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Blackwater (now Xi) - Myra Bronstein - 30-01-2009

Big good news.


http://cbs2.com/national/blackwater.iraq.operations.2.920879.html

Jan 29, 2009 5:15 am US/Pacific

Iraq said Thursday it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians.

The move will deprive American diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq.

The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.

Iraqis are bitter over the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting. A sixth is cooperating with the government.

The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.

But even before the shooting, Blackwater had a reputation for aggressive operations and using excessive force in protecting American officials, an allegation the company has disputed.

Neither Khalaf nor a U.S. Embassy official gave a date for Blackwater personnel to leave the country and neither said whether they would be allowed to continue guarding U.S. diplomats during the interim.

Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina-based company, said the company had not yet been notified of the Iraqi decision but intended to continue providing security to U.S. officials until instructed otherwise.

"We have received no official communications from the government of Iraq or our customer on the status of those applications or the future of our work in Iraq," she said.

"Blackwater has always said that we will continue the important work of protecting U.S. government officials in Iraq for as long as our customer asks us to do so, and in accordance with Iraqi law. That has not changed."

The Iraq decision came just months after a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement approved in November gave the government the authority to determine which Western security companies operate in Iraq.

A joint U.S.-Iraqi committee is drawing up procedures for licensing and regulating security companies under the security agreement and it is unclear when it will finish the process.

"We have followed the procedures to apply for and secure operating licenses in Iraq," said Tyrrell, the Blackwater spokeswoman. "Any further questions about that the licensing process should be directed to our customer."

Khalaf said Blackwater employees who have not been implicated in the 2007 shooting have the right to work in Iraq but must find a different employer.

"We sent our decision to the U.S. Embassy last Friday," Khalaf told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They have to find a new security company."

When President Barack Obama was campaigning in 2007, he announced a plan to force Iraq war contractors to follow federal law.

"We cannot win a fight for hearts and minds when we outsource critical missions to unaccountable contractors," he said at the time.

The State Department relies heavily in Blackwater because it is the largest and best-equipped security company in Iraq. The U.S. extended Blackwater's contract for a year last spring, despite widespread calls for the company to be expelled because of the Nisoor Square shooting.

But the company has become a lightning rod for Iraqi complaints about the behavior of Western security companies, whose employees were immune from prosecution under Iraqi law until the security agreement took effect this month.

The U.S. Embassy official confirmed it received the government's decision, saying that U.S. officials were working with the Iraqi government and its contractors to address the "implications of this decision."

The official made the statement on condition of anonymity under embassy regulations.

In the Sept. 16, 2007 shooting, Blackwater maintains its guards opened fire after coming under attack after a car in a State Department convoy broke down.

The shooting took place around noon in a crowded traffic circle in west Baghdad where U.S. prosecutors said civilians were running errands, getting lunch and otherwise going about their lives.

Prosecutors said the guards unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis, with the dead including young children, women, people fleeing in cars and a man whose arms were raised in surrender as he was shot in the chest.

Twenty others were wounded, including one injured by a grenade launched into a nearby girls' school. Another 18 Iraqis were assaulted but not wounded, prosecutors said.

Iraqi witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked and left the square littered with blown-out cars.

But the Blackwater guards insist they were ambushed by insurgents. One of the trucks in the convoy was disabled in the ensuing firefight, the guards say.

Blackwater radio logs made available to The Associated Press by a defense attorney in the case last month raised questions about prosecutors' claims that the guards' shooting was unprovoked. The log transcripts describe a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police.

The Blackwater guard cooperating with the government in the case, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting.

In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Ridgeway admitted there was no threat from a white Kia sedan whose driver, a medical student, was killed and his mother, in the front passenger seat, was injured.

Blackwater (now Xi) - Magda Hassan - 30-01-2009

Yes, good news. Now if they can only be made illegal and disbanded everywhere.

Speaking of outsourced death merchants what ever happened to Sandline? I can't imagine they've just given it all up and are now doing meals on wheels and such. Maybe some of the UK members will know what they've morphed into.

Blackwater (now Xi) - Peter Lemkin - 30-01-2009

I'd be a bit cautious....we have to wait and see. Iraq tried this once before and was made to back-down by Bush & Co. Let's hope Obama & Co. will let it be. Of course there is the problem they are still around to do harm other places, not least of which is the USA where they were used after Katrina and were responsible for some deaths of innocents there....

Blackwater (now Xi) - David Guyatt - 30-01-2009

Magda Hassan Wrote:Yes, good news. Now if they can only be made illegal and disbanded everywhere.

Speaking of outsourced death merchants what ever happened to Sandline? I can't imagine they've just given it all up and are now doing meals on wheels and such. Maybe some of the UK members will know what they've morphed into.

http://www.sandline.com/site/index.html

I suspect that their operations have moved across to another low profile outfit.

Blackwater (now Xi) - Magda Hassan - 27-03-2009

The North Carolina-based Blackwater Worldwide is a private military company closely connected to right-wing political sectors in the United States that became notorious after its employees in Iraq were involved in the shooting of unarmed civilians. In February 2009, shortly after Iraqi officials and the U.S. State Department announced that they would not renew their working relationship with Blackwater in Iraq, the company changed its name to Xe (pronounced “z”).1 The subsidiary responsible for carrying out much of the company’s overseas and training business, Blackwater Lodge & Training Center, changed its name to U.S. Training Center Inc.2
In a memo announcing the changes, Blackwater president Gary Jackson said that the company was seeking to shift away from private security contracts—like those it had to protect State Department employees in Iraq—and focus more on training and logistics. "This company will continue to provide personnel protective services for high-threat environments when needed by the U.S. government, but its primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world, including the flagship campus in North Carolina," said Jackson.3
Apparently as part of its rebranding efforts, the company scrubbed its website of several informational pages, including the company history. It also seems to have changed its logo.4 Formerly a paw print inside a red oval, the logo on the company’s website had changed to the head of an eagle by February 2008.
Founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark,5 Blackwater was once the largest of the State Department’s three private security contractors and has provided security services in the Iraq War and other “war on terror” combat zones.6 In 2007, Prince said that at least 90 percent of Blackwater revenue came from government contracts7, two-thirds of which were no-bid.8
Prince was born in 1969 to a wealthy conservative family in Michigan with deep ties to the Right (his late father Edgar helped set up and fund the Family Research Council, a Christian Right think tank and lobby group where Prince interned in college).9 Staunchly conservative, Erik Prince has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party, religious groups, and conservative organizations (often through the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation), including the American Enterprise Institute10 and the Alliance Defense Fund.11
After college, Prince joined the Navy SEALs and carried out operations in Haiti and Bosnia.12 This experience shaped his future career; in a 2006 interview he said, “As I trained all over the world, I realized how difficult it was for units to get the cutting-edge training they needed to ensure success. In a letter home while I was deployed, I outlined the vision that is today Blackwater.”13
Before its rebranding, Blackwater called itself “one of the world’s most successful security services corporations.”14 An early mission statement read, “To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times.”15
The company has claimed that during its first decade it “trained more than 100,000 local police officers, SWAT team members, homeland security professionals, military personnel, and others to help prepare them to serve and protect U.S. citizens at home and abroad. Blackwater trains approximately 500 members of the military and law enforcement agencies every day.”16
Blackwater has been called a “mercenary company,” most notably by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, because of the foreign soldiers it employs,17 but often pejoratively by critics who take exception to the outsourcing of U.S. military duties for profit.
Controversy and Accountability
Business at Blackwater boomed after the 9/11 attacks; an October 2007 congressional memorandum stated, “Blackwater's government contracts have grown exponentially during the Bush Administration, particularly since the start of the war in Iraq.”18 In 2000, the corporation only earned $200,000 in federal contracts, compared with $25 million in 2003 and $1 billion in late 2007.19 Much of Blackwater’s revenue has come from security contracts for guarding high-profile officials and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad; from 2001 through 2006, Blackwater had $832 million in two State Department contracts for providing “protective services in Iraq.”20 In July 2008, Prince announced a restructuring of his company away from security services (see “No More Security?” below).
Its rise in fame ran parallel to increasing public and official scrutiny. In October 2007, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform questioned the cost-effectiveness of using Blackwater forces instead of U.S. troops, stating, “Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day for the services of a private military contractor. This is equivalent to $445,000 per year, over six times more than the cost of an equivalent U.S. soldier.”21
Earlier, in March 2004, Blackwater—along with the topic of private military contractors—made headlines when Iraqi insurgents attacked and killed four Blackwater employees in Fallujah, hanging their bodies from a bridge.22 Even greater controversy erupted in fall 2007, after Blackwater workers guarding a State Department convoy opened fire in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, killing more than a dozen innocent Iraqi civilians.23 The scrutiny that followed this incident led to congressional hearings; a congressional committee document issued before the hearings “depict[ed] the security contractor as being staffed with reckless, shoot-first guards who were not always sober and did not always stop to see who or what was hit by their bullets,” according to the New York Times.24
The outcry over the Fallujah and Nisour Square incidents sparked public debate about the role of private military companies in the Iraq War and the broader war on terror, notably over issues of accountability. According to Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), “their actions may not be subject to constitutional limitations that apply to both federal and state officials and employees—including First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal searches and seizures. Unlike police officers, they are not trained in protecting constitutional rights.”25 In his book, Scahill reported, “With almost no public debate, the Bush administration has outsourced to the private sector many of the functions historically held by the military. In turn, these private companies are largely unaccountable to the US taxpayers from whom they draw their profits. As the Times of London put it [in 2004], ‘in Iraq, the post-war business boom is not oil. It is security.’”26 Blackwater has repeatedly refused congressional requests for information on its contracts, saying the documents are classified.27
The Associated Press (AP) reported, “Blackwater and other contractors operate in a legal gray area. They are immune from prosecution in Iraqi courts. If the Justice Department wants to bring criminal charges such as assault, manslaughter or murder in a U.S. court, prosecutors would have to do so under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. That would require the government to show that State Department contractors were ‘supporting the mission of the Department of Defense overseas.’ Blackwater, however, claims that its contract guarding diplomats was purely a State Department function, one independent from the Pentagon. That could give Blackwater the legal cover it needs to avoid charges against its employees.” 28 A year after the Nisour Square killings, none of the Blackwater employees involved had been indicted, though the Justice Department was still considering issuing indictments.29
The story of Prince and Blackwater is, Scahill writes, “the living embodiment of the changes wrought by the revolution in military affairs and the privatization agenda radically expanded by the Bush administration under the guise of the war on terror. But more fundamentally, it is a story about the future of war, democracy, and governance.”30 Blackwater’s business model makes it ideally suited to enable governments to fight wars without heeding the public, thus undermining the democratic process, Scahill believes. He quotes Ratner: “The increasing use of contractors, private forces or as some would say ‘mercenaries’ makes wars easier to begin and to fight—it just takes money and not the citizenry.”31
Mixing Business, Politics, and Religion?
Critics question whether Blackwater’s business interests are commingled with its executives’ religious motivations. According to Scahill, “What is particularly scary about Blackwater’s role in a war that President [George W.] Bush labeled a ‘crusade’ is that the company’s leading executives are dedicated to a Christian-supremacist agenda.”32 Prince is a staunch Catholic; Joseph Schmitz, another top Blackwater executive, said in 2004 that “no American today should ever doubt that we hold ourselves accountable to the rule of law under God. Here lies the fundamental difference between us and the terrorists.” In his official biography Schmitz proclaimed membership in the Order of Malta, a Christian militia formed in the 11th century with the goal of defending “territories that the Crusaders had conquered from the Moslems.”33
Before joining Blackwater, Schmitz (who had previously worked for the Reagan administration and represented ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich) was inspector general for the Department of Defense, nominated by Bush in 2001. As inspector general—a position he held until fall 2005—Schmitz was to prevent “fraud, waste, and abuse in the programs and operations” of the Pentagon. But under Schmitz, “corporate profiteers, many with close ties to the administration, thrived as they burned through resources ostensibly allocated for the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan,” according to Scahill.34
In February 2005, Blackwater hired J. Cofer Black as vice chairman.35 Black was director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center on 9/11, after which the “staff ballooned from 300 to 1,200 nearly overnight.”36 After President George W. Bush signed a secret act that “authorized an unprecedented range of covert action, including lethal measures and renditions,” the number of renditions (the controversial process in which suspects are captured and transported for interrogations) also ballooned.37 Black lost his job in May 2002, possibly because he criticized the Bush administration’s failure to capture Osama bin Laden.38 In December 2002 he was tapped to become the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, a position he held until November 2004.39 In 2006, Black and his former CIA and Blackwater colleague Robert Richer launched Total Intelligence Solutions, a privatized intel company run by the Prince Group, owner of Blackwater.40
No More Security?
In July 2008, several months before it officially changed its name to Xe, the company said it intended to pull back from the security business. The AP reported, “Blackwater executives say they have unfairly become a symbol for all contractors in Iraq and thus the company is a target for those opposed to the war. It will continue guarding U.S. officials in Iraq but its future will be focused on training, aviation, and logistics.”41 Prince told the AP, "The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk."42 Blackwater “has expanded its aviation division, which provides airplane and helicopter maintenance and also drops supplies into hard-to-reach military bases,” the AP reported. “A 6,000-foot runway is under construction and a large map in the company's hangar shows units based across the world, from Africa to the Middle East to Australia.”43
Commenting on Blackwater’s announcement, Josh Marshall of the blog Talking Points Memo wrote, “Come to think of it, 'training, aviation, and logistics' sounds a lot like military contracting. But who knows. Eric Kleefeld suggests another possibility. As a partisan Republican mercenary outfit, they may rightly anticipate slackening sales under a Democratic president.”44
According to Wired magazine, by early 2009 the company had branched out into a range of new activities in its efforts to reinvent itself, including offering protection to commercial ships, “making custom rifles, marketing spy blimps, assembling a fleet of light attack aircraft, and billing itself as experts in everything from cargo handling to dog training to construction management.”45 The company had also begun offering firearms and self-defense classes to professional athletes. According to a February 2009 AP story, “The first weekend class at the company's compound in North Carolina is set for April, about six months after New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the thigh inside a nightclub. The company cites that case, along with the shooting death by an intruder of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, as examples of why pro athletes need to have a handle on firearms safety.”46

Contact Information
US Training Center North Carolina
PO Box 1029
Moyock, NC 27958
Primary Number 252.435.2488
Fax Number 252.435.6388blackwatermediacenter.com
Mission Statement (as of 2007)
“To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times. Blackwater is committed to the foot soldiers -- the men and women who stand on the frontlines of the global war on terror and who believe in a peaceful future for their communities and nations. Whether serving in or out of uniform, Blackwater is committed to providing these men and women with the very best in training and tactical support to ensure they are fully prepared to meet current and future global security challenges.”47
Key Personnel
Erik Prince, Founder and CEO
Founded
1997
Additional Resources
Ali Gharib, “Blackwater: The Real 'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy'?” Right Web, July 18, 2008.
Rigth Web Profile: Erik Prince

Sources
1. Mike Baker, “Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name,” Associated Press, February 13, 2009.
2. Mike Baker, “Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name,” Associated Press, February 13, 2009.
3. Mike Baker, “Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name,” Associated Press, February 13, 2009.
4. The company history was located at http://www.blackwaterusa.com/company_profile/comp_history.html.
5. Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick, and Todd Spangler, “Ready for Battle,” Detroit Free Press, October 7, 2007.
6. Jennifer Elsea et al., "CRS Report for Congress: Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status and Other Issues,” August 25, 2008, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32419.pdf.
7. Rep. Peter Welch, http://www.welch.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid=64.
8. Bill Sizemore and Joanne Kimberlin, "Blackwater: On the Front Lines," Virginian-Pilot, July 25, 2007.
9. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), pp. 72, 78.
10. 2000 IRS Form 990-PF for the Freiheit Foundation; Ben Van Heuvelen, “The Bush Administration's Ties to Blackwater,” Salon.com, October 2, 2007.
11. Sarah Posner, “The Legal Muscle Fighting to End the Separation of Church and State,” Washington Spectator, April 1, 2007; 2006 IRS Form 990-PF for the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation.
12. Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick, and Todd Spangler, “Ready for Battle,” Detroit Free Press, October 7, 2007.
13. “Blackwater’s Founder on the Record,” Virginian-Pilot, July 24, 2006.
14. Blackwater Worldwide, "Company History,” http://www.blackwaterusa.com/company_profile/comp_history.html (accessed on September 25, 2008).
15. Blackwater homepage (Web Archive, September 27, 2007), http://web.archive.org/web/20070927195733/http://www.blackwaterusa.com/
16. Blackwater Worldwide, “Blackwater Media Center,” http://blackwatermediacenter.com/ (accessed on September 25, 2008).
17. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 247.
18. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, “Memorandum: Re: Additional Information about Blackwater USA,” October 1, 2007, http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf.
19. Dana Milbank, “The Man from Blackwater, Shooting from the Lip,” Washington Post, October 3, 2007, p. A2.
20. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, “Memorandum: Re: Additional Information about Blackwater USA,” October 1, 2007, http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf.
21. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, “Memorandum: Re: Additional Information about Blackwater USA,” October 1, 2007, http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20071001121609.pdf.
22. Kevin Flower et al., “U.S. Expects More Attacks in Iraq,” CNN, May 6, 2004, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/31/iraq.main/
23. David Stout and John Broder, "Report Depicts Recklessness at Blackwater,” New York Times, October 1, 2007; David Stout and John Broder, “F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause,” New York Times, November 14, 2007.
24. David Stout and John Broder, "Report Depicts Recklessness at Blackwater,” New York Times, October 1, 2007.
25. Quoted in Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 61.
26. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 56.
27. “Interview: Journalist Scahill Charts the Rise of Blackwater USA,” National Public Radio, March 29, 2007.
28. Lara Jakes Jordan and Matt Apuzzo, “Sources: Charges against Blackwater Guards Debated,” Associated Press, Washington Post, September 16, 2008.
29. Lara Jakes Jordan and Matt Apuzzo, “Sources: Charges against Blackwater Guards Debated,” Associated Press, Washington Post, September 16, 2008.
30. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), pp. 60.
31. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), pp. 60.
32. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 61.
33. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 367.
34. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 374.
35. Blackwater USA, “Ambassador Cofer Black Becomes Vice-Chairman at Blackwater USA,” February 4, 2005, http://www.blackwaterusa.com/press/cofer.asp.
36. Dana Priest, “Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake,” Washington Post, December 4, 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476_pf.html.
37. Dana Priest, “Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake,” Washington Post, December 4, 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476_pf.html.
38. Jeremy Scahill, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (New York: Nation Books, 2008), p. 341.
39. State Department, “Biography: J. Cofer Black,” http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bios/b/15367.htm.
40. Dana Hedgpeth, “Blackwater’s Owner Has Spies for Hire,” Washington Post, November 3, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110202165_pf.html; Total Intelligence Solutions, “Former CIA and Counterterrorism Experts Respond to Security and Intelligence Demands of the Private Sector,” February 20, 2006, http://www.totalintel.com/dsp_media_press_release_02_16_07.php.
41. Matt Apuzzo and Mike Baker, “Blackwater Plans Shift from Security Business,” Associated Press, July 21, 2008.
42. Matt Apuzzo and Mike Baker, “Blackwater Plans Shift from Security Business,” Associated Press, July 21, 2008.
43. Matt Apuzzo and Mike Baker, “Blackwater Plans Shift from Security Business,” Associated Press, July 21, 2008.
44. Matt Apuzzo and Mike Baker, “Blackwater Plans Shift from Security Business,” Associated Press, July 21, 2008.
45. Noah Schactman, “Blackwater's New Business: Training Pro Athletes,” Wired, February 9, 2009.
46. Associated Press, "Blackwater to offer athletes firearms training,” February 5, 2009.
47. Blackwater homepage (Web Archive, September 27, 2007), http://web.archive.org/web/20070927195733/http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/4784.html

Blackwater (now Xi) - Magda Hassan - 27-03-2009

Blackwater Worldwide

Xe (pronounced /ˈzi/, formerly Blackwater Worldwide & Blackwater USA), is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince [2] and Al Clark. In October 2007, Blackwater USA renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide, and was colloquially referred to simply as "Blackwater". It has alternatively been referred to as a mercenary organization by numerous reports in the international media,[3][4][5][6][7] and has a wide array of business divisions, subidiaries, and spin-off corporations.
Based in the American state of North Carolina, Xe operates a tactical training facility ([Image: 18px-Erioll_world.svg.png]36°27′19″N 76°12′09″W / 36.455359°N 76.202545°W / 36.455359; -76.202545) which the company claims is the world's largest, and at which the company trains more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. or foreign military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personal security.
Xe Worldwide is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Xe provides, 744 are U.S. citizens.[8][9] At least 90 percent of the company's revenue comes from government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts.[10] Xe provided security services in Iraq to the United States federal government, particularly the Department of State[1] on a contractual basis. They no longer have a presence in Iraq: the new Iraqi government made multiple attempts to expel them from their country,[11] and has denied their application for an operating license in January 2009.[12]
On February 13, 2009 the company announced that it will now operate under the name 'Xe' (pronounced 'zee'). In a memo sent to employees, President Gary Jackson wrote that the new name "reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security." A spokesman for the company stated that it feels the Blackwater name is too closely associated with the company's work in Iraq.[13] Spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said there was no meaning in the new name, which the company spent over a year to arrive at in an internal search.[14]

Corporate history

[Image: 180px-Old_and_new_Blackwater_logos.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]
Both logos, side by side. Note the original below, with the curved Blackwater text.


In the late 1990s, Erik Prince spent part of his inherited wealth to purchase about 6,000 acres (24 km2) of the Great Dismal Swamp, a vast swamp on the North Carolina/Virginia border, now mostly a National Wildlife Refuge. Here he created his state-of-the-art private training facility, and his contracting company—Blackwater—is named for the peat-colored water of the swamp.[15] Blackwater USA was formed in 1990 to provide training support to military and law enforcement organizations. In 2002 Blackwater Security Consulting (BSC) was formed. It was one of several private security firms employed following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. BSC is one of over 60 private security firms employed during the Iraq War to guard officials and installations, train Iraq's new army and police, and provide other support for occupation forces.[16] Blackwater was also hired during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by the United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as by private clients, including communications, petrochemical and insurance companies.[17] Overall, the company has received over $1 billion USD in government contracts.[18] Blackwater consists of nine divisions, and a subsidiary, Blackwater Vehicles.
[Image: 180px-Erik_prince_blackwater.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]
Erik Prince, Blackwater founder


Xe is a privately held company and does not publish much information about internal affairs. Xe's founder and former CEO Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL, attended the Naval Academy, graduated from Hillsdale College, and was an intern in George H. W. Bush's White House. Prince is a major financial supporter of Republican Party causes and candidates.[19] Xe's president, Gary Jackson, is also a former Navy SEAL.[20]
Cofer Black, the company's current vice chairman, was director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was the United States Department of State coordinator for counterterrorism with the rank of ambassador at large from December 2002 to November 2004. After leaving public service, Black became chairman of the privately owned intelligence gathering company Total Intelligence Solutions, Inc., as well as vice chairman for Xe. Robert Richer was vice president of intelligence until January 2007, when he formed Total Intelligence Solutions. He was formerly the head of the CIA's Near East Division.[21][22] Black was senior advisor for counterterrorism and national security issues for the 2008 Presidential election bid of Mitt Romney.[23]
Xe's primary training facility, located on 7,000 acres (28 km2) in northeastern North Carolina, comprises several ranges: indoor, outdoor, urban reproductions; a man-made lake; and a driving track in Camden and Currituck counties. Company literature says that it is the largest training facility in the country. In November 2006 Blackwater USA announced it recently acquired an 80-acre (30 ha) facility 150 miles (240 km) west of Chicago in Mount Carroll, Illinois to be called Blackwater North. This facility is also known as "The Site". This Xe facility has been operational since April 2007 and serves law enforcement agencies throughout the midwest. Xe is also trying to open an 824-acre (3.33 km2) training facility three miles north of Potrero, a small town in rural east San Diego County, California located 45 miles (72 km) east of San Diego, for military and law enforcement training.[24][25][26][27][26] The opening has faced heavy opposition from local residents, residents of nearby San Diego, a local Congressmember Bob Filner, and environmental and anti-war organizations. Opposition focused on a potential for wildfire increases, the proposed facility's proximity to the Cleveland National Forest, noise pollution, and opposition to the actions of Xe in Iraq.[28][29] In response, Brian Bonfiglio, project manager for Blackwater West, said "There will be no explosives training and no tracer ammunition. Lead bullets don't start fires." In October 2007, when wildfires swept through the area, Xe made at least three deliveries of food, water, personal hygiene products and generator fuel to 300 residents near the proposed training site, many of whom had been trapped for days without supplies. They also set up a "tent city" for evacuees.[30] On March 7, 2008, Blackwater withdrew its application to set up a facility in San Diego County.[citation needed]
In October 2007, Blackwater USA began a process of altering its name to Blackwater Worldwide, and unveiled a new logo.[31] A Blackwater representative stated that the decision to change the logo was made before the September 16, 2007 Nisoor Square shootings, but was not changed officially until after.[31] Many referred to the change as having eliminated the previous "cross hair" theme, replaced by a reticle instead.[31]
On July 21, 2008 Blackwater Worldwide stated that they would shift resources away from security contracting because of extensive risk in that sector. "The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk," company founder and CEO Erik Prince told The Associated Press during a daylong visit to the company's North Carolina compound.[32]
Prince announced his resignation as CEO on March 2, 2009. Prince will remain as chairman of the board but will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations. Joseph Yorio was named as the new president, replacing Gary Jackson. Danielle Esposito was named the new chief operating officer and executive vice president.[33]

Corporate structure

Blackwater Worldwide consists of nine business units:

Blackwater Training Center

Blackwater Training Center offers tactics and weapons training to military, government, and law enforcement agencies. Blackwater Training Center also offers several open-enrollment courses periodically throughout the year, from hand to hand combat (executive course) to precision rifle marksmanship. They also offer courses in tactical and off road driving.[34]
Blackwater's primary training facility, located on 7,000 acres (28 km2) in northeastern North Carolina, comprises several ranges, indoor, outdoor, urban reproductions, a man-made lake, and a driving track in Camden and Currituck counties. Company literature says that it is the largest training facility in the country. In November 2006 Blackwater USA announced it recently acquired an 80-acre (30 ha) facility 150 miles (240 km) west of Chicago, in Mount Carroll, Illinois to be called Blackwater North. That facility has been operational since April 2007 and serves law enforcement agencies throughout the midwest. Blackwater is also trying to open an 824-acre (3.33 km2) training facility three miles north of Potrero, a small town in rural east San Diego County, California located 45 miles east of San Diego, for military and law enforcement training.[24][25][26][27][35] The opening has faced heavy opposition from local residents, residents of nearby San Diego, a local Congressmember Bob Filner, and environmental and anti-war organizations. Opposition focused on a potential for wildfire increases, the proposed facility's proximity to the Cleveland National Forest, noise pollution, and opposition to the actions of Blackwater in Iraq.[28][29]. In response, Brian Bonfiglio, project manager for Blackwater West, said "There will be no explosives training and no tracer ammunition. Lead bullets don't start fires." In October 2007, when wildfires swept through the area, Blackwater made at least three deliveries of food, water, personal hygiene products and generator fuel to 300 residents near the proposed training site, many of whom had been trapped for days without supplies. They also set up a "tent city" for evacuees.[30]

Blackwater Target Systems

This division provides and maintains target range steel targets and a "shoothouse" system.[36]
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Blackwater MD-530F over Republican Palace, Baghdad



Blackwater Security Consulting

Main article: Blackwater Security Consulting
Blackwater Security Consulting (BSC) was formed in 2001, and based in Moyock, North Carolina. BSC is one of the private security firms employed during the Iraq War to guard officials and installations, train Iraq's new Army and Police, and provide other support for Coalition Forces.[37]
Its primary public contract is from the U.S. State Department under the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Worldwide Personal Protective Services (WPPS) and WPPS II umbrella contracts, along with DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, Inc. for protective services in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Israel.[38] [39] Blackwater's responsibilities include the United States embassy in Iraq.[40]
Blackwater Security is also now pursuing domestic work as disaster relief workers, following their Katrina response. Blackwater officials have met with Arnold Schwarzenegger to discuss earthquake response services.[41]

Blackwater K-9

Training canines to work in patrol capacities as war dogs, explosives and drug detection, and various other roles for military and law enforcement duties.

Blackwater Airships, LLC

Blackwater Airships LLC was established in January 2006 to build a remotely piloted airship vehicle (RPAV).[42]

Blackwater Armored Vehicle

Blackwater recently introduced its own armored personnel carrier, the Grizzly APC.[43]

Blackwater Maritime Solutions

Blackwater Maritime Security Services offers tactical training for maritime force protection units. In the past it has trained Greek security forces for the 2004 Olympics, Azerbaijan Naval Sea Commandos, and Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior.[44] Blackwater's facilities include a manmade lake, with stacked containers simulating the hull and deck of a ship for maritime assaults. Blackwater received a contract to train United States Navy sailors following the attack on the USS Cole. [45]
It has also recently purchased a 183ft vessel, the McArthur, which has been outfitted for disaster response and training.[46] According to Blackwater USA, it features "state of the art navigation systems, full GMDSS communications, SEATEL Broadband, dedicated command and control bays, helicopter decks, hospital and multiple support vessel capabilities."[46] The McArthur was built in 1966 by the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. and served as a research vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration until its decommissioning in 2003. The ship will be home-ported in Norfolk, Virginia.[47]

Raven Development Group

The Raven Development Group is a construction management and management subsidiary. It was established in 1999 to design and build Blackwater Worldwide's training facility in North Carolina.

Aviation Worldwide Services

Main article: Presidential Airways (charter)
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Blackwater MD-530F.


Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) was founded by Richard Pere and Tim Childrey, and is based Melbourne, Florida, USA. It owns and operates three subsidiaries: STI Aviation, Inc. Air Quest, Inc. and Presidential Airways, Inc. In April 2003 it was acquired by Blackwater USA.[48]
Presidential Airways (PAW) is an FAA Part 135 charter cargo and passenger airline based at Melbourne International Airport. It operates aircraft owned by AWS. Presidential Airways holds a Secret Facility Clearance from the U.S. Department of Defense.[49] It operates several CASA 212 aircraft in addition to a Boeing 767.[50] [51] Several of the MD-530 helicopters used by Blackwater Security Consulting in Iraq are also operated through AWS.[52][53]
[Image: 180px-Casa212.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]
CASA C.212 Safety Card on a Presidential Airways flight over Afghanistan in October 2005


AWS also appears to provide services to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as three of its aircraft, with tail numbers N962BW, N964BW, and N968BW, have flown into its Camp Peary facility.[54][55][56][57] Its aircraft have also been used in the CIA's extraordinary rendition programs.[58][59] Blackwater also operates an airport at its Moyock, North Carolina facility, called Blackwater Airstrip Airport (NC61).[60] The listed owner is E&J Holdings LLC.[60]
A CASA 212 aircraft, tail number N960BW, operated by Presidential Airways crashed on November 27, 2004 in Afghanistan; it had been a contract flight for the United States Air Force en route from Bagram to Farah.[61] All aboard, three soldiers and three civilian crew members, were killed. Several of their survivors filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Presidential in October 2005.[62]
In late September 2007, Presidential Airways received a $92m contract from the Department of Defense for air transportation in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.[63][64]
STI Aviation focuses on aircraft maintenance, and is a FAA/JAA 145 repair station.[48] They specialize in Short 360, EMB 120, Saab 340, and CASA 212 maintenance. As of January 2008, STI Aviation appears to have been folded into AWS, along with Air Quest.[65]
Many of Blackwater's tactical and training aircraft are registered to Blackwater affiliate EP Aviation LLC, named for Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince.[66] These aircraft include 14 Bell 412 helicopters, 3 Hughes/MD 369 "Little Bird" helicopters, 4 Bell 214ST medium-lift helicopters, 3 Fairchild Swearingen Merlin IIIC turboprop airliners, 9 Aérospatiale Puma utility helicopters[67], a Maule Air MT-7-235 STOL aircraft, an Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano counterinsurgency aircraft, and a Mooney M20E fixed wing aircraft.[68]

Greystone Limited

A private security service, Greystone is registered in Barbados, and employs third country nationals for offshore security work through its affiliate Satelles Solutions, Inc.[69] Their web site advertises their ability to provide "personnel from the best militaries throughout the world" for worldwide deployment. Tasks can be from very small scale up major operations to "facilitate large scale stability operations requiring large numbers of people to assist in securing a region". [69]
Greystone had planned to open a training facility on the grounds of the Subic Bay Naval Base, but those plans were later abandoned.[70]

Iraq War involvement

See also: 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush, Andrew J. Moonen, and Blackwater Baghdad shootings
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Paul Bremer escorted by Blackwater Security


Blackwater Worldwide has played a substantial role during the Iraq War as a contractor for the United States government. In 2003, Blackwater attained its first high-profile contract when it received a $21 million no-bid contract for guarding the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, L. Paul Bremer.[71]
On March 31, 2004, four Blackwater Security Consulting (BSC) employees were ambushed and killed in Fallujah, and their bodies were hung on bridges.
Since June 2004, Blackwater has been paid more than $320 million out of a $1 billion, five-year State Department budget for the Worldwide Personal Protective Service, which protects U.S. officials and some foreign officials in conflict zones.[72]
In 2006, Blackwater won the remunerative contract to protect Diplomats for the U.S. embassy in Iraq, the largest American embassy in the world. It is estimated by the Pentagon and company representatives that there are 20,000 to 30,000 armed security contractors working in Iraq, and some estimates are as high as 100,000, though no official figures exist.[73][72] Of the State Department's dependence on private contractors like Blackwater for security purposes, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker told the U.S. Senate: "There is simply no way at all that the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security could ever have enough full-time personnel to staff the security function in Iraq. There is no alternative except through contracts."[74][75]
On September 16, 2007, Blackwater employees in Nisour Square, Baghdad shot and killed 17 Iraqis, at least 14 of whom were killed "without cause" according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[76] In November 2008, the U.S. State Department prepared to issue a multimillion-dollar fine to Blackwater for shipping hundreds of automatic firearms to Iraq without the necessary permits. Some of the weapons were believed to have ended up on the country’s black market.[77][dead link][78]
For work in Iraq, Xe has drawn contractors from their international pool of professionals, a database containing "21,000 former Special Forces operatives, soldiers, and retired law enforcement agents," overall.[79] For instance, Gary Jackson, the firm's president, has confirmed that Bosnians, Filipinos, and Chileans "have been hired for tasks ranging from airport security to protecting Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority." Between 2005 and September 2007, Blackwater security staff were involved in 195 shooting incidents; in 163 of those cases, Blackwater personnel fired first. 25 members of staff have been fired for violations of Xe's drug and alcohol policy and 28 more for weapons-related incidents.[80]

Fallujah and Al Najaf

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A Blackwater Security Company MD-530F helicopter aids in securing the site of a car bomb explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, December, 2004, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.


On March 31, 2004, Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah attacked a convoy containing four American private military contractors from Blackwater USA who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS.[81] The four contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerko Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague, were attacked and killed with grenades and small arms fire. Their bodies were hung from a bridge crossing the Euphrates.[82] This event was one of the causes of the US military attack on the city in the First Battle of Fallujah.[83] In the fall of 2007, a congressional report by the House Oversight Committee found that Blackwater intentionally "delayed and impeded" investigations into the contractors' deaths.[84]
In April 2004, a few days after the Fallujah bridge hanging, a small team of Blackwater employees, along with a fire team of U.S. Marines, held off over 400 insurgents outside the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Al Najaf, Iraq, waiting for U.S. troops to arrive. The headquarters was surrounded and it was the last area in the city that remained in coalition control. During the siege, as supplies and ammunition ran low, a team of Blackwater contractors 70 miles (113 km) away flew to the compound to resupply and bring an injured U.S. Marine back to safety outside of the city.[85][86] In April 2005 six Blackwater independent contractors were killed in Iraq when their Mi-8 helicopter was shot down. Also killed were three Bulgarian crewmembers and two Fijian gunners. Initial reports indicate the helicopter was shot down by rocket propelled grenades.[citation needed] In 2006 a car accident occurred in the Baghdad Green Zone when an SUV driven by Blackwater operatives crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee. Blackwater guards disarmed the Army soldiers and forced them to lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle their SUV from the wreck.[87]

Baghdad

On Christmas Eve 2006, a security guard of the Iraqi vice president, Adel Abdul Mahdi, was shot and killed while on duty outside the Iraqi prime minister's compound. The Iraqi government has accused Andrew J. Moonen, at the time an employee of Blackwater USA, of murdering him while drunk. Moonen was subsequently fired by Blackwater for "violating alcohol and firearm policy", and travelled from Iraq to the United States days after the incident. United States Attorneys are currently investigating.[88] The United States State Department and Blackwater USA had attempted to keep his identity secret. Despite the Blackwater incident, Moonen found subsequent employment. From February to August 2007, he was employed by US Defense Department contractor Combat Support Associates (CSA) in Kuwait. In April 2007, the US Department of Defense tried to call him back to active duty, but cancelled the request because Moonen was overseas.[89][90]
[Image: 180px-Republican_Palace%2C_Baghdad.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]
Blackwater Security guarding U.S. State Department employees


Five Blackwater contractors were killed on January 23, 2007 in Iraq when their Hughes H-6 helicopter was shot down. The incident happened on Baghdad's Haifa Street. The crash site was secured by a personal security detail, callsign "Jester" from 1/26 Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Three Iraqi insurgent groups claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, however, this has not been confirmed by the United States.[citation needed] A U.S. defense official has confirmed that four of the five killed were shot execution style in the back of the head, but did not know whether the four had survived the crash.[91][92]
In late May 2007, Blackwater contractors opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days, one of the incidents provoking a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi Interior Ministry commandos, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.[73] On May 30, 2007, Blackwater employees shot an Iraqi civilian deemed to have been "driving too close" to a State Department convoy that was being escorted by Blackwater contractors.[73][93] Other private security contractors, such as Aegis Defence Services have been accused of similar actions.[93] Doug Brooks, the president of the International Peace Operations Association ("IPOA"), a trade group representing Blackwater and other military contractors, said that in his view military law would not apply to Blackwater employees working for the State Department.[94] In October of 2007, Blackwater USA announced that the company was taking a "hiatus" from membership in IPOA.[95]
On February 6, 2006, a sniper employed by Blackwater Worldwide opened fire from the roof of the Iraqi Justice Ministry, killing three guards working for the state-funded Iraqi Media Network. According to 13 witnesses, the guards had not fired on the Justice Ministry. An Iraqi police report described the shootings as "an act of terrorism" and said Blackwater "caused the incident."[citation needed] Iraqi Media Network concluded that the guards were killed "without any provocation."[citation needed] The U.S. State Department, based on information obtained from Blackwater guards, who said they were fired upon, determined that the security team's actions "fell within approved rules governing the use of force."[96]
On September 16, 2007, Blackwater guards opened fire in Nisour Square, Baghdad, killing 17 civilians in the Blackwater Baghdad shootings incident. Witnesses claimed that the attack was unprovoked and that the mercenaries, in the employ of the U.S., continued firing while the Iraqi civilians were fleeing. Two Blackwater helicopters were also spotted at the time, that witnesses say aided in the attack. However, Blackwater claims that its guards were under attack and responded accordingly. The FBI found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and found no evidence to support assertions by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians.[97] Federal prosecutors have narrowed their focus to three Blackwater employees. A number of victims and victims' families have filed a lawsuit against Blackwater in Atban, et al. v. Blackwater USA, et al.[98]

Legal status and oversight of Blackwater Worldwide

Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq was revoked by the Iraqi Government on September 17, 2007, resulting from a highly contentious incident that occurred the previous day during which seventeen (initially reported as eleven) Iraqis were killed.[99][100] The fatalities occurred while a Blackwater Private Security Detail (PSD) was escorting a convoy of U.S. State Department vehicles en route to a meeting in western Baghdad with United States Agency for International Development officials. The US State Department has said that "innocent life was lost."[101] An anonymous U.S. military official was quoted as saying that Blackwater's guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force.[102] The incident has sparked at least five investigations, and the FBI says it will begin a probe.[103] Blackwater helicopters were dispatched to evacuate the Polish ambassador following an insurgent assassination attempt on October 3, 2007.[104] The license was reinstated by the American government in April 2007, but the Iraqis announced that they have refused to extend that license in early 2009.[11][105]

U.S. Congress

[Image: 180px-Uscapitolindaylight.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]



On October 2, 2007 Erik Prince attended a congressional hearing conducted by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform following the controversy related to Blackwater's conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan.[106][107] Blackwater hired the public relations firm BKSH & Associates Worldwide, a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller, to help Prince prepare for his testimony at the hearing. Robert Tappan, a former U.S. State Department official who worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, was one the executives handling the account.[108][109][110] Burson-Marsteller was brought aboard by the Washington law firms representing Blackwater -- McDermott Will & Emery and Crowell & Moring.[108] BKSH, a self-described "bipartisan" firm (Hillary Rodham Clinton, when pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination, was also a client), is headed by Charlie Black, a prominent Republican political strategist and former chief spokesman for the Republican National Committee, and Scott Pastrick, former treasurer of the Democratic National Committee.[111][112]
In his testimony before Congress, Prince said his company has a lack of remedies to deal with employee misdeeds. When asked why an employee involved in the killing of a vice-presidential guard incident had been "whisked out of the country" he replied, "We can't flog him, we can't incarcerate him."[113] Asked by a member of Congress for financial information about his company, Prince declined to provide it. "We're a private company, and there's a key word there — private," he answered.[114] Later he stated that the company could provide it at a future date if questions were submitted in writing. [115] When the term "mercenaries" was used to describe Blackwater employees, Prince objected, characterizing them as "loyal Americans".[116]
A Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff report, based largely on internal Blackwater e-mail messages and State Department documents, describes Blackwater as "being staffed with reckless, shoot-first guards who were not always sober and did not always stop to see who or what was hit by their bullets."[117] A staff report compiled by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on behalf of Representative Waxman questioned the cost-effectiveness of using Blackwater forces instead of U.S. troops. Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day per guard, "equivalent to $445,000 per year, or six times more than the cost of an equivalent U.S. soldier," the report alleged.[118] During his testimony on Capitol Hill, Erik Prince disputed this figure, saying that it costs money for the government to train a soldier, to house and feed them, they don't just come prepared to fight. "That sergeant doesn't show up naked and untrained", Prince stated.[118][119]
In the wake of Prince's testimony before Congress, the US House passed a bill in October 2007 that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts, and Senate Democratic leaders have said they plan to send similar legislation to President Bush as soon as possible.[120] The legal status of Xe and other security firms in Iraq is a subject of contention.[121] Two days before he left Iraq, L. Paul Bremer signed "Order 17" giving all Americans associated with the CPA and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.[122][123] A July 2007 report from the American Congressional Research Service indicates that the Iraqi government still has no authority over private security firms contracted by the U.S. government.[124] On October 5, 2007 the State Department announced new rules for Xe's armed guards operating in Iraq. Under the new guidelines, State Department security agents will accompany all Xe units operating in and around Baghdad. The State Department will also install video surveillance equipment in all Xe armored vehicles, and will keep recordings of all radio communications between Xe convoys in Iraq and the military and civilian agencies which supervise their activities.[125]
In December 2008 a US State Department panel recommended that Xe should be dropped as the main private security contractor for US diplomats in Iraq.[126]
On Jan 30, 2009, The U.S. State Department has told Blackwater Worldwide, that it will not renew its contract in Iraq.[127]

[Iraqi courts and legal action

On September 23, 2007, the Iraqi government said that it expects to refer criminal charges to its courts in connection with a shooting involving Blackwater guards.[128] However, on October 29, 2007, immunity from prosecution was granted by the U.S. State Department, delaying a criminal inquiry into the September 16 shootings of 17 Iraqi civilians.[129] Immediately afterwards, the Iraqi government approved a draft law to end any and all immunity for foreign military contractors in Iraq, to overturn Order 17. The U.S. Department of Justice also said any immunity deals offered to Blackwater employees were invalid, as the department that issued them had no authority to do so.[130] It is unclear what legal status Blackwater Worldwide operates under in the U.S. and other countries, or what protection the U.S. extends to Blackwater Worldwide's operations globally.[131]
Legal specialists say that the U.S. government is unlikely to allow a trial in the Iraqi courts, because there is little confidence that trials would be fair. Contractors accused of crimes abroad could be tried in the United States under either military or civilian law; however, the applicable military law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, was changed in 2006, and appears to now exempt State Department contractors that provide security escorts for a civilian agency. Prosecution under civilian law would be through the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which allows the extension of federal law to civilians supporting military operations; however, according to the deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s criminal division Robert Litt, trying a criminal case in federal court would require a secure chain of evidence, with police securing the crime scene immediately, while evidence gathered by Iraqi investigators would be regarded as suspect.[131]
In December 2008, the US Justice Department indicted five of the Blackwater guards involved in the September 16, 2007, killings of unarmed civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad.[132]

Non-Iraq services

[url=http://en.wikipe...

Blackwater (now Xi) - Magda Hassan - 27-03-2009

Litigation

See also: Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security
Xe is currently being sued by the families of Scott Helvenston and the three other contractors killed in Fallujah in March 2004. The families say they are not suing for financial damages, but rather for the details of their sons' and husbands' deaths, saying Xe has refused to supply these details, and that in its "zeal to exploit this unexpected market for private security men," the company "showed a callous disregard for the safety of its employees."[72] Four family members testified in front of the House Government Reform Committee on February 7, 2007. They asked that Xe be held accountable for future negligence of employees' lives, and that federal legislation be drawn up to govern contracts between the Department of Defense and defense contractors.[72] Xe has counter-sued the lawyer representing the empty estates of the deceased for $10 million on the grounds the lawsuit was contractually prohibited from ever being filed.[143]
According to an Army report, on November 27, 2004, a Blackwater plane, "in violation of numerous government regulations and contract requirements," crashed into a mountainside in Afghanistan, killing all six passengers on board.[144] Several U.S. military personnel were on board because there was space on the cargo plane. It is alleged that Blackwater staff made a series of errors leading to the plane crashing into a rock wall.[citation needed] Errors included failing to file a flight plan and failing to use oxygen masks, which may have caused the pilot to succumb to high-altitude euphoria.[145] The families of the three soldiers killed — Lt. Col. Michael McMahon, Chief Warrant Officer Travis Grogan and Spec. Harley Miller — filed a wrongful death suit against Blackwater, alleging negligence. Presidential Airways, a division of Blackwater, questioned the validity of the Army's report, stating that it "contains numerous errors, misstatements, and unfounded assumptions."[144] On April 19, 2006, The Nation magazine published an article titled, "Blood is Thicker Than Blackwater," concerning the families' lawsuit against Blackwater. The article discussed the removal of the word "armored" from already-signed contracts, and other allegations of wrongdoing.[146]
On October 11, 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit against Blackwater under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of an injured Iraqi and the families of three of the 17 Iraqis killed by Blackwater employees during the September 16, 2007 Blackwater Baghdad shootings.[147]

Ongoing controversies

See also: Blackwater Worldwide arms smuggling allegations There are a variety of ongoing controversies involving Blackwater Worldwide that are not in direct relation to their specific and individual operations for the U.S. government. However, their role in their work is the factor of these controversies.[148] It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports by the U.S. and international media.[3][4][5][6][7] Critics consider Xe's self-description as a private military company to be a euphemism for mercenary activities.[49] Jeremy Scahill points out that Chilean nationals, mostly former soldiers, whose country of origin does not participate in hostilities in Iraq, work for Xe in that country, thus those Chileans meet the definition of "mercenary."[149][150] At least 60 Chilean Blackwater employees were trained during dictator Augusto Pinochet's regime.[151][152][153] Author Chris Hedges wrote about the establishment of mercenary armies, referring to Blackwater as an example of such a force, asserting its existence as a threat to democracy and a step towards the creation of a modern day Praetorian Guard in a June 3, 2007 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.[154]
[Image: Black_jcofer_sct.jpg] [Image: magnify-clip.png]
J. Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater


In March 2006, Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater USA, allegedly suggested at an international conference in Amman, Jordan, that the company was ready to move towards providing security professionals up to brigade size (3,000–5,000) for humanitarian efforts and low-intensity conflicts. Critics have suggested this may be going too far in putting political decisions in the hands of privately owned corporations.[155] The company denies this was ever said.[156]
In December 2006, an Iraqi politician, Ayham al-Samarie, escaped from a prison in Iraq, where he was awaiting trial for 12 criminal corruption cases.[157][158] Blackwater, which he had hired for protection before his arrest, allegedly helped him escape.[157][158] He said from Dubai he would return to the United States as he hadn't broken any U.S. laws and had fled Iraq because he feared he would be killed or kidnapped.[citation needed] He arrived in Chicago on January 9, claiming that an Iraqi judge had ordered his release, he feared being killed if he stayed in jail, and U.S. officials had assured him he would not be extradited to Iraq.[citation needed]
On September 22, 2007, U.S. federal prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that Blackwater employees may have smuggled weapons into Iraq, and that these weapons may have been later transferred to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Kurdish nationalist group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, NATO and the EU.[159][160][161] The U.S. government was investigating Blackwater for these alleged crimes.[162] On October 4, 2007, the FBI took over the investigation.[163]
Prince claimed in September 2007 that there was a “rush to judgment” about Blackwater, due to "inaccurate information".[164]
In January 2008, Marshall Adame, a Democrat running for Congress in North Carolina's 3rd District, took part in a live question-and-answer forum where he was asked a question about Blackwater. Adame, who had served as a State Department official in Iraq recounted, "I saw them shoot people, I saw them crash into cars while I was their passenger. There was absolutely no reason, no provocation whatsoever." He then stated, "There is no place in the American force structure, or in American culture for mercenaries, they are guns for hire; No more, no less."[citation needed]
Xe, which had been operating in Iraq without an Iraqi government license, applied for one for the first time, but the request was denied by Iraqi officials in January 2009. The Iraqi government announced that Xe must leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi-US committee finishes drafting the new guidelines on private contractors under the current Iraqi-US security agreement. Umm Tahsin, widow of one of the men killed by Xe employees in the Nisoor Square shooting, said of the denial, "Those people are a group of criminals. What they did was a massacre. Pushing them out is the best solution. They destroyed our family."[165] On January 31, 2009 the US State Department notified Blackwater that the agency would not renew its security contract with the company.[166] The Washington Times, however, reported on March 17, 2009 that the US State Department had extended its Iraq security contract with Xe to September 3, 2009 for a cost of $22.2 million.[167]

References


  1. ^ a b "Agreement for security services" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. 2004-03-12. http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20061207151614-43671.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  2. ^ Flintoff, Corey (25 September 2009). "Blackwater's Prince Has GOP, Christian Group Ties". National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14659780. Retrieved on 28 February 2009.
  3. ^ a b Sunday Herald, Scotland, "BACK IN IRAQ: THE 'WHORES OF WAR'", October 2, 2007.
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Blackwater (now Xi) - Jan Klimkowski - 27-03-2009

Excellent work - Magda.

There's a tad more info in the thread "Blackwater gets a makeover" here:

http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=776&highlight=blackwater

As we poor preterite ones know, They (in the Pynchonian sense) like Their lil' jokes.

Here's a sidesplitter.

Party

In common parlance, covert mind control programmes seeking to create hypno-programmed assassins are part of the Search for the Manchurian Candidate.

In the 2004 remake, starring Denzel Washington, the company controlling people's minds is known as Manchurian Global.

Blackwater is now known as Xe, pronounced Xi.

Quote:The Xí people (習) are an ancient Manchurian people. They were on the Manchurian plain at the same time as the more famous Kumo Xi, who were later called Xi (奚).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%AD

Of course, this is mere, ahem, coincidence....

LaughLaugh

Blackwater (now Xi) - Magda Hassan - 27-03-2009

Quote:Quote:
The Xí people (習) are an ancient Manchurian people. They were on the Manchurian plain at the same time as the more famous Kumo Xi, who were later called Xi (奚).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%AD

Of course, this is mere, ahem, coincidence....

This is hilarious Jan. And here I was thinking it was just the last sound in the word nazi.

Blackwater (now Xi) - Jan Klimkowski - 27-03-2009

Magda Hassan Wrote:
Quote:Quote:
The Xí people (習) are an ancient Manchurian people. They were on the Manchurian plain at the same time as the more famous Kumo Xi, who were later called Xi (奚).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%AD

Of course, this is mere, ahem, coincidence....

This is hilarious Jan. And here I was thinking it was just the last sound in the word nazi.

:listen:

Perhaps.

On a bad day, it's about as funny as being called "wee lassie" by Ewen Cameron & his MK-ULTRA (Manchurian) mates before they lobotomized you.

Quote:Wayne Morris:

You mentioned Dr. Ewen Cameron was specifically involved in the electroshock. You do have a sense of how long of a period he was involved with your experimentation?

Claudia Mullen:

They called a lot of them in as "consultants". Dr. Heath or Dr. Green would say, "let's call Cameron in ... to test her." Next thing I knew, I would be called back to Tulane and here was the "Camera Man", Cameron. He came in around 1960 when I was about 9 or 10. He was there a lot at first, testing how much electricity was too much, they didn't want to fry my brain or anything because they needed me to seem fairly intelligent because I had to associate with people. I had to go back to school, so they had to be very careful when they used stuff on me, they couldn't disfigure me. I guess I was lucky in that sense, that I was in a private girls' school, I was from a wealthy family and they had to send me back home. My family wasn't involved in this per se. My mom knew they were using me, but she didn't know what exactly - so they had to send me back in fairly good condition. So that made me one of the lucky ones. For the ones from homeless families, or poor families - they didn't care what condition they sent them back in, or even if they sent the child back at all. They would use things on them that would disfigure them, but it didn't matter. In my case, I was fortunate.

Another thing was that Dr. Heath wanted to implant something in my brain and Mr. Fenner wouldn't let him. He said how am I going to explain this to her mother? We can't send her home with her head shaved, so I got out of having implants in my brain because of that.

But you asked me about Cameron. I knew him from about 1959 or 1960 and then when I was in high school one day, just out of the blue, someone said, "he fell off a mountain" - somebody named "Cleghorn" was coming to get me to do the electric shock. I was told years later, that yeah, he was mountain-climbing or skiing and fell off a mountain and died, so that was true.

Wayne Morris:

Did you have a sense of who this Cleghorn person was?

Claudia Mullen:

He worked with Cameron very closely. I guess he was from the same place. He liked to use electricity, only he thought Cameron didn't use enough. He believed in using a lot more. He didn't try to get along with you, or act friendly in any way. He was very cold. Whereas Cameron could talk to you or attempt to be friendly. Some of them were like that. They would introduce themselves, ask questions. Others just did what they had to do and got out of there and never said a word.

Wayne Morris:

So how many years did you come in contact with Dr. Cameron, from 1959-60 until when ...

Claudia Mullen:

I think until I was about 16 or 16 1/2, so that would be 1966 or 1967 and I was told he had fallen off a mountain. I know I was in high school, the latter part of high school. Around 1966 or 1967. The thing I was telling you about - the messages he would give me - he would tape record and then they would play at night? They called it something called "psychic driving". That's what the messages were called.

Wayne Morris:

And Martin Orne? What was his involvement?

Claudia Mullen:

Oh boy. He was one of the scariest people. He was with Dr. Brown, my monitor, at the NIH in the 1950's and they were good friends. He said he was an expert in lie detection and that he could always tell when someone was lying, that he had invented the lie detector or something ... He is a very arrogant person and thinks a lot of himself so he could have told me a lot of lies about what he could do and what he couldn't do. There wasn't anything he couldn't do ... supposedly. He could tell whenever you were lying. He hated everyone. He didn't get along with anyone. He called me "the little bitch" - that was his nickname for me. He wouldn't even call me by name. He mainly did hypnosis type stuff, he was always there for the shock treatments, if nothing else, just to watch ... When they asked me questions, he would be the one to tell them whether I was lying or not. He would have me hooked up to a couple of machines, he would have electrodes on my head and he said he could read the machines and tell whether I was lying or not. I guess it was like a lie detector, I don't know. He's still alive.

Claudia Mullen:

He's still alive in Philadelphia. I called him, he was one of the people i called, cause I remembered him, before i started getting all these memories back. I remembered Robert Heath, of course Dr. Brown, and i remembered this Martin Orne.

Wayne Morris:

So, at what point did you phone him back?

Claudia Mullen:

I phoned him ... after ... the rape happened in October of 1992. That next spring. I started getting weird nightmares and flashbacks. I remembered Martin Orne.

Wayne Morris:

You remembered him as one of your so-called "good" doctors.

Claudia Mullen:

Right. I had his home number. So I called him and he said had I called Dr. Heath. I said "yeah, but he wants me to come back for more electric shock treatments." So Orne said, "that's what you need to do then." I said, why did you do these things to me? I remember you. You were so mean." He said he never did anything to hurt me, that he was just there as a consultant. He swore up and down he never did anything to hurt me. Then I heard ... after we got back from Washington testifying ... I heard that he had a stroke. He is still paralyzed from the stroke I think.

Wayne Morris:

And what about Dr. Robert Heath? What aspects was he specifically involved with?

Claudia Mullen:

He is a neuropsychiatrist and he is the head of the department at Tulane University. It was his department that was given the money, the grant money. He was also given a whole wing of the medical school (just to use for experiments) by Mr. Fenner who was the Chairman of the Board of Tulane Medical School. There were just a lot of children, I remember. We weren't allowed to talk to each other. We weren't even supposed to see each other, but you could hear them sometimes. We would stay on this wing where there weren't any nurses, right? It was just like orderlies and the doctors, but it wasn't a regular hospital like with nurses who came into see you. You had monitors in your room and they watched you. I am pretty sure they had a camera in your room. And Dr. Heath was the head of the department there, and he also was known for doing a lot of work on brains ... experimenting on people's brains and he was the one who wanted to put an implant in my brain so that he could "telegraph", he said, "messages to me" when I was doing the entrapment thing with men that he could stimulate different parts of your brain or something ... he could do it by you know ... remote ... he didn't call it remote control ... he said he could access my brain from a distance, but he had to implant a box in your head.

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