# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/61 "2009-08-25T07:22:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Knowing the government’s fondness for classifying things, may I suggest Joint Operations, Hired, Non-military. > [@PrettyVacant](#): > > In the Gitmo sense, they’re combatants. > > In the USA sense, they avoid the need for an electorally suicidal middle class Draft, so perhaps ‘draft dodgers’ would work if it wasn’t already taken. Mine has a better acronym. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/62 "2009-08-25T14:40:31Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > [Link:](http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102887§ionid=3510203) > Still winning hearts and minds from that moral high ground. > > Across the border, the Taliban will make the most of this. Relax. This is just a minor extension of the fucking we’ve been giving the Iraqi people since Kuwait. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/63 "2009-08-25T16:26:47Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Blackwater, that’s like the perfect ‘evil corporation’ name! It’s certainly better-conceived than “Custer Battles.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/64 "2009-08-25T16:28:39Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > It was UN peacekeeping troops in Bosnia & Kosovo that pioneered the whole modern sex-slave trade of East-European girls. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/65 "2009-08-25T16:29:57Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Seems like I remember reading about it from ancient Roman armies, and Alexander the Great’s Greek armies before that, and Egyptian Pharaoh’s armies before that, several thousand years ago. I think it has probably been going on as long as armies have been invading and occupying territories. What else are soldiers gonna do, in a country where they do not personally know any of the women? ---
**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 25, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/66 "2009-08-25T16:33:25Z")
Buy them drinks and slip in some roofies. That’s the American Way. ---
**Author:** ![Dolukhanova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c68b51/32.png) [@Dolukhanova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolukhanova)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/67 "2009-08-26T21:33:10Z")
1. All of these allegations come from two men filing affidavits in a law suit; we don’t know who they are. No court has tested or ruled on the allegations 2. As I understand it from the Nation report, neither man claims any direct knowledge of what they are alleging. Rather, they are reporting what they claim to have heard from unnamed colleagues. In other words, I don’t think this has much if any evidentiary value right now. Perhaps it would be more sensible to direct the outrage elsewhere until some facts emerge. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/68 "2009-08-26T21:39:08Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (Seriously, Erik Prince is a James Bond/Dan Brown/Tom Clancy supervillain from all accounts: a billionaire religious Fundie fanatic [how Fundie? He dropped his support of George Bush the First because he was so liberal on gays] with a private army and a trail of dead bodies when an investigation starts and information on and contacts among every powerful person in the last administration- you just know there’s an underwater base somewhere and a single button that will blow up Pittsburgh as a show of force one day.) Ooh! I hope he has a Mini-Me and a grotesquely cute pet (hey! maybe they’re the same thing!). (Damn–beaten to it by others). Truly, if this were in a book, we’d be rolling our eyes at the implausibility of it all. Which leads one to think, no? Perhaps the Bogeyman really does exist… Then again, as has been said, let’s see some facts first. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/69 "2009-08-26T22:24:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Knowing the government’s fondness for classifying things, may I suggest Joint Operations, Hired, Non-military. Would that be used to discribe the Blackwater folks, or the hookers? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/70 "2009-08-26T23:38:11Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Knowing the government’s fondness for classifying things, may I suggest Joint Operations, Hired, Non-military. > [@Kevbo](#): > > Would that be used to discribe the Blackwater folks, or the hookers? The Blackwater folks. Please, somebody tell me they get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/71 "2009-08-27T00:16:48Z")
Y’know, if prostitution were legal in the US, the contractors’ companies could hire company prostitutes from the US or Europe… They would probably get paid well, and would clearly be there voluntarily since they applied for the job. ---
**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 27, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/72 "2009-08-27T00:49:38Z")
If prostitution were legal in the US, most likely the amount of human trafficking (aka sex trafficking) from Mexico and South America would increase significantly and all of those girls (aka **illegal aliens** ) would be working as illegal prostitutes with all the poor treatment that being an illegal prostitute entails. This is precisely what has happened in every country to legalize prostitution so far, bar perhaps New Zealand, but probably even including that one (I haven’t seen reliable data.) Russian girls end up being trucked in by mafia in Europe. Southeast Asian girls get boated in to Australia (again, probably by some sort of mafia sort of group.) In places where prostitution has been legalized, only a small minority actually gets fully licensed, while as the illegal portion doubles or triples in size. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/73 "2009-08-27T00:54:03Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If prostitution were legal in the US, most likely the amount of human trafficking (aka sex trafficking) from Mexico and South America would increase significantly and all of those girls (aka **illegal aliens** ) would be working as illegal prostitutes with all the poor treatment that being an illegal prostitute entails. > > This is precisely what has happened in every country to legalize prostitution so far, bar perhaps New Zealand, but probably even including that one (I haven’t seen reliable data.) Russian girls end up being trucked in by mafia in Europe. Southeast Asian girls get boated in to Australia (again, probably by some sort of mafia sort of group.) In places where prostitution has been legalized, only a small minority actually gets fully licensed, while as the illegal portion doubles or triples in size. Interesting. Why would that happen? Doesn’t that seem counterintuitive? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/74 "2009-08-27T01:13:02Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Interesting. Why would that happen? Doesn’t that seem counterintuitive? My WAG is that legalizing it removes whatever paltry stigma remains to keep it in check, but like any other business that is not well regulated, those who are legal are more expensive so “under the table” (insert sexual position joke here) people are preferred. Compare it to house cleaning or child care-- 2 other female worker dominated industries that suffer from poor oversight (almost no oversight) and “informal” relations between client and worker. I have no idea what effect legalization would have on male prostitutes of either sexual orientation. It may be a place for the displaced auto workers and mechanics to find work… (joke, folks–don’t throw stuff). ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/75 "2009-08-27T01:26:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The Blackwater folks. > > Please, somebody tell me they get the joke. I got it immediately, though apparently I may have been the only one. ---
**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 27, 2009, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/76 "2009-08-27T02:40:55Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Interesting. Why would that happen? Doesn’t that seem counterintuitive? Any answer is only a guess, of course. But the explanation I’ve generally seen bandied about goes something like: When prostitution is legalized, the stigma to keep away from prostitutes lessens. People don’t feel as bad about doing it if it appears that the rest of society is alright with it. Now, a thing to realize is that the grand majority of people who do patronize a prostitute are not shy virgins. Usually they are fairly macho types who actually have one if not more available partners. Their goal in going to a prostitute is to be able to be the unequivocal boss, to be able to hold a woman down and -fuck- her without having to care about whether it’s mutually satisfying. But a licensed prostitute requires that you wear a condom, that you treat the girl nicely, that you are only allowed to use her vagina (sometimes), etc. They also cost a lot. An illegal prostitute is significantly cheaper, will likely forgo the condom if you pay extra (which 2/3rds of patrons do, if I recall my statistics), and you can pretty much treat them as badly as you want short of sending them to the hospital. Unfortunately, the average patron is the type who prefers the illegal prostitute, and who doesn’t care whether she’s there of her own will, nor if she’s strung out or being mistreated by her pimp just as equally. And since that’s where the money is in the business, legalizing it or no, most prostitution is going to be detrimental to the girls. Unfortunately for people who would actually enjoy being a geisha sort of high end prostitute or who don’t mind selling their body when strapped for cash (i.e. in a safe environment), legalizing it seems to bring more customers in who all then go the cheap route after their first experience. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/77 "2009-08-27T02:44:42Z")
Interesting. Thanks Sage Rat and eleanor for your guesses. They sound plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/78 "2009-08-27T03:18:00Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Now, a thing to realize is that the grand majority of people who do patronize a prostitute are not shy virgins. Usually they are fairly macho types who actually have one if not more available partners. Their goal in going to a prostitute is to be able to be the unequivocal boss, to be able to hold a woman down and -fuck- her without having to care about whether it’s mutually satisfying. Their ‘goal’ is to get laid and in many cases have some company with a women without the hangups of having to impress her. Ever hear of the term ‘GFE’? It means girl friend experience. If you’ve ever been on any of the boards that promote the sex trade you’ll find that is one of the things many people look for. I’d say the majority look for. If a person is a nice guy normally, he isn’t going to change that just because he is paying someone for sex. Do you abuse a massage therapist? A doctor? Your barber? You’re paying them, right? So, why not abuse them, too? That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people like you say who do that, but not everything is as black and white as you make it out to be. ---
**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 27, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/79 "2009-08-27T03:26:54Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Their ‘goal’ is to get laid and in many cases have some company with a women without the hangups of having to impress her. Ever hear of the term ‘GFE’? It means girl friend experience. If you’ve ever been on any of the boards that promote the sex trade you’ll find that is one of the things many people look for. I’d say the majority look for. > If a person is a nice guy normally, he isn’t going to change that just because he is paying someone for sex. Do you abuse a massage therapist? A doctor? Your barber? You’re paying them, right? So, why not abuse them, too? > That doesn’t mean that there aren’t people like you say who do that, but not everything is as black and white as you make it out to be. I should have noted that while the answer can’t be stated with absolute certainty, it still comes from statistics and surveys. Saying that visiting prostitutes is an issue of machismo isn’t just pulled from ones ass. If you want me to find a few of those surveys, I can do so, or you can search on my name and the term “prostitution”, which will spare me some time since I’ve done so many times before. If you’ve personally visited a prostitute, this isn’t an indictment of you. You might be a lonely guy who wanted some company, or otherwise someone who treated the woman with perfect civility. But assuming yourself to be the average customer is silly. You aren’t, and that much can proved quite easily just by looking at the statistics on the lifestyle of illegal prostitutes. But another way of saying it is that “power corrupts”. It’s really just as simple as that. ---
**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 27, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145/80 "2009-08-27T03:43:12Z")
Addendum, but let me also respond to this one point: > [@Uzi](#): > > If a person is a nice guy normally, he isn’t going to change that just because he is paying someone for sex. Do you abuse a massage therapist? A doctor? Your barber? You’re paying them, right? So, why not abuse them, too? A doctor or a barber is someone who is working legally. Most people don’t even want one who would be illegal. But, for instance looking at the recent Michael Jackson revelation that his doctor ODed him, you’ll notice that MJ was an individual who -did- search out someone who would work “illegally” (i.e. fork over pharmaceuticals regardless of medical value), and you’ll notice that he entirely did take advantage of the situation. In that case it was to his own detriment–though the doctor will certainly regret it as well–but in the case of prostitutes it is not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-used-child-prostitutes-in-iraq/507145.md?page=5)