By MIKE BAKER – 8 hours ago
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal agents have raided an armory owned by security contractor Blackwater Worldwide.
The North Carolina-based company said the raid was part of an investigation into a deal that allowed a local sheriff's office to store high-powered assault rifles at the company's armory at its headquarters in Moyock.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell sa
Resumo do livro BLACKWATER
O uso de mercenários em conflitos bélicos não é novidade. Diferente no cenário da guerra no Iraque é a meteórica ascensão de uma companhia que, sob o comando de um radical cristão de xtrema-direita, transformou-se de mero campo privado de treinamento militar em um colosso com 600 milhões de dólares somente em contratos oficiais com o governo dos Estados Uni
What could prove to be one of Blackwater's most profitable and enduring enterprises is one of the company's most secretive initiatives -- a move into the world of privatized intelligence services. In April 2006, Prince quietly began building Total Intelligence Solutions, which boasts that it "brings CIA-style" services to the open market for Fortune 500 companies. Among its offerings are "su
A federal grand jury heard testimony from three Iraqis yesterday concerning the killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad by Blackwater Worldwide last September. Federal prosecuters are toiling to find out if any of the government contractors can be charged with a crime in the US since an occupation decree prevents them from being charged under Iraqi law."It's a knotty question," said Kenneth Kohl of th
Mohammed Hafidh Abdul-Razzaq had been summoned by U.S. Embassy officials who wanted to make amends for the killing of his 10-year-old son. The boy died during a shooting involving employees of Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. security firm. Deputy Chief of Mission Patricia A. Butenis told him that she was sorry for what had happened, Abdul-Razzaq recalled. She gave him a sealed envelope. It had his name written on it. Abdul-Razzaq pushed it away. “I told her I refuse to receive any amount,” the auto parts dealer said. “My father is a tribal sheik, and we’re not used to taking any amount unless the concerned will come and confess and apologize. Then we will talk about compensation.” In September, Blackwater contractors protecting an embassy mission killed 17 Ir
San Diego officials say they're going to fight security contractor Blackwater Worldwide's permit to build an indoor military training facility in the city. The Developmental Services Department granted the permit March 19 without public hearings. City Council president Scott Peters says Blackwater used the name of a subcontractor when it filed for the permit to expand a 61,000-square-foot vocational training facility in the Otay Mesa area. His staff is researching ways to challenge the permit. Blackwater vice president Brian Bonfiglio says his company will fight if the city tries to backpedal. He says the anti-Blackwater movement stems from anti-war sentiment, not a problem with the facility. ~ source ~
Families of Iraqis who died in a shooting involving Blackwater Worldwide contractors accused the company Friday of shredding documents and destroying evidence. Lawyers for the families made the accusations in court documents but identified the source of the information only as former employees. They said officials at the company's North Carolina compound shredded documents related to ongoing investigations sometime around March 18. Company lawyers had no immediate comment Friday night, but they are quoted in court documents as saying Blackwater took appropriate steps to make sure documents were not destroyed. Lawyers for the Iraqis do not say what investigation the documents relate to. Blackwater, a major security contractor in Iraq, is under scrutiny in several matters.Most notab
It was America's Mogadishu moment - only with civilian private military contractors going down in Fallujah, Iraq instead of Army Blackhawks in Somalia's capital. The Marines are trying to wipe the slate of history clean today with a few coats of fresh paint splashed over a ghastly landmark in America's painfully long war in Iraq. Four years ago today, four American security men from Blackwater were ambushed in Fallujah. They were shot in their vehicles, doused in gasoline and set afire, mutilated...(read more)
FALLUJAH, Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province warn of a new disease they call “Blackwater” that threatens the lives of thousands. The disease is named after Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. mercenary company operating in Iraq.
“This disease is a severe form of malarial infection caused by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, which is considered the worst type of [...]
For more, see the March 12 post from the “Ataxingmatter’ Blog
House chairman asks agencies to probe Blackwater
By Rafael Enrique Valero rvalero@nationaljournal.com March 11, 2008
In letters sent to the Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and Labor Department on Monday, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, [...]
We’ve seen the same pattern repeated many times with the Bush administration. Both the Clinton administration and the CIA provided Bush with warnings about al Qaeda but he ignored them. Many people warned that going into Iraq would be a disaster, predicting the situation we are now in. The Washington Post reports on another example of warnings that were ignored, this time regarding the problems with contractors:
The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. They reflected growing concern about the lack of cont
During Wednesday’s GOP debate, a questioner asked the candidates why they refuse to call waterboarding torture. Romney said that before making such a determination, he would need to get “counsel on a matter of this nature” from “a lot” of people. One of the people with whom Romney said he would specifically like to speak? Blackwater's Cofer Black.read more | digg story
A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the families of the individuals killed in the shooting incident on Sept. 16 in Nusoor Square, Baghdad, alleges that Blackwater guards were abusing steroids. The lawsuit, “Estate of Himoud Saed Atban, et al. v. Blackwater USA, et al.” (C.A. No. 07-1831), which was filed on October 11th in Washington DC by four families of persons killed in the shooting incident.
Continue reading this story...
The shootings in Nussor Square in Baghdad two months ago were terrible. It has now been determined that - as the Iraqis have said all along - the shootings were unjustified.Great, so what happens to Blackwater now, they lose a couple million in contracts?Regardless of what fate befalls the contractors who pulled the triggers, or the management that paid them to; there are broader issues to consider before this story vanishes down the memory hole.Leave it to the old media to avoid touching on these in more than a cursory way. First and foremost is what the hell were they doing over there in the first place? I attempted to address this one last month in Blackwater Blues, but really only scratched the surface.Blackwater is in Iraq because the State Department cannot afford to spare its own security personnel to guard its own operatives. This is the thumbnail view, of course, but it will suffice for the moment.The larger motivation behind Blackwater's participation in the country former
A Defense Department contract involving antidrug training missions is open for bids.Will Blackwater be taking down non-violent drug users in your city soon? Other big defense corps will be competing for the some 15 billion dollar contract. Read MoreA country who wars on it's own people for what, to pump out a few more sales for the military industrial complex.Liberty Central- Conservatism's Blog of Choice
ABC News has learned the exact wording of the immunity deal the State Department granted Blackwater security guards involved in a September shooting incident that left 17 Iraqis dead. The security guards were given a limited immunity called "use immunity" in exchange for giving sworn statements.read more | digg story
"You see, during my own yearlong tour in Iraq, the bad boys of Blackwater twice came closer to killing me than did any of the insurgents or Al Qaeda types. That sort of thing sticks with you." A fascinating commentary by an Army Major.read more | digg story
La firme étasunienne Blackwater USA a reçu une mise en demeure affirmant qu’elle était sous enquête pour des crimes de guerre après que 17 civils irakiens aient été tués dans une grêle de balles par des agents de sécurité à Baghdad.
Ces meurtres commis le mois dernier mettent dans l’embarras la firme privée de sécurité dont les employés sont immunisés contre toute forme de poursuite, contrairement aux militaires de professions qui sont assujettis aux courts martiales. C’est le deuxième incident du genre en moins d’un mois, impliquant le contracteur australien Unity Resources Group, cette semaine. Deux femmes Arméniennes chrétiennes ont été abattues après que leur voiture se soit approchée d’un convoi protégé. Leur voiture a été criblée de 40 balles.
Ivana Vuco, l’officière la plus aînée des droits de l’homme de l’ONU en Irak, a parlé hier à propos des fusillades par les gardiens de sécurité privés q
In addition to Blackwaters being under scrutney for it's dealings in Iraq, the lastest comes from a lawmaker who is now accusing Blackwater of tax evasion.The California Democrat said the firm "sought to conceal its conduct from Congress and law enforcement officials."Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said in an e-mail that Waxman argues Blackwater cannot treat its personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan as "independent contractors" and contends they must be treated as employees for IRS purposes.Earlier this month, Rice ordered the installation of cameras on all Blackwater convoys in Baghdad and said diplomatic agents should accompany them on each mission.Blackwater still under gunLink inside this blog
Defiant Blackwater CEO Erik Prince says he won't let contractors be tried in 'faulty' Iraq justice system. Prince said his employees are merely protecting themselves when they kill and maim innocent Iraqi citizens, and that Blackwater employees are above the law and cannot be held accountable for murder.read more | digg story
The jury is still out on exactly what happened with the Blackwater employees that shot and killed 17 Iraqis supposedly without provocation. However, let me mention a couple of things to keep in mind. First, no American diplomats have been killed while Blackwater has been providing security services. Secondly, we have all seen that Iraqi eye witnesses are often, how to say this delicately, less than 100% honest. Now thats not to say it is not possible that Blackwater guards did not get caught up in the moment and open fire when they mistakenly thought their principals were under attack. So, we have the Iraqi government demanding that Blackwater be expelled from the country. I wonder if they realize that many of the employees currently working for Blackwater will be let go and immediately rehired by whatever private security firm takes over the contract? The pool of qualified people for that exact job is not going to be huge. It is not like hiring high school kids for the local M
From the October 15th issue of Newsweek:The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press.First of all, how is holding American soldiers at gunpoint in a war zone not treason? I have a suspicion that it is.You know what else is treasonous? The fact that these private contractor guys now have more power in Ira
You have to love the lunacy of the left. I mean you can't buy entertainment this good. The following poll is a perfect example. It encompasses two things near and dear to the left. Those two things are 1) their hate for George Bush and 2) their hate for our troops. As John Hawkins of RWN explains the left is currently using Blackwater as it's stand in whipping boy because it is too costly for them politically to show their hate for the troops right now. And as insane as this sort of poll and the responses seem it is very typical for DU. ~RJH Right Wing News article link The Democratic Underground Poll Of The Day: Bush & BlackwaterThis poll over at the Democratic Underground is an eye catcher,Poll question: Would Bush order Blackwater mercs to kill Americans to save his *ss from war crimes charges?You got to love this poll. It's a mixture of insane paranoia, Bush Dementia Syndrome, and an attack on the newest whipping boy on the left: Blackwater.The people who work for Blackwate
For obvious reasons, the location of the headquarters of Blackwater USA isn't well-publicized. Officially, the only public trace of the world's largest private military training facility is a post office box in Moyock, North Carolina, an unremarkable rib-shack pit-stop on the way to the Outer Banks. But the place isn't hard to find. From Washington, D.C., head south. As soon as you cross the state line, follow the sound of gunfire until you find an armed compound half the size of Manhattan. Which is not to say the place sticks out--it's just very, very big. Blackwater is a company most Americans first heard of when four of its contractors were murdered in Falluja, Iraq, in March 2004, and their bodies desecrated on camera. It is the most prominent of the private security contractors in Iraq. You might think of the North Carolina facility as Blackwater's Fort Benning or Quantico.Still largely subsumed by the swampland it occupies, the compound is mostly au naturel except for odd ai
Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square on Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the scene, where they found no evidence that Iraqis had fired weapons."It appeared to me they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. read more | digg story
Outrage doesn't even begin to describe this. A private mercenary army pulling guns on our real American soldiers? Eric Prince should be tried for treason. Disarming American troops in a war zone is definitely aiding the enemyread more | digg story
"With respect to Blackwater, we've allowed mercenaries to actually conduct combat operations, and we've never done this before," Webb said. "And they're doing this with no legal structure over them."read more | digg story
I should have saved this piece for Saturday Morning Confusion because I'm confused as hell. Th U.S. has got itself a nice little war going on in Iraq and how or why they got there is incidental to the point I would like to make.You got a war? You send in the army! Right?Then what is this crap with private security forces?First and most important is that an army would be a legal extension of a country's foreign policy and would be held accountable for their actions. Any gang of hired mercenaries they send in have none of these restraints on them and they would have carte-blanche to do whatever they wanted. Guess what!!!That is exactly what is happening and not only the Iraqi's but the rest of the world community are not amused. Murder and general mayhem are the "special of the day" in Iraq now that Blackwater has been let loose on the population.The methods of private security contractors in Iraq faced intensified scrutiny on Tuesday, as local police and government officials accused
During the House Oversight Committee hearing on October 2nd (watch it on C-SPAN) the founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, discussed a shooting that took place in December 2006. It was Christmas Eve and a Blackwater mercenary soldier (let's be honest -that's what he is) got hammered. In his drunken stupor, Andrew Moonan ended up shooting and killing a body guard of the Iraqi Vice President. During the testimony, Erik Prince told the committee that the murdering employee was fired, but he was not prosecuted by either the Iraqi or United States government, although the Justice Department was investigating the incident.Turns out the State Department (who has a contract with Blackwater) didn't inform the Department of Defense that this guy was a murderer. A little over two months later, in February 2007, another private military firm whose contract is with the Department of Defense hired the ex-Blackwater killer and sent him back overseas until August 2007. During this time, in April of 2
Well, well, well It is always interesting to see where the money leads. In this case, it is some of Hillarys closest associates. Thats a real shocker. [/sarcasm] What wont be a shocker though is when the left dismisses it as irrelevant. Now lets think back to the fits Democrats have had about Cheney and his past involvement with Halliburton. But thats different, right. If I have the time I will go DUmpster Diving at some of the lib sites to see what their talking points are on this. ~RJH The Hillary Project article link Blackwater Linked To HillaryThe company run by one of Hillary Clinton's top campaign officials has been providing public-relations services for Blackwater - the security firm, accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians, that has come under fire from Congress. Burson-Marsteller, run by Clinton pollster Mark Penn, has been representing the troubled security firm in the lead-up to congressional testimony this week in which top company officials defended their polici
The changes that Secretary Rice is putting into place are similar to what we already use for most police departments across the country. The addition of video cameras to patrol vehicles should go far to rein in the more aggressive Blackwater employees. Of course there will be instances of cameras 'just breaking for no apparent reason but in time they will get used to it. That is, if they are kept in place for any length of time. I can see this being done and then slowly, quietly, phased out after just a few months when the furor dies down a bit. ~RJH MyWay News article link Rice Issues New Rules for Blackwater By MATTHEW LEEWASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department has issued new guidelines to rein in and monitor Blackwater USA, the private contractor that provides heavily armed security for U.S. diplomats serving in Baghdad. Under orders issued by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, video cameras will be mounted in Blackwater vehicles and federal agents will ride with the securit
Blackwater USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Blackwater USA is a private military company, security firm and mercenary company, [1][2][3][4][5] founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. It is based in the U.S. state of North Carolina, where it operates a tactical training facility that it claims is the world's largest.The company trains more than 40,000 people a year, from all the military services and a variety of other agencies. The company markets itself as being "The most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world".Blackwater is currently the biggest of the US State Department's three private security contractors.[6] At least 90% of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts.[7] Operatives of Blackwater Security Consulting have raised significant controversy both through casualties suffered[8] and inflicted by their employees.[9]Corporate structur
George Bush is no doubt having yet another Homer Simpson moment. D’OH, indeed! Now everyone knows about Blackwater. That whole contract killer army thing was supposed be kept secret. Really, it hasn’t been a secret, if people would have been paying attention. The devil is in the details, as they say, and most of the [...]
A report released by the US Congress has accused Blackwater, a private security firm operating primarily in Iraq, of around 200 shootings since 2005 (in over 80% of the cases they opened fire first). One of the most infamous incidents occurred on September 16, when Blackwater employees killed eleven Iraqis in a Baghdad square, earning the firm the unanimous condemnation of the Iraqi government. In many such cases, justice has been fleeting. One example is the killing of a security guard to one of the Iraqi vice presidents. John M. Broder of the New York Times reports:"An official of the United States Embassy in Iraq suggested paying the slain bodyguard’s family $250,000, but a lower-ranking official said that such a high payment “could cause incidents with people trying to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family’s future.” Blackwater ultimately paid the dead man’s family $15,000. In another fatal shooting cited by the committee, an unidentified State Depa
An interesting USA Today editorial: Private ‘Rambos’ in Iraq warrant greater scrutiny
Last Christmas Eve, an American working for the private Blackwater security company in Iraq allegedly got into a drunken argument — and shot the guard of the Iraqi vice president dead. The American was hustled out of the country. No charges were filed.
Unusual? Not really. The United States employs tens of thousands of contractors in Iraq, including about 30,000 armed security guards. They are all but immune from prosecution. Blackwater personnel, who guard U.S. diplomats and others, are among the most visible and, by many accounts, obnoxious, with a tendency to wave guns as if in a Rambo movie.
The Christmas Eve shooting is one of many events that inform an Iraqi government threat — rescinded for now — to bar Blackwater from Iraq. The immediate reason is that Blackwater guards killed at least 11 people in a Baghdad neighborhood Sept. 16. The facts are in dispute, but the point is
Saturday’s edition of the News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, reported the U.S. Attorney’s office in Raleigh was engaged in an investigation of Blackwater USa regarding the illegal sale of stolen weapons. Two former Blackwater employees, William Ellsworth and Kenneth Cashwell are cooperating with federal investigators into the possibility that individuals working for Blackwater USA in Iraq were selling weapons to terrorists. The investigation began when the Pentagon and State Department officials were contacted by the Turkish government which seized guns from members of the Kurdish Workers Party whose serial numbers turned out to indicate they belonged to the U.S. army.
Both Ellsworth and Cashwell have already pleaded guilty to possessing weapons which they sold abroad. It may well be that Blackwater employees were stealing weapons from supply trucks and selling them to terrorist organizations. This episode highlights problems arising from using civilian compan
In May of this year, Blackwater USA was one of two hundred private security firms in Iran that were warned to be on guard against getting involved with a shoot out with Iraq forces. Lawrence Peter of the Private Security Service(PSC) sent a confidential memo to other security companies to be on guard against inappropriate responses in difficult situations. “I am concerned,” said the memo, “that there is now a serious risk of a PSC detail opening fire on a police detail should the situation not feel right. PSCs must be mindful of the rule of law and appropriate response to legitimate authority.”
The concept of privatizing military operations which now results in over 150,000 private citizens allowed to use weapons in Iraq was among the greatest mistakes of the Bush administration. They opened a can of worms which has now resulted in even less support for American among the Iraqi people. The very idea that 150,000 citizens can wander around with weapons and be exe
Blackwater Guards were acting as traffic cops. One guy slows down but doesn't completely stop when they want him to, so they open fire on his car. 8 people killed. Blackwater said they were ambushed. They lied. But it doesn’t really matter because there are no laws for Blackwater anyway. Blackwater is made up of guys who used to be our soldiers. But they no longer work for America. They do what Blackwater tells them to do because Blackwater gives them a lot more of our taxpayer money. It's also cool to go to war with immunity. No more pesky Uniform Code of Military Justice.This is an "American" company and these guys live and train here... in our country. The Executive branch has stolen our military and has created one of it’s own. It’s currently overseas, but if the Iraqi government can be strong enough to get rid of it in their country, Bush's self proclaimed "professional army" might be coming home. Military Commissions ActNSPD-51Executive Order allowing the sei
Security contractors have always been looked at with disdain by the left and this incident, whether true or not, is sure to fuel the fire. Seen as mercenaries that work outside of the law in countries like Iraq they are able to do tasks that our military cannot. Numerous times I have seen liberals complaining about security contractors such as Blackwater but it reminds me of the person that complains of killing animals but is happy to buy steaks from the butcher. They do not complain when Hillary Clinton kept safe and sound. I think it is just more of the same as how they detest the military. And that my friends is an easy one to understand: How small and insignificant must it make them feel when they see others willing to put their lives on the line to protect our freedom? They have nothing they value so dearly and yes it embarrasses them. All the noise about ending the war and bringing the troops home is about stopping people from doing heroic things that shows the left to be the c
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.read more | digg story
The Iraqi government expects to refer criminal charges to the Iraqi courts within days in the killing of at least eight Iraqis by a private American security company, the State Minister for National Security Affairs said today, and he complained that the government had received little cooperation in the investigation so far from American officials.read more | digg story
Blackwater working again in Iraq: an example of just how powerless the Maliki government in Iraq really is.
Four days after he banished Blackwater from the country for its crimes against civilians, well …
The US security firm Blackwater has resumed limited operations in the Iraqi capital Baghdad four days after a deadly shootout involving the company.
The company provides security to all US state department employees in Iraq.
It had been ordered by the Iraqi government too halt operations while a joint US-Iraqi inquiry was held.
A US embassy spokeswoman said the decision to allow Blackwater to resume work had been taken in consultation with the Iraqi government.
The spokeswoman, Mirembe Nantongo, said Blackwater operations would be limited to essential missions only outside Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone
Iraqi officials banned Blackwater from Iraq this week, ordering all of their employees to leave the country immediately due to 10-20 Iraqi's who died in an attack Sunday that the victims claim was unprovoked. Since then, Secretary of State Condi Rice has made a phone call to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and Blackwater's license is now "under review".Blackwater, and all the other private security companies that are operating in Iraq, represent a great injustice to our troops, considering private contractors are paid way more than our soldiers to take the same risk. These companies also represent a great injustice to Iraqi's, because there is nobody holding their employees accountable for the crimes they commit since private contractors exist in a legal black hole.Despite these facts, my biggest selfish fear is that the Iraqi officials actually succeed in kicking Blackwater out of their country. That would mean that Blackwater would be forced to make their money right here in the
Blackwater USA is the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world.Blackwater - Shadow ArmyBlackwater - Privatized Warfare in IraqBlackwater Commandos & U.S. SoldiersBlackwater - America's Private ArmyBlackwater - Mercenary Response (Part 1)Blackwater - Mercenary Response (part 2)
"Project Blackwater" started 2 months back. When I was approached to carry out the mission for "Project Blackwater", there was hesitation in my mind and in my heart. Not because I may be too busy with my own work and might not be able to afford the time but its due to certain personal issues..... Issues that dealt with sensitivity and issues of feelings.
So anyways, when Pato gave the green light for me proceed and ensure that I'm able to handle the mission without overloading myself, I embraced the task that was handed to me with much professionalism on taking care of my "client". It was kept in a hush to all and only made known recently when the time was suitable to do so.
What is "Project Blackwater"? It started with my dear cousin Rey and his darling fiancee meeting us at Swensons with a question - "Pearl, can you help with the wedding gifts arrangement and of course with Pato's blessing?" How can I turn down my dear cousin. And irregardless what may came out from
