Jeremy Scahill, The Nation (15 Sept 2010; 4 Oct 10 print edition)
"Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to documents obtained by The Nation."
http://www.thenation.com/article/154739/blackwaters-black-ops
Blackwater Using Shell Companies to Obtain New Contracts
James Risen and Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times (3 Sept 2010)
"Blackwater Worldwide created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollars in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/middleeast/04blackwater.html
Background:
Administration Passes on Criminal Charges for Blackwater
CIA hires Xe, formerly Blackwater, to guard facilities in Afghanistan, elsewhere
Warren P. Strobel, Jonathan S. Landay and Joseph Neff, McClatchy Newspapers (27 Jun 2010)
Looks like faced with the prospect of losing Blackwater as a security contractor for the CIA and State Department the Obama Administration blinked on criminal charges.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/27/96579/obama-wont-charge-blackwater-with.html
Jeff Stein, Washington Post (24 June 2010)
The CIA has hired Xe Services, the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to an industry source.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/23/AR2010062305255.html
Jeremy Scahill | Is Blackwater's Erik Prince Moving to Dubai?
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation (15 June 2010)
Sources close to Blackwater and its secretive owner Erik Prince claim that the embattled head of the world's most infamous mercenary firm is planning to move to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
READ MORE
Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program
In an explosive new article in The Nation magazine, investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reveals the private military firm Blackwater is part of a covert program in Pakistan that includes planning the assassination and kidnapping of Taliban and Al-Qaeda suspects. Blackwater is also said to be involved in a previously undisclosed U.S. military drone campaign that has killed scores of people inside Pakistan. The article says the program has become so secretive that top Obama administration and military officials have likely been unaware of its existence. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Scahill joins us for his first interview since the story broke.
Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/24/blackwaters_secret_war_in_pakistan
DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST, October 23, 2009 Judge Rejects Blackwater Attempt to Dismiss Cases Filed by Iraqi Victims A federal judge has rejected a series of arguments by lawyers for the private military contractor Blackwater who were seeking to dismiss five war crimes cases brought by Iraqi victims against the company and its owner, Erik Prince. We speak to award-winning investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent, Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/23/black Jeremy Scahill | Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder (The Nation, 4 Aug 09; print issue 17 Aug 2009)http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwater-founder-implicated-murder
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation: "A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince 'views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,' and that Prince's companies 'encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.'"
Jeremy Scahill | Blackwater Still Armed in Iraq (The Nation, 14 Aug 09; print version 31 Aug 2009)
http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwater-still-armed-iraq
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation: "Despite the Iraqi government's announcement earlier this year that it had canceled Blackwater's operating license, the US State Department continues to allow Blackwater operatives in Iraq to remain armed. A State Department official told The Nation that Blackwater (which recently renamed itself Xe Services) is now operating in Iraq under the name 'US Training Center' and will continue its armed presence in the country until at least September 3. That means Blackwater will have been in Iraq nearly two years after its operatives killed seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square."
DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST, August 5, 2009 In Explosive Allegations, Ex-Employees Link Blackwater Founder to Murder, Threats In sworn statements, two ex-employees claim Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince, murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. One also charged Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe." We speak with investigative journalist and bestselling author Jeremy Scahill, who broke the story for The Nation magazine. Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/5/in_explosive_allegations_ex_employees_link DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST, April 2, 2009 Obama's Blackwater? Jeremy Scahill on Triple Canopy, the New Lead US Mercenary Force in Iraq and Israel The Obama administration has confirmed the hiring of mercenary firm Triple Canopy to take over Blackwater's contract to protect US diplomats in Iraq. Part of the firm's job will be to protect the "monstrous" US embassy in Baghdad. We speak to independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, who has also just revealed that the administration is using Triple Canopy to protect US diplomats in Israel. Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/2/obamas_blackwater_jeremy_scahill_on_triple DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST, March 4, 2009 Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Resigns in Latest Attempt to Rebrand Tarnished Mercenary Firm Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, has announced his resignation as the company's CEO. The move comes weeks after the company changed its name to Xe in an attempt to rebrand the firm. Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, assesses the latest developments. Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/4/blackwater_ceo_erik_prince_resignsA Whitewash for Blackwater?
The Washington Post, 09 December 2008
by Eugene Robinson
The federal manslaughter indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards in the horrific massacre of more than a dozen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad may look like an exercise in accountability, but it's probably the exact opposite -- a whitewash that absolves the government and corporate officials who should bear ultimate responsibility.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/12/09/ST2008120900107.html
[I have another 20 earlier articles archived from bulletins from DN! and TO. I'll confine myself to listing last the first of these, dating back to 5 years and 8 days from today. Like the one I listed at the very top of this message, it reminds us that Blackwater is not going to be limited to overseas operations. So far as we know, they haven't gotten to government-approved assassinations yet, but COINTELPRO-type activities for private hire are clearly on the agenda. -- Uncle Academic.]
DEMOCRACY NOW! DAILY EMAIL DIGEST
September 12, 2005
Overkill: Feared Blackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
In addition to the thousands of military troops patrolling the streets of
New Orleans, there are also scores of private soldiers that are now
spreading out across the city, like those from the Blackwater Security firm.
Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reports.
Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/12/1426242
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