Blackwater

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Meet the New Blackwater, Same as the Old Blackwater

New contractor may hire the same people

(Newser) - The military contractor known as Xe—and far better known as the former Blackwater—has changed little more than its name, NPR reports. Despite having said it's leaving the international security business, Xe recently extended its deal with the State Department to fly protective missions in Iraq. And as another...

Blackwater Guards Keeping Iraq Jobs

Loss of contract means many guards will just change uniforms

(Newser) - Blackwater is getting kicked out of Iraq but not all of its workers will be leaving with the shamed company, the New York Times reports. The Iraq government refused to renew the security firm's license after its guards were repeatedly accused of using excessive force but many, if not most,...

Blackwater Founder Steps Down as CEO

Now called Xe, security company regroups, changes focus

(Newser) - Blackwater Security founder Erik Prince stepped down today as CEO of the private security company he built into one of the world's most respected—only to see it become reviled for a 2007 Baghdad massacre in which his testimony incurred congressional wrath, the AP reports. Prince expressed pride in Blackwater,...

Blackwater Ditches Name, Attempts to Change Image

Firm renames itself Xe; will focus on training and logistics support

(Newser) - Private security firm Blackwater Worldwide is hoping to shed some of the controversy that has dogged it since its bloody tenure in Iraq by renaming itself Xe (pronounced “Zee”), the AP reports. Besides the name change, the firm has altered the focus of its business from contracting out...

US Flushes Blackwater Contract
US Flushes Blackwater Contract
Jan 31, 2009 2:58 AM CST

US Flushes Blackwater Contract

State Dept. calls renewal 'moot' after Iraq denies operating license

(Newser) - The State Department said Friday it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May. A department spokeswoman said the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate, amid lingering outrage over a 2007 shooting...

Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract
 Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract 
Jan 29, 2009 7:00 AM CST

Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract

Official: 'They have a bad history'

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has refused to grant Blackwater a license to continue its security work in the country, the New York Times reports. The controversial firm probably won’t exit the country at least until spring, as the US and Iraq work on rules for private contractors. “There are...

Fire Blackwater: State Dept. Panel

Security firm's contract should not be renewed, advisory group says

(Newser) - The US military should stop using contractors from Blackwater Worldwide, concludes a report by a State Department advisory panel, obtained by the AP. In light of numerous allegations of violent misconduct, Blackwater’s contract to defend American diplomats should not be renewed when it expires next year, the panel recommends....

Tired of Pirate Attacks? Time to Call Blackwater

US forces aren't coming, Shippers need to hire their own army

(Newser) - Somali hijackers have free rein around the Horn of Africa, and neither the US nor any other nation has a prayer of stopping them with their ineffectual patrols. What to do? Call in the troops—or, more precisely, the fomer troops, writes Peter Hannaford in the American Spectator. Namely, Blackwater....

Guard: Blackwater Baghdad Massacre Was Unprovoked

Chilling details emerge in indictments of five guards in deaths of 17 Iraqis

(Newser) - Five guards working for the Blackwater security company in Baghdad opened fire without provocation and massacred Iraqi civilians on a busy Baghdad intersection in 2007, according to chilling indictments filed against the men. The guards, protecting a convoy, used automatic weapons and grenade launchers to fire on cars, houses, a...

Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter

(Newser) - Five former Blackwater guards involved in a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead turned themselves in today and were charged with voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and using firearms in the commission of a crime, CNN reports. The men, all in their 20s, were arraigned in Salt Lake City...

Facing Charges, 5 Blackwater Guards to Surrender

Sixth working on plea in '07 Baghdad massacre

(Newser) - Five ex-Blackwater security guards will surrender to the FBI tomorrow after indictments in a 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqis, CNN reports. A sixth is negotiating a plea. Blackwater says its former workers were responding to an attack, but an Iraqi probe called the incident “premeditated murder.” The...

5 Blackwater Guards Charged in Shooting

(Newser) - Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted and a sixth was negotiating a plea with prosecutors for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents, people close to the case said today. Prosecutors obtained the indictment late yesterday and had it...

Contractors in Iraq Could Be Charged for Old Incidents

Charges Could Loom for Contractors in Old Iraq Disputes

(Newser) - Iraq may be able to prosecute US contractors for misdeeds committed when they were thought to be operating under American immunity, McClatchy reports. The new security pact doesn’t block such retroactive legal action, news that came as a surprise to Blackwater, whose contractors have been involved in the most...

Blackwater Faces Hefty Fine for Iraq Gun Violations

Contractor shipped firearms without permit; some may now be on black market

(Newser) - The government will hit security firm Blackwater USA with a multimillion-dollar fine for shipping hundreds of unauthorized guns to Iraq, McClatchy reports. A lengthy State Department investigation has concluded that the security contractor shipped some 900 weapons to the country—some of which likely wound up on the black market—...

Blackwater Steps Up to Take on Somali Pirates

Offers its services in battling piracy epidemic

(Newser) - As Somalia seeks private help in battling its piracy problem, security contractor Blackwater has offered its services, Wired reports. “As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALs, with a 50,000-person database of former military and law enforcement professionals, Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping...

Blackwater Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Shooting

Prosecutors target 6 in Sept. incident

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors are close to seeing indictments against some of the Blackwater security guards linked to the shooting in Baghdad last September that left 17 civilians dead, the Washington Post reports. Target letters have gone out to six Blackwater contractors, sources tell the Post, indicating a high likelihood that the...

US Firm Calls for Islamic Law in Lawsuit

Blackwater boss seeks Sharia law to dodge Afghan plane crash suit

(Newser) - An American firm blamed for the death of three US soldiers in a plane crash has asked a federal court to apply Islamic law to a lawsuit brought by their widows, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. Presidential Airways, Blackwater's sister company, argues that since its plane crashed in Afghanistan,...

Iraqi Official Calls Blackwater Deal 'Bad News'

PM's adviser warns Baghdad may challenge contract

(Newser) - An Iraqi official called the renewal of Blackwater USA's contract "bad news" today, CNN reports. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis," said the adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. With many in Baghdad upset about it,...

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

 Feds Renew
 Blackwater Deal 
Apr 4, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

FBI still probing incident that left 17 Iraqis dead

(Newser) - Washington renewed Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract for another year today pending two probes into the contractor's conduct in Iraq, the AP reports. The FBI is still investigating a Baghdad shooting last year in which Blackwater guards gunned down 17 civilians and sparked outrage among Iraqis; US lawmakers are also probing...

Blackwater Probers Return to Baghdad

Feds investigate massacre that killed 17, seek trial in US

(Newser) - Federal authorities investigating the Blackwater shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead will revisit the scene of the massacre this week. Prosecutors from the Justice Department have already arrived in Baghdad, to be joined by inspectors from the FBI. But the inquiry has been hamstrung by the American government's promise...

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