# Blackwater used 'child prostitutes in Iraq' **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 21, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145 "2009-08-21T00:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/21 "2009-08-21T06:23:17Z")
I did not laugh. Only a sick, twisted and perverted deviant would laugh at that joke. And I didn’t. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/22 "2009-08-21T06:25:30Z")
I agree that Erik Prince of Blackwater is an evil nutcase (but he comes by it naturally; look into his mother sometime!) But some of the vague accusations here are pointless: > [@](#): > > The declarations added Iraqi minors got involve in sexual acts with Blackwater members in exchange for one dollar and that Erik Prince, the firm’s owner, “failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes, including child prostitutes, by his men.” Let’s rewrite that a bit: > [@](#): > > The declarations added Vietnamese minors got involve in sexual acts with US soldiers in exchange for 50¢ and that Lyndon B Johnson, the President, “failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes, including child prostitutes, by his men.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/23 "2009-08-21T06:56:27Z")
Two bits says the story is a fake-out. Get the story out, accusations of vile conduct that can’t be proven. Then associate true stories about how rotten you are with the fake ones, i.e., just another story cooked up by Prince’s enemies…not the black Prince…no, not the Black Prince either… Anyway, it muddies the waters. Of course I can’t prove it, that’s why the bet is two bits! Interesting side note: Prince is a fundamentalist reactionary Catholic, unlike the standard Pentecostal/Baptist/Goober affiliation so common on the extreme right… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/24 "2009-08-21T07:10:45Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I agree; flinging accusations of child rape, pedophilia or anything else related to sexual contact with minors is always a sure way to get emotions high and everyone all wound up into a flurry of righteous indignation and anger. I’m not completely discounting the accusations but I’m also not going to automatically believe them either. I know for sure that if I wanted to really destroy someone’s reputation, the first thing I’d do was to say something like this (ok, maybe after first accusing them of racism,) whether it had a basis in truth or not. It’s a common tactic of propaganda, so it immediately raises a red flag for me when I hear it. Word. Jesus, let’s get some evidence here. And not just evidence that some Blackwater employee may have used a child prostitute, but that this was SOP and condoned and approved by Blackwater higher-ups. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/25 "2009-08-21T07:22:50Z")
> [@](#): > > The declarations added Iraqi minors got involve in sexual acts with Blackwater members in exchange for one dollar and Erik Prince \ My, what a difference the lack of a comma makes. Good to see that the barter system is alive and well in Iraq 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/26 "2009-08-21T08:03:32Z")
I get the sense this doesn’t matter too much. No one asks if the rules have been tightened, no one is interested that this was enabled by US policy and taxpayers dollars, no one seems interested that the Omama administration continues to pour money into Erik Prince’s pocket, and no one seems concerned that sworn statements that a current government contractor “has murdered or facilitated the murder” of potential witnesses against that contractor in a criminal investigation. The link with the former Vice President isn’t even worthy of mention. I guess you become a bit jaded after several years of this stuff, but if you reset for a moment to eight years ago none of this private army in a muslim world would seem possible, would it? Crazy, weird fantasist stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/27 "2009-08-21T13:59:20Z")
Does another private contractor even exist which could provide $20 million worth of “security services” in Iraq? Either way, I find it appalling that Obama has extended Blackwater’s contract with the evidence mounting. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/28 "2009-08-21T14:07:58Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > I guess you become a bit jaded after several years of this stuff, but if you reset for a moment to eight years ago none of this private army in a muslim world would seem possible, would it? I dunno. It might seem strange in modern times but historically, private armies have been trampling across (and presumably getting blown in) that part of the world for thousands of years. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/29 "2009-08-21T15:22:00Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I > > 1. The grand majority of “child prostitutes” in the US are 17 years old; the next largest group is 16 years old; and so on. > 2. It’s fully possible that a significant portion of all prostitutes in Afghanistan are minors, making it so that any random selection of booty call is likely to end up being “child prostitution” regardless that there was no particular choice made to target children. Booty call? Are there many of those? Maybe I’m just uptight, but something rubs me the wrong way about Americans using teenage girls’ and women’s sexual services in a country where they are considered subhuman, regularly have their lives threatened for stepping outside or daring to go to school, and are decapitated for working as prostitutes servicing American military officers and contract workers. It just seems slightly imbalanced. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/30 "2009-08-21T15:23:54Z")
This was in Iraq, not in Afghanistan. Iraq is relatively liberal in social terms. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/31 "2009-08-21T16:36:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Does another private contractor even exist which could provide $20 million worth of “security services” in Iraq? Either way, I find it appalling that Obama has extended Blackwater’s contract with the evidence mounting. It’s common, but quite unfair, to equate “all civilians working in Iraq and Afghanistan” with “Blackwater”. There certainly are other security companies, both US firms and ones from other countries. My friend who is an executive for a US construction company in Iraq is protected by guards from SafeNet (South African) and Armour Group (British). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/32 "2009-08-21T17:13:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > This was in Iraq, not in Afghanistan. Iraq is relatively liberal in social terms. Oops. I am still somewhat torn over the issue (as I would be anywhere, even in North America), but my mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/33 "2009-08-21T17:17:39Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > It’s common, but quite unfair, to equate “all civilians working in Iraq and Afghanistan” with “Blackwater”. > > There certainly are other security companies, both US firms and ones from other countries. My friend who is an executive for a US construction company in Iraq is protected by guards from SafeNet (South African) and Armour Group (British). I’m not saying that- I know there are others- just wondering if any other private security firm has the manpower to replace _all_ the Blackwater personnel who’ve been Iraq for… 8-odd years. > [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Oops. I am still somewhat torn over the issue (as I would be anywhere, even in North America), but my mistake. I saw you quoted **Sage Rat** , who said Afghanistan, so I just assumed you were going off that. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/34 "2009-08-21T17:39:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Does another private contractor even exist which could provide $20 million worth of “security services” in Iraq? Either way, I find it appalling that Obama has extended Blackwater’s contract with the evidence mounting. Blackwater is certainly huge but there are others- Triple Canopy, Dyncorp, Armour Group, and probably at least a dozen others. I know TC has a piece of the State Department protection business. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/35 "2009-08-21T18:02:32Z")
Blackwater, that’s like the perfect ‘evil corporation’ name! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/36 "2009-08-21T18:07:37Z")
Headed by a guy named Eric Prince? A Catholic reactionary fundamentalist? “Hello, Mr. Hanks? Hi, my name is **elucidator** , and I’ve got a great idea for a movie! OK, kinda far out, but still…” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/37 "2009-08-21T18:29:56Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Booty call? Are there many of those? Maybe I’m just uptight, but something rubs me the wrong way about Americans using teenage girls’ and women’s sexual services in a country where they are considered subhuman, regularly have their lives threatened for stepping outside or daring to go to school, and are decapitated for working as prostitutes servicing American military officers and contract workers. It just seems slightly imbalanced. I’m not endorsing prostitution. I’m actually one of the few opponents of prositution in GD on this board. I’m just pointing out that it’s likely silly to paint it like we’re talking about pedophilia. It’s also, likely, silly to paint it like it’s just Blackwater doing this. I’d bet a decent sum of money that nearly even levels of soldiers in the US military and in Blackwater use the local prostitutes, some percentage of whom are likely minors, and probably the brass is basically aware of this on both sides. It’s rather sad to say that this shouldn’t be news to anyone, but if it is going to be news, I’d rather it be presented for what it is, rather than as some sort of child porn ring. Taking advantage of impoverished women should get enough outcry as it is without having to tie in phantasms of pedophilia in there. And it’s an issue that likely expands beyond Blackwater, so it’s just being propagandic to slam just them for it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/38 "2009-08-21T20:07:01Z")
It’s not prostitution, its vaginal entrepreneurship! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/39 "2009-08-21T20:10:45Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Blackwater, that’s like the perfect ‘evil corporation’ name! That’s why they changed it to Xe, the perfect “Huh?” name. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/40 "2009-08-21T20:37:33Z")
It could be that their new slogan (“Rhymes with sexy!”) was a mistake, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145.md?page=3)