These Blackwater guards, 987 of whom are dispatched to Iraq alone, cost American taxpayers $445,000 each for every year they are abroad. That’s $1,222 per troop every day.

Overall, Blackwater USA has amassed over $1 billion from the U.S. government, most in the form of no-bid contracts, or, in layman’s terms, a huge check that took no competitive merit to earn. The profiteers include Michigan’s own Betsy DeVos, whose younger brother founded the company in 1997.

Private mercenaries have historically caused dire results for whom they are employees; some historians agree that the Roman Empire began to collapse as they increasingly employed private mercenaries to carry out their military missions, which led to a total loss of “civic virtue.” And American-hired mercenaries in the 21st century are no more virtuous.

The abuses and literal crimes against humanity lead any spectator to a seemingly endless list of grievances against Blackwater. Instances include a “drunken Blackwater employee” murdering a civilian in cold blood, leading to a settlement with the Iraqi victim’s family in the amount of $15,000 in lieu of the situation “becoming even worse.”

They also are under heavy scrutiny after countless eyewitness accounts of cowboy tactics, including shooting first and not really asking any questions. A congressional report found that out of 195 purportedly fatal incidents, Blackwater shot first 163 times.

The icing on the blood-stained cake was when Blackwater guards were found to have fired upon unarmed, innocent civilians, killing 17. Military reports even claimed the Blackwater troops acted without provocation and used “excessive force.”

The mercenaries who fired that day will not suffer the same fate as anyone who terrorizes Americans or any other civilians — they are, for now, immune from Iraqi law.

This specific disregard for human life led to outcries from the Iraqi people and a further widening of the chasm in Iraqi-U.S. relations. The Iraqi government has called for Blackwater to leave, while allowing other (legally acting) contractors to stay.

A U.S. official who witnessed some accounts of overzealous Blackwater guards proclaimed that if many of the people who were antagonized “weren’t terrorists before, they certainly are now.”

It seems that this corruption doesn’t end on faraway battlefields, either. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., accused Blackwater of evading $31 million in taxes last year alone by labeling their employees “independent contractors.” This “illegal tax scheme” underscores the laughably ridiculous income they make — 90 percent of which is straight from the U.S. government.

It seems that the only apt thing about this company’s actions is how it was titled — ‘black water’ is the literal name given to water containing high amounts of fecal waste. In order to be respected abroad, avoid repeating ancient history and end the rape of our government’s funds by corrupt corporations, the United States should carry out steps further than Condoleezza Rice’s suggestion of “more oversight” of the contractors that protect our officials.

When working legally, they provide an invaluable service to our non military personnel. However, severing all ties from this particular corporation and alleviating responsibilities from any other firm that acts illegally — under U.S., Iraqi or international law — will lead to greater respect abroad and a bolstered image in the countries where we are fighting.

We also should hold accountable those who commit crimes to avoid adding yet another page in the book of Bush-era hypocrisy.

Michael Stevenson is a State News columnist and member of the MSU Democrats. Reach him at steve391@msu.edu.