blackwater

Fighting Fraud

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a bit of abuse for being one of only seven senators to vote against defunding the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN.

Last month, both houses of Congress quickly voted to deny federal funding to the community group after the now-infamous videos by young right-wing activists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles. The pair posed as a pimp and a prostitute and, with a hidden camera, went to a number of ACORN's tax preparation offices seeking tax and business advice.

Posted in blackwater, kbr, private contractors

Killed Civilians Bring More Controversy for Blackwater

Four U.S. contractors affiliated with the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide fired on an approaching civilian vehicle in Kabul this month, wounding at least two Afghan civilians, according to the company and the U.S. military.

Posted in blackwater, civilians dead

Mercenary King Eric Prince Resigns as Blackwater CEO

The company formerly known as Blackwater continues its mission to bury its tarnished reputation and soldier on. Early this morning, Blackwater founder Erik Prince released a brief statement announcing he is stepping down as CEO of the infamous mercenary firm he started in 1997. A press release from the company -- which last month renamed itself "Xe" -- said Prince "will now focus his efforts on a private equity venture unrelated to the company."

Posted in blackwater, military industrial complex, Xe

Blackwater Founder Steps Down as CEO

WASHINGTON - Blackwater founder Erik Prince is stepping down as the company's chief executive officer.

Prince said in a statement Monday that he has appointed a new president and a new CEO and that the moves were part of the beleaguered company's "continued reorganization and self-improvement."

Prince founded Blackwater in 1997 and last month the company changed its name to Xe.

Posted in blackwater

No Mercy for Mercenaries

After raking in more than a billion dollars from its contracts in Iraq, Blackwater is finally being forced to leave the country that it has terrorised for so long. But the notorious mercenary firm's departure will likely have more symbolic significance than any real impact on the day-to-day lives of Iraqis.

Posted in blackwater

Judge Refuses to Toss Charges in Blackwater Case

WASHINGTON - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the manslaughter case against five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of spraying innocent Iraqis with machine-gun fire can continue.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina denied two motions to dismiss the case against the five men accused in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and another 20 wounded in a busy Baghdad intersection.

Posted in blackwater

US Security Firm Mired in Iraq Controversy Changes Its Name

Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticised work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company's new name is pronounced like the letter z.

Blackwater Lodge & Training Centre - the subsidiary that conducts much of the company's overseas operations and domestic training - has been renamed US Training Centre Inc., the company said today.

Posted in blackwater

Pentagon Letter Undercuts DOJ in Blackwater Case

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon wrote in 2007 that Blackwater Worldwide contractors in Iraq are not subject to U.S. civilian criminal laws. That position undercuts the Justice Department's effort to prosecute five Blackwater security guards for manslaughter.

The letter highlights the uncertainty prosecutors face in bringing charges against contractors involved in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead in a Baghdad intersection. Iraqis are closely watching how the U.S. responds to the shooting, which inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad.

Posted in blackwater, Equality/Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2009
2:00 PM

CONTACT: Human Rights First

Krista Minteer (212) 845-5207

Blackwater Will Exit but Contractor Problem Persists

WASHINGTON - February 2 - Even after Blackwater leaves Iraq now that the Iraqi government has denied them an operation license, the United States government will continue to employ tens of thousands of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan with insufficient means to hold them to account. In fact, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) predicts that reliance on private security contractors in Iraq is likely to increase as US forces withdraw.

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Posted in blackwater, private contractors

Iraq Bars Blackwater, Tarnished by Civilian Deaths

BAGHDAD - 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.

Posted in blackwater, Iraq