Tag: Security Firms

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.

    • 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.

    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.

    Blackwater Could Lose Immunity

    The Iraqi armed services are likely to target widely-hated American security contractors when they lose their immunity to Iraqi law under a new agreement between the US and the Iraq.

    The main American concession, during prolonged and rancorous negotiations over a Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) that would determine the future military relationship between the US and Iraq, has been to agree to lift the immunity hitherto enjoyed by the 154,000 contractors, of whom 35,000 are private security men.

    The ending of immunity will have serious consequences for the 142,000 US troops in Iraq, who are highly reliant on contractors. Mr Chalabi says it is likely that the Iraqi security forces and judiciary will go out of their way to arrest foreign security men who break Iraqi law, which they have so far flouted.

    He also said that the loss of immunity of American contractors would make US intelligence operations more difficult because private companies have been used to maintain links with opponents of the Iranian regime based in Iraq, notably the Mojahedin-e Khalq. This enables the US government to deny that it has contacts with such groups.