.
In 2015 the New York Times wrote that 450 Latin American veterans, mostly Colombians, had been hired directly by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a similar purpose. Some Colombian media reported that 15 of them had lost their lives on 10 December in the city of Taiz, where the most violent fighting took place and over 10,000 civilians were killed (3).
https://mondediplo.com/2024/02/06colombia
On March 31, 2004, four Americans, all Blackwater contractors, were murdered in Falluja, and the bodies of two of them were hung from a bridge.
We can only hope.
(Note the word “murdered”.)
Bringing out my Pet Peeve: I used to maintain servers, networks, and security systems, sometimes for government agencies, I was a “civilian contractor”. Blackwater employees were mercenary scum, not “contractors”.
I know, that’s not your phrasing, it’s the MSM’s euphemism which is supposed to make us feel all warm and fuzzy when our tax dollars are used to pay sociopaths to murder civilians for us.
OK Peeve, back in your kennel . . .
Hope for what? More Americans to die? Not surprising coming from a known terrorists supporter.
If they’re mercs, hell yes. I even want American genocide supporters to die. You included.
Nothing to say beyond the fact that the actions of the present US Government make our numerous prior atrocities a cake walk.
Color me outraged at the ongoing actions taken by this president and embarrassed for my country. These are dark days for any vestiges of honor among the American political class.
Now can anyone- anyone- tell me what the response from the US is going to be when some of those ‘contractors’ manage to get themselves killed when Hamas gets wind of them? Now contrast that answer with what you might think will happen if some of those same ‘contractors’ shoot up a bunch of Palestinian kids?
My guess, based on history, is this:
A) The US bombing will begin within a few hours, because Hamas.
B) The US bombing will begin within a few hours, because Hamas.
Note in particular : “…Israel had given assurances…”
Yeah, riiiight.
In addition to being homicidal mad dogs, they lie the way decent people breathe.
“By way of deception thou shalt do war.”
Additionally,
“By way of deception thou shalt do peace”
“By way of deception thou shalt do business”
“By way of deception thou shalt do life”
“… because we are the Chosen of God. We and we alone have souls. The rest are merely animals in human form, to be treated accordingly.”
The historic record of 3500+ years have shown this attitude to be highly problematic.
An USA company with mercenaries mostly former members of Colombia military, and former white south Africans military members.