- ‹ previous
- 678 of 8902
- next ›
Is Blackwater Too Big to Fail?
Erik Prince's security enterprise has a division for pretty much everything. Need planes or choppers? See Aviation Worldwide or Presidential Airways. A compliment of Colombian mercs? Greystone at your service. For-hire spooks? Total Intelligence Solutions—emphasis on total—is standing by. And for the super-double-secret covert work—the kind that the CIA keeps even Congress in the dark about—Prince has a division for that too. According to the New York Times, it's called Blackwater Select.
Building on its scoop that the company played a role in the CIA's abandoned program to assassinate Al Qaeda operatives, the Times reports today that this secret division also plays a part in the agency's predator drone program.
The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.
The role of the company in the Predator program highlights the degree to which the C.I.A. now depends on outside contractors to perform some of the agency’s most important assignments. And it illustrates the resilience of Blackwater, now known as Xe (pronounced Zee) Services, though most people in and outside the company still refer to it as Blackwater. It has grown through government work, even as it attracted criticism and allegations of brutality in Iraq.
-
Blackwater's Black Op
-
Blackwater's World of Warcraft
Need a private-label armored vehicle? A detachment of Chilean infantrymen? A special forces "engagement team"? Erik Prince's expanding global private army is at your service—and the war in Iraq was just the beginning.
-
Did Erik Prince Have Informants Whacked?
You'd think that after repeated controversies Prince's government clients would tire of the enduring PR nightmare and cut their ties. But they won't, because they can't. By many, the company is viewed as indispensable. This didn't happen by accident. It's long been Prince's business model. "Make yourself indispensable to the client, and you'll always have work," Prince is quoted as saying in Suzanne Simons' new book, Master of War.
Certainly the company didn't rise up from its modest origins to become a contracting behemoth without a lot of help. That is, if the company is indispensable, that's largely because we made it that way. The more jobs the government contracts out to Blackwater (and other industry players), the more the government loses the internal capacity to do them itself. Think of it this way: Blackwater operators were originally trained by the government to carry out the drone work. If the government decides it wants to assume this role again one day, will its personnel need to be trained by Blackwater?
It's not just about outsourcing—it's the kind of jobs that are being outsourced to Blackwater that raise questions. Writing in Time, ex-CIA officer Robert Baer points out:
It's one thing, albeit often misguided, for the agency to outsource certain tasks to contractors. It's quite another to involve a company like Blackwater in even the planning and training of targeted killings, akin to the CIA going to the mafia to draw up a plan to kill Castro.
I suspect that if the agreements are ever really looked into — rather than a formal contract, the CIA reportedly brokered individual deals with top company brass — we will find out that Blackwater's assassination work was more about bilking the U.S. taxpayer than it was killing Osama bin Laden or other al-Qaeda leaders. More than a few senior CIA officers retired from the CIA and went to work at Blackwater, the controversial private security shop now known as Xe Services. Not only did those officers presumably take their CIA Rolodexes with them out the door, but many probably didn't choose to leave until they had a lucrative new contract lined up. But more to the point, Blackwater stood no better chance of placing operatives in Pakistan's tribal areas, where the al-Qaeda leadership was hiding in 2004, than the CIA or the U.S. military did.
Still, whether by virtue of Blackwater's revolving door relationship with the CIA, or the agency's own manpower shortages, the company has now been entrusted with some of the intelligence community's most senstive work. Thanks to the Times, we now know more details about Blackwater's CIA work, but this likely represents a fraction of the covert contracts (or handshake agreements, as the case may be) the company and its affiliates have undertaken for the agency. Add in the many non-secret jobs these companies perform for the government, and it becomes hard to imagine the Obama administration extricating itself from its inherited relationship with Prince's companies even if it wanted to. In some ways, Prince's operation is the military world version of AIG—too big to fail.
Follow Daniel Schulman on Twitter.
Who protects President Calderon
Truly, we've seen proof of Prince's operation diffused through the Intel Community and the DOD, but how long will it be before Xe commandos protect the presidents of countries where corruption is too widespread to trust even the most stalwart soldiers? Mexico comes to mind. Who protects President Felipe Calderon? For now, it's a tightly-knit group of elite Mexican commandos, and pride should keep it that way. But I have to wonder about that nagging reality of pervasive corruption. It takes only one bad apple in that bunch to kill the president.
Xe commandos, Spanish-speaking mercs from Chile or Colombia, could get the job done. They are motivated by money and loyalty to the corporation. Train them in Mexican Spanish, some words from the local jargon, and they might even pass for local. Maybe.
There has been much ado about Xe's activities south of the border, but with little evidence to substantiate such claims. It's only a matter of time, however, before governments in Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras, begin to consider the benefits of employing private security to protect the commander in chief...
I agree with your main
I agree with your main comment, but I think it also applies to your "solution"- wouldn't mercenaries be even more corruptable?
Has anyone noticed that
Has anyone noticed that taking this scenario to its logical endpoint has an eerie resonance with the dystopic world represented in the movie "Aliens," (you know, the sequel to "Alien" with Sigourney Weaver) in which the premise is that everyone serves a shadowy entity called "The Company"? I can't be the only one . . . .
You forgot RoboCop
OCP IS THE MILITARY!!!!!!!
Problem is, with all this apparent privatization of government, how long before we end up with shares being issued and so forth, and once privatized, military/government/whatever, will that be Bush's dream come true, for the long run, hasta la vista, public accountability, so long, see ya later, public right to know, lift a couple chapters straight out of a Mel Gibson movie, what gives, there?
Klaatu marachas necktie
Is Blackwater Too Big to Fail?
"By many, the company is viewed as indispensable"
Of course it is God's Army -- onward Christian Soldiers in the Holy Christian Crusade against Islam --- only 23 % of the World's population.
Apparently the head of Blackwater is a Religious "wacko" connected to that other Religious "wacko" G.W.Bush.
Its time Americans awoke to all this Evangelical and other Christian nonsense tied up with Blackwater Bush and Tony Blair and their Holy Christian Crusade against Islam.
Wacko Bush tried to convince the President of France to get on board to invade Iraq by telling him the Gog Maygog Biblical prophesy stuff saying that the invasion was linked to prophetically via Gog and Maygog to the Iraq invasion.
It was some sort of Scary Doomsday scenario -- Do Americans know this ??????????
Its time for Atheists to call these "wackos" on all this "God" nonsense.
Anyone who thinks blackwater
Anyone who thinks blackwater is pushing a modern-day-Crusade agenda is insane. This is all about money and power between governmental entities. There is no religious bias to Blackwater"s agenda. They are mercenaries, they have no moral objections, and don't care how they make their money
Blackwater
Since this is the largest band of mercenaries -- mostly trained by US Miltary or Govt Agencies -- owing allegiance ONLY to the highest bidder we shouldn't be surprised when some other country hires them to take over the US. Since the Bush-Cheney-Rove-Rice- Rumsfeld Cabal gutted our Constitution and ran rampant over the citizenry it won't be very difficult for this to take place. Wait until the Capitalists wake up to automatic gun muzzles in their faces. It will be sardonically ironic.
In the words of James
In the words of James Madison:
"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."
I can only imagine what the founding fathers would have thought of the executive branch maintaining its own mercenary force that can carry out covert operations with little or no oversight and accountability to Congress or the American people. I guess we are just winging it from here on in and the Constitution and rule of law are simply trite pleasantries. Shame on Bush for entrenching this monstrosity, and equal shame on Obama for not immediately cancelling all contracts. Obviously, he is a fan of rebranding far more than of change...
Our Favorite Terrorists
Ironically, just before reading the MOJO article on Blackwater, I wrote the following:
What if you lived in a rural village in the Smoky Mountains and the (Afghanis, Iraquis... fill in the blank) thought Eric Prince, head of Blackwater death squads, was hiding out there.They blamed him for the deaths of many innocent civilians in their country. What if (fill in the blank) sent a remotely-guided "drone" to find your village and bomb it to rubble? What if innocent men, women and children were murdered or mangled in the raid? Would you call the (fill in the blank) cowards? Would you call the raid "Terrorism"?
This is the muscle, the fist, the jackboot....
What exactly is Blackwater (or "New and improved Xe!") if not the muscle, the fist, the jackboot of what has been called the "Shadow Government?"
What is the "Shadow Government", if not the unregulated, unrestricted and unlawful expression of corporate will, hiding behind a smokescreen of claims to "security" and "protection"?
Who can afford Blackwater/Xe, other than governments who have misappropriated money from the public coffers, or large multi-national corporations (like Blackwater itself) which can repress labor and local opposition and/or gain market-share by power, instead of paying the rice for negotiating freely with equals? If a labor union wanted to strike on the streets of Detroit, how would Blackwater differ from the Pinkertons in the past, unless you count on it being more mechanized, more brutal, more fatal, and more successful at crushing the have-nots?
The world Blackwater/Xe represents is not "Free-market," and is not "Privatization" - Blackwater/Xe represents the corporate entry need for a standing army-for-hire. They are the new millenium's version of the redcoats behind the East India Bay Trading Company. They protect the elites from the commoners. In Iraq, they killed those wo tried to fight against the invaders. In this sense, they are exactly what our ancestors fought against in 1776, King George III's 30,000 Hessians. Any notion that we can ignore it, that we can just happily ride along on the back of this alligator and not end up as lunch is beyond foolish. It took the battle of Trenton to get of the other George's mercenaries. What will it take this time?
Isn't Blackwater/Xe merely a thinly-veiled criminal enterprise, a collection of armed gangsters which operates freely within a "lawless sphere?" No laws apply to it - we saw that in Iraq. Blackwater/Xe can apparently be hired to do anything - recently they were bidding to perform assassinations. While Blackwater/Xe might perform "security" in some settings, we are as foolish to think this makes them legit, just as we would be to think the Mafia's Italian Restaurant makes the Mob into an honest enterprise.
They are, at the core, professional, for-hire hit-men and trained killers, waiting for your dollar. Coming soon to a protest or revolution near you...
over throw of the government
A reason we haven't had a coup in this country is the military under civilian government control. Blackwater is the perfect vehicle for the overthrow of our democratic government by right wing extremists. Prince has demonstrated his willingness to go beyond the law with his Blackwater corp. It's not to big to break up, it's to big not to break up.
Blackwater
Predator Leeches. Remember when 'Murder, Inc.' was a bad thing? - because the Mafia ran it, back then. I guess this is a step up for America, eh?
Lets not forget that it was
Lets not forget that it was Blackwater and US military that were sent to disarm the civilian population in New Orleans during Katrina. They simply broke into private homes, took their legally owned and registered weapons away and never returned them.
I'm not for crazee gun toting southerners, but these people came off as responsible and rather shattered that the govt authorized private contractor goons to confiscate private property by intimidation during a time of trouble.
This is a MUST SEE VIDEO - sure it happened under Bush, but as the article abopve oints out, Blackwater and the US Govt are deeply entwined .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsLjNUdEWc4&feature=PlayList&p=771EF14FA5...
I can only imagine what the
I can only imagine what the founding fathers would have thought of the executive branch maintaining its own mercenary force that can carry out covert operations with little or no oversight and accountability to Congress or the American people.
It's our very own foreign
It's our very own foreign Legion, just that simple!!!
Is Blackwater Too Big to Fail?
Glad you asked the question, because it is a natural response to what we see taking place!
There are many perplexing activities the government is doing contrary to the will of the American people.
So we should ask the obvious question: is there a shadow influence that is more powerful than the influence of the people, and if so, what is that shadow influence?
Progressive agenda for
Progressive agenda for 21st-century America
My Fellow Obama Forum Members. Yes, the election is over, but the work has just begun.We progressives should prepare once again to play our role as agents of bold ideas and political social transformation in the Midterm elections in which members of Congress, state legislatures, and some state governors are elected. We at the Obama Forum will have to reflect a belief in the need for change. We must support our party through charity, through volunteerism, local and state governments, though surely all have a role. We should argue that we need programs that serve our national and international needs and encourage faith in our public institutions, creating a positive cycle of political change and space for further reform, advocate for true reform of our tax system so that everyone pays their fair share.
We at the Obama Forum should reach out to recruit new members who share our goals and want to join our fight. Our movement lies in being an unapologetic champion for progressive ideas. Finding new confidence and imagination, we have begun to renew our political capital. Praise Obama Brothers!
__________________
For struggle, Solidarity and Socialism! I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Obama. Our laws and his will, according to him. We will not overthrow the government with violence. We shall stand, remain and be the law of his realm forever. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead for Obama to deliver them from evil.
http://www.theobamaforum.com/index.php
Up and running
Well looks like the secret society army is up and and running alls it took was a skull and bones man in office who's agenda Was a secret society agenda and a false war in Iraq and a false war on terror. WAKE UP people we've been hijacked by secret society agenda. And Liz Cheney has been on Tv bragging about it calling it The New Global Order those are her words not mine.The last 8 years has been a true witness to this with the Bush and Cheney regime dictatorship stepping on the constitution like it ai'nt real and means nothing.Blackwater is there army and soon will be kicking down doors in america.Ever since this country began most of our presidents have been freemason or involved in some secret society.And I dare you to deny this claim when there is documented evidence of what I am saying.One day your going WAKE UP lets hope its not to late....!
So...how do we know you're not one of....THEM?
I mean, it sounds like you know so much about this, so, ARE you....one of....THEM?
LOL
Klaatu marachas necktie
Necessary Evil?
Not trying to defend some of the horrible things some of their employees might have done in Iraq but Blackwater or whatever the name they changed themselves to right now might be a necessary evil.
The army is stretched thin right now. However it doesn't mean that they should be nearly immune from prosecution and be above the law.
Here's a scary thought
Blackwater replaces the military and intelligence communities in our country COMPLETELY leaving nobody to stop them from taking over the government.
Stay in Business
What's to keep BW from giving away (or even selling) arms to whoever in order drum up business when things are slow? I'm sure that's another business division.
I believe that a government
I believe that a government shouldn't do anything a private company can do well.
That said, I believe that military is one of the few things why ("we the") people come together and form a government.
I believe Machiavelli had a thing or two to say about private armies too. Go check it out.
Other than corruption -- transfer of taxpayer money into private hands by unethical means -- another reason for this outsourcing of military operations is PR. If the thing blows up (dead civilians and such), you can always "break the contract" and you (US Gov) come off clean ("we never told them to do that"). Much safer this way if you know that it's gonna get ugly.
Steriods
In the box they call those micro brains "team anabol" they go to Jordan get all the juice they can shoot and get jacked up on each other and roids.
I pitty the police departments that take these guys back into the law enforcement community.
From my experience nothing
From my experience nothing is too big to fail, everything is possible!
-especially after what they did in Iraq.
Misinformation
tagged as:- result
There is an astounding amount of misinformation about Blackwater out there. I know because I was employed by them for just over four years. Those who would suggest that these men would do as they're told for the "highest bidder" are gravely mistaken. These are warriors who believe in their cause and believe in their country above all else (even money). They simply see an opportunity to do the type of work that lured them into the military ALL of the time, rather than SOME of the time.
What you never hear about are the thousands of successful missions that Blackwater has run. These do not garner any press. No one complains about this as they are just doing their job.
I agree that it is a shame that the taxpayer has to foot the bill to hire these organizations to do what their own military should be doing. But that is the way things are. Erik Prince is an extraordinary person merely capitalizing on a countries' unwillingness to do it's own dirty work.
Veterans
It never seems to be pointed out that most of BW's operators are veterans of the Armed Forces, and fiercely loyal and patriotic to the United States. Sorry not everyone becomes a pilot, and then after having served, flies commercially for six figures a year. What else would you expect a pipe hitter to do after leaving the uniform?
As for all the complaints of Bush and Blackwater, I have yet to read of one with Obama and Triple Canopy.
You Americans are pretty
You Americans are pretty disgusting.