Need a mercenary? Better not call Greenpeace

Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday May 10, 2004
The Guardian

As the market for mercenaries increases along with the risks, a leading US private military company active in Iraq is desperately looking for recruits. So desperate, it seems, that it has approached a leading expert in covert operations - from Greenpeace.
Frank Hewetson, who once tipped tonnes of coal on to the steps of the Capitol in Washington, has received an email from Gary Jackson, president of the private security firm Blackwater. It has offered Mr Hewetson, and any willing candidate, a job with a salary of up to $150,000 (£85,500) plus health benefits, with its "military crisis operations support team".

Mr Hewetson helped to organise the protests at Marchwood military base near Southampton last year when Greenpeace blocked shipments to Iraq and climbed into tanks. Also over the past year, he has been convicted of breaking into Sizewell nuclear power station to highlight poor security. More recently, he organised the protest climb up Big Ben.

"When I opened their email I didn't know whether to feel flattered or offended," Mr Hewetson told the Guardian yesterday. "Even if I was interested, the CIA would probably have taken one look at my CV and thrown me into an Iraqi prison."

He continued: "We flew over Fairford dropping anti-war leaflets on the US military just hours before the B-52s took off to bomb Bagdhad. I never imagined the Americans would be contacting me a year later to see if I would help defend them in Iraq."

more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1213026,00.html

the situation and the operation infinitely.

All I can say to this is WTF?

I mean, trying to hire a (fairly high ranking I'm guessing) member of Greenpeace to work on a war for oil? An illegitimate war at that.

:crazy:

I hope that The Daily Show writers read the Guardian. The writers could have a lot of fun with this story.