Tag: Blackwater

From The Ashes

I have been a critic of the so-called “security contractors”….these people are nothing more than mercenaries….hired soldiers to fight wars for the rich and powerful…..they fight for money not some noble excuse like fighting communism or terrorism…..money is the only motivation.

To save space and my typing finger I will send you to an op-ed I recently wrote on this subject…..

Source: Rise of the American Mercenary – In Saner Thought

After so much bad PR the mercenaries in the Blackwater group changed their name to Xe and then sort of dropped off the world stage press coverage….

But did they?

Appears Blackwater guys have been working off the radar so to speak……

On Jan. 11, 2017, Intelligence Online — a professional journal covering the world’s intelligence services — revealed that the pilots of Air Tractor attack planes flying from Al Khadim air base in Libya are private contractors working for Erik Prince, the founder of the company formerly known as Blackwater.

War Is Boring’s own sources in Libya confirmed the assertion. Our sources said that the pilots flying the United Arab Emirates Air Force IOMAX AT-802 Air Tractors — converted crop-dusters — are mercenaries and aren’t Arabs.

Source: Erik Prince’s Mercenaries Are Bombing Libya

Once again we have an American company supplying mercenaries to fight in wars…an American company profiting off of the science of war….just an extension of the M-IC.

There use to be a punishment for fighting in a war that was not of your home nation…loss of citizenship…may I suggest that it is time for this to be reconsidered.

Justice Is Served

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 there were a couple of despicable situations that went mostly unnoticed and under reported…..,,the sexual assaults on female soldiers by their comrades and the electrocution deaths of soldiers in military showers built by an American company KBR and of course the stupidity of the treatment of Iraq prisoners by military personnel…….but the one that I thought that might be totally swept under the rug was the Iraqi deaths caused at the hands of the security contractors of Blackwater.

But news has broken that these murderers got what was coming to them…….

A federal judge sentenced former Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others. The carnage in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone. US District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Slatten, who witnesses said was the first to fire shots in the incident, to life on a charge of first-degree murder. The three other guards—Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard—were each sentenced to 30 years and one day in prison for charges that included manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and using firearms while committing a felony.

Lamberth announced the sentences after a daylong hearing at which defense lawyers had argued for leniency and presented character witnesses for their clients, and prosecutors asked that those sentences—the minimums mandatory under the law—be made even harsher. He rejected both requests. “Based on the seriousness of the crimes, I find the penalty is not excessive,” Lamberth says. All four were convicted in October for their involvement in the killings in the crowded traffic circle in downtown Baghdad. The legal fight over the killings has spanned years. Prosecutors described the shooting as an unprovoked ambush of civilians and said the men haven’t shown remorse or taken responsibility. Defense lawyers countered that the men were targeted with gunfire and shot back in self-defense.

Murder is murder and must be punished…..and these Blackwater thugs have had their day in court and were found guilty of the deaths of the Iraqi civilians……and the rest will go to appeals……..

Justice Has Been served!

A Blackwater World Order | The American Conservative

I am sure that I have been vocal enough that my readers realize that I think that privatization of the government is a con job…….especially when it comes to fight wars or guarding diplomats…….one of my pet peeves is that of Blackwater (I believe they want to call themselves “XE” these days)……it is NOT in the countries best interest to have a private army….to me it iS NO better than the hated militias in the Middle East…..

Did anyone see “7 Days in May”?  If not, may I suggest you watch it and then tell me what you think of a private army operating within the US.

Yes, I know this article is from American Conservative”….get over it!  There are some good writing going on, especially this article……

Read and offer up an opinion……

A Blackwater World Order | The American Conservative.

UAE Gets A New Army

This spring, the Arab Spring, as it is called in the media, has shown the will of the people and the violence of regimes to retain power….Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, et al……the one country that has had very little violence or even protests for that matter has been the United Arab Emirates (UAE)……even Saudi has had its minor uprisings….but the UAE must be concerned that the “Spring” may be headed their way….they are preparing to retain their power grip…..but how will they do this?

In an article written by Eamonn McCann……

United Arab Emirates has paid $529 million to a company set up by Blackwater boss Eric Prince to recruit and train a mercenary army to undertake “special missions” against the oil state’s enemies, defend oil pipelines, crush internal opposition and so forth.Emirate dictator Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has also agreed to pay more than $100 million a year to meet running costs and supply weapons and equipment–including rifles, mortars and armored vehicles.

A training camp, complete with living accommodation, mess halls, firing ranges and a motor pool, has been built behind thick concrete walls topped with tangles of barbed wire in the desert. More than 500 of a projected 800 troops are in position, many recruited from Central and South America and paid $150 a day.

Their trainers, mostly veterans of U.S., British and German Special Forces and the French Foreign Legion, earn up to $200,000 a year.

………there is good reason to believe that elements of the Obama administration gave the plan nod-and-wink approval, the exposure by Times’ journalists may spark political controversy in Congress, which would please al-Nahyan and other Gulf rulers not at all.

You remember Blackwater?  My bad!  They changed their name to Xe after the killing of all those Iraqi civilians…..you know that mercenary army that is headquartered in the US?  It seems that our Founding do-dahs would have frowned on the fact that anyone within the borders of the country had a standing private army….but apparently it is okay this day in time….but tell that to Aaron burr….

I remember back ion the day when mercenaries were looked down upon….but I guess when you change your title to security consultant you become a fine upstanding citizen…..a contract killer by any other name is still…..Americans need to be watching this group closely…..did anyone see “7 Days In May”?  If not you may want to rent it and see what I am rattling on about…..

Why Is Blackwater Still Employed?

With all the crap that Blackwater has pulled in the last decade, why are they still employed by the State Dept.?

From an article by Jeremy Scahill:

As a candidate for president, Hillary Clinton pledged to ban Blackwater. In February 2008, she announced that she would sign on as the co-sponsor of a little-known bill put forward in the House by Representative Jan Schakowsky and in the Senate by Bernie Sanders. The Stop Outsourcing Security, or SOS Act, sought to end the use of armed mercenaries in US war zones. Clinton became the only other senator to sign on to the bill and the most important political figure in the US to call for such a ban on “Blackwater and other private mercenary firms in Iraq.”

As Secretary of State, Clinton now presides over a diplomatic security force in Iraq that for the “indefinite” future will include Blackwater. ABC News’s “The Blotter” is reporting that Blackwater (which now does business as Xe Services and US Training Center) will continue to be the State Department’s aviation contractor in Iraq, despite a supposed Iraqi ban on the company. “We unilaterally extended the current task order … to ensure the continued security and safety of U.S. personnel in Iraq,” a State Department official said. As I reported in The Nation weeks ago, Blackwater operatives, according to the State Department, “are permitted to continue carrying weapons” in Iraq for the foreseeable future on that contract. On July 31, the Obama administration extended Blackwater’s Iraq contract, increasing Blackwater’s payment by $20 million and bringing the total paid by the State Department to Blackwater for its “aviation services” in Iraq to $187 million.

Meanwhile, according to federal contract data, on August 13, Blackwater was paid another $23 million on a $156 million “security” contract in Afghanistan with the US State Department. That is in addition to Blackwater’s contracts with the Department of Defense and its ongoing work for the CIA as part of its drone bombing raids in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But here are some questions for Secretary Clinton about Blackwater: Why do you continue to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to a company whose operatives have been indicted for manslaughter of Iraqi civilians; that is under investigation for arms smuggling and other possible crimes; that has been implicated in the CIA assassination program allegedly withheld from Congress; that is owned by a man, Erik Prince, whom a former employee says “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe?” Moreover, why are you using a company you pledged to ban now that you actually have the power to ban them? If you thought in February of 2008 that the “time to show these contractors the door is long past due,” what time is it now?

I have been pretty tough on Blackwater in the past and Mr. Scahill in his new book, Blackwater, has proven all of us Blackwater critics to be right and it is time for the government to do something about this loose canon in their employ.

Your move madame Secretary…….

The Story That Is Blackwater

They are baaaack!  You know that “security” firm that hires mercenaries, oh sorry…my bad….ex-soldiers to work as security across the world…..mostly in the armed conflict areas like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Two ex-employees of the company have turned into whistle blowers for the government.  In a report by Scott Horton some of the allegations against Blackwater, oh my bad…name change…Xe, as reported by Scott Horton:

  • Both men requested anonymity to avoid mortal threats. “It appears that Mr. Prince or his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities,” said John Doe #1. John Doe #2 says he received personal threats after leaving Blackwater.
  • Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.” He “intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis.”
  • Blackwater “employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms of Iraqis and other Arabs, such as ‘ragheads’ or ‘hajis.’”
  • Blackwater deployed to Iraq individuals who (a) made “statements about wanting to… ‘kill ragheads’ or achieve ‘kills’ or ‘body counts,’” (b) drank excessively, (c) used steroids, and (d) failed to follow safety and other instructions governing the use of lethal weapons. Mental-health professionals who raised concerns about deployment of such individuals were fired.
  • Prince obtained “illegal ammunition… designed to explode after penetrating within the human body” and smuggled it into Iraq for use.
  • Prince distributed other illegal weapons for use in Iraq.
  • Prince was aware of the use of prostitutes, “including child prostitutes,” at Blackwater’s “Man Camp” in Iraq, which he visited.
  • Will be interesting to see how far this will go considering that Prince and his family are heavily in the pocket of the Bush dynasty.

    • Blackwater Has More Trouble

    In an article written by William Fisher, the woes of Blackwater just keep getting deeper and deeper.

    New charges filed against private security contractor Blackwater accuse the
    company of murder, destruction of audio and videotaped evidence, distribution
    of controlled substances, tax evasion, child prostitution, and weapons smuggling.

    The new charges were filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
    Act (RICO) by several of the Iraqi civilians who were injured or who lost family
    members when Blackwater personnel opened fire in Nisoor Square in Baghdad in
    September 2007.

    The new allegations, which have been added to an ongoing civil lawsuit in
    Virginia federal court, charge that then Blackwater chairman Erik Prince “has
    created an enterprise that has engaged in a series of illegal acts that suffice
    as RICO predicate acts extending over a substantial period of time beginning
    at least in 2003.”

    The complaint alleges that Xe-Blackwater “created and fostered a culture
    of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company’s financial interests at the expense of innocent human life … and contrary to the interests of the U.S. military and State Department, and the nation of Iraq.”

    The suit also seeks a court order requiring Erik Prince to “divest himself
    of any direct or indirect interest in the RICO Enterprise or dissolve the RICO
    Enterprise after making due provision for the rights of innocents, imposes
    reasonable restrictions on Prince’s future activities or investments, and prohibits Prince from engaging in any mercenary or private military business.”

    Blackwater still holds lucrative government contracts in Afghanistan and elsewhere and is reportedly marketing “CIA-type services” to Fortune 1000 companies through Prince’s Total Intelligence Solutions.

    The complaint alleges that Xe-Blackwater, “in addition to hiring persons
    known (or should have been known) to use steroids and other judgment-altering drugs, has been hiring as mercenaries former military officials known to have been involved in human rights abuses in Chile.”

    It contends that “Xe-Blackwater knows that the former Chilean commandos
    hired by Xe-Blackwater received amnesty from punishment for their wanton disregard
    of human rights in exchange for being forbidden from taking part in any military or security activities in Chile.”

    The suit also charges that “Xe-Blackwater has been hiring mercenaries
    from the Philippines, Chile, Nepal, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras,
    Panama, Peru, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Jordan, and perhaps South Africa.”

    America’s number one private army is in deep do-do.  Never fear the cash from Blackwater will continue to pour into the Repub coffers.

    It Is Good To Be A Government Contractor

    Do you remember Blackwater?  The security private army that works for the US government.  UPI is reporting the results of an audit into Blackwater:

    An audit by the U.S. government found the Department of State overpaid security contractors with the company formerly known as Blackwater by about $55 million.A joint audit by the inspector general for the U.S. State Department and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, a temporary agency examining the abuse of funds intended for Iraq reconstruction programs, found the State Department overpaid security contractors by at least $55 million.

    The audit also alleges Xe, as Blackwater is known currently, did not provide a sufficient number of guards, marksmen and other securitydetails for the protection of U.S. representatives to Iraq.

    The audit comes as Xe lobbies for new government security contracts in Afghanistan potentially worth tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reports.

    What A Difference A Name Makes

    Let us hope not!  These pricks are still the same pack of mercenaries no matter what they call themselves…..and it amazes me that NO ONE screams about a private army that has been raised in the country….I believe Aaron Burr was tried for treason for a similar act.

    The controversial security firm Blackwater, involved in the shooting of Iraqi civilians, is changing its name.

    Company President Gary Jackson says “effective immediately” the name for the firm’s parent company has been changed to Xe, pronounced “zee”.

    Subsidiaries of the U.S.-based firm are also being changed, with Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, best-known for preparing workers for overseas operations, now to be called the U.S. Training Center.

    In a memo to employees Thursday, Jackson said the reorganization will help “create unique brand identities for its products and services.”

    A PR coup?  Nah!  Just trying to divert attention for now.


    Blackwater Goes Pirate Hunting

    The Moyock, N.C., company has a ship in Hampton Roads ready to begin patrolling the Gulf of Aden to protect merchant vessels against pirates.

    The company has spoken to about 10 shipping firms but as yet has no takers, said Bill Mathews, Blackwater Worldwide executive vice president.

    “There’s definitely a need and a desire,” Mathews said during a tour of the 183-foot vessel, named McArthur, on Friday. It’s moored at a commercial pier at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.

    Somali pirates in late September seized a Ukrainian ship loaded with military vehicles in the Gulf of Aden and still hold the ship while demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom. The standoff is being monitored by the U.S. Navy.

    In the first half of this year, pirates launched two dozen attacks off the Somali coast, including 19 in the Gulf of Aden, Said the International Maritime Bureau. At least eight vessels reported attacks by grenade launchers and automatic weapons, the organization said.

    For anti-piracy operations, the 14-sailor crew would be supplemented with Blackwater security guards, four rigid-hull inflatable boats and helicopters, Mathews said. Security teams could follow a merchant vessel by air and land.

    Mathews said the crew and guards are qualified to provide maritime security, noting that the security teams would consist of former Navy SEALs. The force is highly trained in handling vehicle boardings and anti-terrorism missions.

    The ship could be overseas within 40 days, pending approval from the State Department and roughly a month long transit across the Atlantic

    The use of private companies to protect merchant ships has a long history, said Claude Berube, a former congressional staffer and professor who has written on the topic. The East India Co. employed private convoys about a century ago along the coast of Africa, he said.