The latest contract with Blackwater — note that the “Area of Responsibility” is conceived to be so through 2011.

Presidential Airways, Inc., an aviation Worldwide Services company (d/b/a Blackwater Aviation), Moyock, N.C., is being awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract for $92,000,000.00. The contractor is to provide all fixed-wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger, cargo and combi Short Take-Off and Landing air transportation services between locations in the Area of Responsibility of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. This contract was competitively procured and two timely offers were received. The performance period is from 1 Oct. 2007 to 30 September 2011. Source

Duty dictated by dogma — in a word, SNABU.

Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America’s stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush’s senior women officials: “I hate all Iranians.”

And she also accused Britain of “dismantling” the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, made the comments this month.

[snip]

It was her tone when they met her on September 11 that shocked them most.

The MPs say that at one point she said: “In any case, I hate all Iranians.”

Although it was an aside, it was not out of keeping with her general demeanour.

“She seemed more keen on saying she didn’t like Iranians than that the US had no plans to attack Iran,” said one MP. “She did say there were no plans for an attack but the tone did not fit the words.”

Another MP said: “I formed the impression that some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming.”

[snip]

The Pentagon denied Ms Cagan said she “hated” Iranians.

“She doesn’t speak that way,” said an official.

But when The Mail on Sunday spoke to four of the six MPs, three confirmed privately that she made the remark and one declined to comment. The other two could not be contacted. Article

The pieces don’t quite fit together, but noted FYI:

The United States said it had no information to support claims by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had US-made heavy military equipment in Iraq, while Erdog(an said the information has been published in Internet media.

“I have no idea what that statement would be based on. It would be pretty difficult to see how heavy military equipment would get into the hands of the PKK,” US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said at a daily press conference on Friday. “Certainly it would not be anything that would be supported by this government or any member of the US military that I’m familiar with. There is no information that I have of any kind that would support such an allegation.”

On Saturday, Erdogan appeared to be clarifying claims that the PKK in Iraq was using US-made tanks and heavy guns, saying the issue was not anything new and citing Internet media as a source. “It was on Internet sites in the past. It could be stolen or something else. There are photos showing PKK members getting training with these weapons on the Internet,” he told a press conference as he wrapped up a 12-day visit to United States, where he attended a UN General Assembly meeting.

The prime minister also rectified a statement he made last week that Turkey would consider letting the US use Turkey in a possible troop pullout from Iraq. Erdogan said use of Turkish soil was out of the question in response to inquiry about whether Turkey would help. “I said we could look warmly on this and assess it. This is all I said,” he explained. Article

Lethality of export for 2006 (before already announced increases and special deals in the cases of both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia).

The United States maintained its role as the leading supplier of weapons to the developing world in 2006, followed by Russia and Britain, according to a Congressional study. Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia were the top buyers.

The global weapons market is highly competitive, with manufacturing countries seeking both to increase profits and to expand political influence through weapons sales to developing nations that reached nearly $28.8 billion in 2006.

That sales total was a slight drop from the 2005 figure of $31.8 billion, a trend explained by the strain of rising fuel prices that prompted many developing states - except those that produce oil - to choose upgrading current arsenals over purchasing new weapons.

[snip]

In 2006, the United States agreed to sell $10.3 billion in weapons to the developing world, or 35.8 percent of these deals worldwide, according to the study. Russia was second with $8.1 billion, or 28.1 percent, and Britain was third with $3.1 billion, or 10.8 percent.

Pakistan concluded $5.1 billion in agreements to purchase arms in 2006. That total was followed by India with $3.5 billion in agreements and Saudi Arabia with $3.2 billion in deals. Article

The sheer heaviness and massive force of gravity of the debt racked up under the woebegone G. Walker administration will crush and distort the entirety of the government for, literally, generations. Even countries with a huge bounty of inflated energy revenues to spend in the international monetary markeplace must eventually look askance at investing in a system so deeply in the red (and addicted to being so).

Whatever happens over the next 16 months, President Bush will leave office having presided over one of the fastest accumulations of government debt in the history of the United States.

During his time in office, federal debt held by the public – Washington’s equivalent of a credit-card balance – will have increased by more than 50 percent, to about $5.5 trillion. Uncle Sam will be paying interest on that sum for years to come. [That’s $5,500,000,000,000. — voxd ]

[snip]

The bottom line: Uncle Sam’s credit-card balance has become very large. Federal debt held by the public – the figure experts use to measure the US fiscal burden – was $3.3 trillion when Bush took office. It will be $5.5 trillion when he leaves, according to projections of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The US has to pay interest to maintain that debt, just as individuals have to pay interest on their Visa and Mastercard balances. The rates are better – Uncle Sam has a lot of leverage in the credit markets – but the cost is still a considerable burden. This fiscal year, the US laid out $235 billion in net interest, according to Congressional Budget Office figures. That’s a number that’s half the size of the Pentagon budget.

When the next president takes office, interest will be the third largest item in the budget, after military spending and Social Security, says Mr. Collender of Qorvis Communications.… Article

Topically related — dunning the children now is already under way.