Posted by Erin Rosa - August 24, 2010 at 8:10 pm
US State Department Claims Blackwater Corporation Gave Military Training in Colombia Without Agency's Permission
Blackwater, a corporation that specializes in providing military-style training and support to other businesses and governments, recently entered into a $42 million civil settlement with the State Department this month after the agency found that the company violated international arms trafficking and export regulations no less than 288 times.
The settlement is mainly focused on the company's business dealings in Iraq and Afghanistan, but within a 41-page document (PDF) of the State Department's findings on the case, the agency also claims that Blackwater provided at least one unauthorized military training in Colombia in 2005, allegedly in violation of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
According to the findings, Blackwater (which changed its name to Xe Services in 2009 after earning an ugly reputation for its mercenary work in Iraq) provided “military training to foreign persons from Colombia” before “obtaining required authorizations” through the State Department.
The company failed to get approval of what is called a DSP-5 license, which specifies key details (PDF) about trainings that are to be conducted abroad, the findings say. This fact was not confirmed by the State Department until the agency sent out "disclosure requests" to Blackwater in October 2008, according to the State Department document. Such a license would describe the location and subject of the training.
What is known is that the 2005 training was related to an agreement between Blackwater and the agency in Colombia, where “foreign persons were trained and deployed as third-country nationals in support of a contract with the US Department of State.” Blackwater responded to the State Department by stating that the training was held without the agency's permission due to a “general misunderstanding” over licensing, although the department notes that there were many violations committed while Blackwater was “servicing US Government programs or providing training to US allies.”
Also in the document, under the heading “Unauthorized export of technical data and provision of defense services involving Military/Security training (conducted internationally),” the State Department goes into more detail about the training, stating that “between April 2005 and May 2005” Blackwater “without authorization provided security training to Colombian foreign persons.”
The details of this “unauthorized” training are made more disturbing when considering how the Colombian military and paramilitaries in the country continue to participate in well-documented human rights abuses, including assassinations, massacres, and political intimidation, mostly by using the drug war or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in Spanish initials) guerillas as an excuse.
There were “aggravating factors in determining what charges to pursue” according to the agency document, including the findings that Blackwater's “historic inability to comply with ITAR controls were systemic failings,” when considering “the frequency and nature of [the company's] violations.”
In other words, the revelation that Blackwater was actively training forces in Colombia, and the fact that the company allegedly went rogue on the State Department to provide an unauthorized military training to unspecified forces in Colombia, raises more serious human rights questions for a corporation that is still considered to be one of the US government's top contractors.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Foreign mercs must leave, Karzai says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the United States and its allies to stop supporting private security companies, saying the activities of these firms aggravate the country's problems.
Karzai made the remarks in Kabul on Saturday during a visit to the Afghan Civil Service Institute, which is training thousands of civil servants in the capital and across the nation to bolster the capacity of the Afghan government, AP reported.
“To help strengthen the Afghan government, the US and NATO should eliminate private security companies,” Karzai said, adding that their presence is "intolerable" since they have created a security structure that undermines the police and the army.
"Afghan or foreign companies, there are some 30,000 to 40,000 people in these security companies," he noted.
"They have created security problems for us, whoever is working in these private security companies, they are not working for the benefit of Afghan national interests… If they really want to be at the service of Afghans, they should join the Afghan National Police," Karzai added.
"Very urgently and seriously we want... the foreigners to stop creating private security companies," the Afghan president said, adding, "we cannot tolerate these companies, which are like a parallel structure with our forces. We cannot have police, army and — at the same time — another force as private security companies."
Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies in Afghanistan, including the notorious US security firm Xe Services LLC — formerly known as Blackwater.
Private security guards are operating in the country with absolutely no supervision by the Afghan government.
Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors of operating like militias, saying that the firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan.
Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and have been accused of being partly responsible for the rise in civilian casualties in the country.
In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.
The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.
Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.
Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.
The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.
Karzai made the remarks in Kabul on Saturday during a visit to the Afghan Civil Service Institute, which is training thousands of civil servants in the capital and across the nation to bolster the capacity of the Afghan government, AP reported.
“To help strengthen the Afghan government, the US and NATO should eliminate private security companies,” Karzai said, adding that their presence is "intolerable" since they have created a security structure that undermines the police and the army.
"Afghan or foreign companies, there are some 30,000 to 40,000 people in these security companies," he noted.
"They have created security problems for us, whoever is working in these private security companies, they are not working for the benefit of Afghan national interests… If they really want to be at the service of Afghans, they should join the Afghan National Police," Karzai added.
"Very urgently and seriously we want... the foreigners to stop creating private security companies," the Afghan president said, adding, "we cannot tolerate these companies, which are like a parallel structure with our forces. We cannot have police, army and — at the same time — another force as private security companies."
Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies in Afghanistan, including the notorious US security firm Xe Services LLC — formerly known as Blackwater.
Private security guards are operating in the country with absolutely no supervision by the Afghan government.
Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors of operating like militias, saying that the firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan.
Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and have been accused of being partly responsible for the rise in civilian casualties in the country.
In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.
The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.
Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.
Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.
The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Buying Blackwater
By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch
Earlier this month, Xe Services, LLC, the latest re-branded name of the company that was once known as Blackwater Worldwide, announced that the company was up for sale. The announcement that Xe was seeking new ownership came somewhat as a surprise to industry insiders both in favor of and critical of the company, especially considering Blackwater’s seemingly amazing ability to withstand the yearly toll of accidents, mishaps and misconduct that has since earned it a highly negative reputation throughout the world.
While the specific reason for the decision to sell has not been given, founder, owner and former CEO Erik Prince said in an interview with the Associated Press that “Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics,” and cited the constant criticism of the company as one factor that moved him to the decision.
But much of the criticism of Blackwater that developed over the years was not unwarranted. Indeed, the timeline of the company’s activities that earned Prince millions is generously peppered with events that, in return, earned his company a reputation as an extremely secretive, wildly aggressive, profit-motivated, scandalous private military that had become too entrenched in US national security.
All 'merc'-andise must go!
With the announcement of the sale, Xe has since opened two retail stores, which could be an attempt to sell off the remainder of its commercial merchandise to the public. At the Blackwater Pro Shop, one can purchase everything from Blackwater logo-clad hats, t-shirts, pilsner glasses and mousepads to glock holsters, various knives and rifles that can be customized.
Aside from its retail merchandise, however, the fate of Xe’s other companies remain unclear. Prince still owns the US Training Center, a collection of three training compounds throughout the US. It also manages Greystone, Ltd, a division of Blackwater used to attract foreign clients and recruit foreign personnel. Prince also owns a host of other companies such as Total Intel Solutions, an intelligence-gathering firm, and according to one report, also owns “a construction company, Raven Development and Paravant, which has been used as a shell company to win training contracts in Afghanistan.”
A former Blackwater executive told ISN Security Watch that Total Intelligence Solutions was “shut down” sometime at the end of May or beginning of June of this year because it was “not profitable.”
In a Vanity Fair article published last December—a piece regarded by some as a form of graymail—Prince stated he once entertained the idea of deploying “a ship—complete with security personnel, doctors, helicopters, medicine, food and fuel—[to be stationed] off the coast of Africa to provide ‘relief with teeth’ to the continent’s trouble spots or to curb piracy off Somalia.” The next month, Xe’s only maritime ship, the McArthur, was put up for sale in Spain at a discount of $3.7 million.
Two months later, Xe sold its aviation division, Aviation Worldwide Services, to AAR Corp for $200 million, “despite a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by families of three soldiers killed in Afghanistan, when one of the company's helicopters slammed into a mountainside in 2004.” A report at MarketWatch.com noted that “An Army investigation of the crash blamed it on ‘poor navigation and decision-making,’ according to press reports at the time.”
According to a former company executive, Blackwater tried to sell at least one-third of its holdings as far back as 2007 when it was in negotiations with investment giant, Cerberus; eventually talks stagnated and the purchase never occurred. Some industry experts, however, are not surprised. In a post on his website’s message board, journalist and traveler Robert Young Pelton, who was once embedded with Blackwater contractors in Baghdad, commented, “Erik has always been trying to sell Blackwater, even before [the Nisour Square shootings] killed that idea.”
“The sale was inevitable,” the former executive told ISN Security Watch, later explaining that once Prince and former CEO Gary Jackson stepped down, leadership and management of the company took a nosedive. Jackson and four other former company executives were indicted last April on felony weapons charges from a 2008 raid that found the officials had taken part in activities to hide gifts of weapons to the king of Jordan.
“There was no hope it was going to survive,” the former employee told ISN Security Watch, “The business is worth maybe one-fifth of what it once was.” According to the source, Prince’s decision to sell occurred approximately eight months ago when “the bankers started coming around for their money.”
Take the money and run
The former executive went on to explain to ISN Security Watch that Xe’s most likely buyers would include Cerberus, technology giant AECOM, or even large land developers, one of which has reportedly made an offer to Prince to buy the land upon which the US Training Centers sit.
Since the announcement that Xe was being placed on the market, it was revealed that Prince is planning a move to the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this month, a report by Jeremy Scahill in The Nation wrote, “If Prince's rumored future move is linked to concerns over possible indictment, the United Arab Emirates would be an interesting choice for a new home—particularly because it does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.”
Essentially, the UAE would be a perfect place for Prince to move if there were concerns that actions could be taken against him by US prosecutors, or even to “liquidate major holdings so he can move his money offshore […] in advance of possible claims by victims of Blackwater violence.” Blackwater has previously moved funds offshore through Prince’s Greystone, a “wholly-owned offshore company.”
Prince’s book titled We Are Blackwater was set for release in 2008 but was delayed for unknown reasons. He is reportedly gearing up to release a book this fall.
Jody Ray Bennett is a freelance writer and academic researcher. His areas of analysis include the private military and security industry, the materialization of non-state forces and the transformation of modern warfare
Earlier this month, Xe Services, LLC, the latest re-branded name of the company that was once known as Blackwater Worldwide, announced that the company was up for sale. The announcement that Xe was seeking new ownership came somewhat as a surprise to industry insiders both in favor of and critical of the company, especially considering Blackwater’s seemingly amazing ability to withstand the yearly toll of accidents, mishaps and misconduct that has since earned it a highly negative reputation throughout the world.
While the specific reason for the decision to sell has not been given, founder, owner and former CEO Erik Prince said in an interview with the Associated Press that “Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics,” and cited the constant criticism of the company as one factor that moved him to the decision.
But much of the criticism of Blackwater that developed over the years was not unwarranted. Indeed, the timeline of the company’s activities that earned Prince millions is generously peppered with events that, in return, earned his company a reputation as an extremely secretive, wildly aggressive, profit-motivated, scandalous private military that had become too entrenched in US national security.
All 'merc'-andise must go!
With the announcement of the sale, Xe has since opened two retail stores, which could be an attempt to sell off the remainder of its commercial merchandise to the public. At the Blackwater Pro Shop, one can purchase everything from Blackwater logo-clad hats, t-shirts, pilsner glasses and mousepads to glock holsters, various knives and rifles that can be customized.
Aside from its retail merchandise, however, the fate of Xe’s other companies remain unclear. Prince still owns the US Training Center, a collection of three training compounds throughout the US. It also manages Greystone, Ltd, a division of Blackwater used to attract foreign clients and recruit foreign personnel. Prince also owns a host of other companies such as Total Intel Solutions, an intelligence-gathering firm, and according to one report, also owns “a construction company, Raven Development and Paravant, which has been used as a shell company to win training contracts in Afghanistan.”
A former Blackwater executive told ISN Security Watch that Total Intelligence Solutions was “shut down” sometime at the end of May or beginning of June of this year because it was “not profitable.”
In a Vanity Fair article published last December—a piece regarded by some as a form of graymail—Prince stated he once entertained the idea of deploying “a ship—complete with security personnel, doctors, helicopters, medicine, food and fuel—[to be stationed] off the coast of Africa to provide ‘relief with teeth’ to the continent’s trouble spots or to curb piracy off Somalia.” The next month, Xe’s only maritime ship, the McArthur, was put up for sale in Spain at a discount of $3.7 million.
Two months later, Xe sold its aviation division, Aviation Worldwide Services, to AAR Corp for $200 million, “despite a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by families of three soldiers killed in Afghanistan, when one of the company's helicopters slammed into a mountainside in 2004.” A report at MarketWatch.com noted that “An Army investigation of the crash blamed it on ‘poor navigation and decision-making,’ according to press reports at the time.”
According to a former company executive, Blackwater tried to sell at least one-third of its holdings as far back as 2007 when it was in negotiations with investment giant, Cerberus; eventually talks stagnated and the purchase never occurred. Some industry experts, however, are not surprised. In a post on his website’s message board, journalist and traveler Robert Young Pelton, who was once embedded with Blackwater contractors in Baghdad, commented, “Erik has always been trying to sell Blackwater, even before [the Nisour Square shootings] killed that idea.”
“The sale was inevitable,” the former executive told ISN Security Watch, later explaining that once Prince and former CEO Gary Jackson stepped down, leadership and management of the company took a nosedive. Jackson and four other former company executives were indicted last April on felony weapons charges from a 2008 raid that found the officials had taken part in activities to hide gifts of weapons to the king of Jordan.
“There was no hope it was going to survive,” the former employee told ISN Security Watch, “The business is worth maybe one-fifth of what it once was.” According to the source, Prince’s decision to sell occurred approximately eight months ago when “the bankers started coming around for their money.”
Take the money and run
The former executive went on to explain to ISN Security Watch that Xe’s most likely buyers would include Cerberus, technology giant AECOM, or even large land developers, one of which has reportedly made an offer to Prince to buy the land upon which the US Training Centers sit.
Since the announcement that Xe was being placed on the market, it was revealed that Prince is planning a move to the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this month, a report by Jeremy Scahill in The Nation wrote, “If Prince's rumored future move is linked to concerns over possible indictment, the United Arab Emirates would be an interesting choice for a new home—particularly because it does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.”
Essentially, the UAE would be a perfect place for Prince to move if there were concerns that actions could be taken against him by US prosecutors, or even to “liquidate major holdings so he can move his money offshore […] in advance of possible claims by victims of Blackwater violence.” Blackwater has previously moved funds offshore through Prince’s Greystone, a “wholly-owned offshore company.”
Prince’s book titled We Are Blackwater was set for release in 2008 but was delayed for unknown reasons. He is reportedly gearing up to release a book this fall.
Jody Ray Bennett is a freelance writer and academic researcher. His areas of analysis include the private military and security industry, the materialization of non-state forces and the transformation of modern warfare
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
BLACKWATER, US MILITARY WORKING FOR TALIBAN DRUG LORDS
Sunday, 27 June 2010 10:20
According to The Daily Mail’s investigations, Maulvi Fazaluallah is spotted residing in Kamdesh district of Nooristan along with 300 militants and other middle level Commanders. These finding also disclose that Maulvi Fazlullah had remained under treatment in a medical facility under US troops in Bagram airbase before he returned to Kamdesh district.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate further that it is the same area where US troops vacated their posts with the intention of allowing the fleeing Pakistani militants space to regroup. His escape was made possible with the active support of the Afghan intelligence, financially supported by Indian Intelligence agency R&AW and executed by the operatives of Xe-Services while the Xe-Services also work for the Afghan drug mafia and warlords.
The Daily Mail’s investigations further reveal that similarly, the other militant Commander of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan Qari Hussain surfaced in Afghanistan soon after the launching of operation “Rah-e-Nijat” . These findings reveal that the Blackwaters or the Xe-Services even used the choppers to evacuate the top militant to Afghanistan. According to credible sources in South Waziristan (Pakistan’s tribal area) who requested not to be named, few helicopters were seen entering Pakistan territory from neighbouring Afghan province of Paktia, close to Pak-Afghan border which landed on Pakistani soil and evacuated Qari Hussain and a few others, then departed immediately towards Afghanistan. Some other sources have also reported spotting foreign helicopters in the area while the locals, when contacted also confirmed to have witnessing landing, take off and flying of helicopters in the aerial direction of the bordering Afghan province of Paktika and Paktia. A notable of Makeen (Resident), Abdul Samad Khan who attended local Jirga in area close to the border and stayed there for a few days, revealed that since start of military operation in South Waziristan, the helicopters traffic of USA/Afghan Government had increased manifold in the war zone for unknown reasons.
It is worth mentioning here that the US troops vacated posts in Paktika at the crucial time when operation “Rah-e-Nijat” was progressing well, again thus allowing fleeing militants space on Afghan soil to regroup and escape capture.
DAILY MAIL: BLACKWATER, US MILITARY WORKING FOR TALIBAN DRUG LORDS
January 23, 2010 posted by Gordon Duff · 33 Comments
BLACKWATER/XE ACCUSED OF COMPLICITY IN TERRORISM AND WAR AGAINST US TROOPS
TOP TALIBAN MILITANTS RECEIVE MEDICAL CARE AT BAGRAM AIR FORCE BASE
From Sabrina Elkhani & Steve Nelson
Introduction and Editorial note: Gordon Duff, Senior Editor Veterans Today
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been briefed by the Pakistani Military High Command that they are being overwhelmed by highly trained and extremely well armed militants in the border regions and terrorists operating across the country. We have been told by the highest sources that Blackwater/Xe and other US based mercenary groups have been actively attacking police, military and intelligence organizations in Pakistan as part of operations under employment of the Government of India and their allies in Afghanistan, the drug lords, whose followers make up the key components of the Afghan army.
Investigations referenced in the Pakistan Daily Mail by abrina Elkani and Steve Nelson indicate that, rather than hunt terrorists who have been killing Americans, these groups have actually taken key militant leaders into Afghanistan where they are kept safe and even offered medical treatment by the United States military. Years ago, we all heard the rumor that Osama bin Laden had received care at a US hospital in Qatar after leaving Sudan to take over what we claim was the planning of 9/11. FBI transcripts verify that bin Laden, according to testimony by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, was working for the US at that time and had maintained contact with his CIA handlers through the fateful summer of 2001.
The Army of Pakistan has been regularly capturing advanced weapons of Indian manufacture from militants in the border region. India maintains 17 “consular” camps inside Pakistan, near the border, adjacent to Blackwater facilities, falsely designated as CIA or USAID stations. Pakistan claims these operations train Taliban soldiers and terrorists for operations against civilian targets in Pakistan. Thousands have died in Pakistan over recent months during these attacks. Pakistan also contents these same groups are, not only fighting the Pakistan military but the Americans as well.
General Stanley McChrystal had withdrawn American forces from key areas in Afghanistan across from enemy held regions under attack by the Army of Pakistan. We are now told that this allowed those areas to become safe havens for forces formerly operating in Pakistan, who are now enjoying the freedom and hospitality of, not only Afghanistan but are being ignored by the NATO forces in the region.
The untold story is the massive complicity of Americans with their private airline, now suspected in yet another war, not Vietnam, not Central America/Iran Contra but Afghanistan, for a third time, of smuggling narcotics. The pattern is impossible to ignore.
Read the list of accusations. Note that many of them have been corroborated from 5 or more sources already:
From Sabrina Elkhani & Steve Nelson
NKabul—While the Pakistan government continues to deny that the infamous private army of the United States, known as the Blackwaters or the Xe Services, Islamabad would defiantly be having no answer if questioned that in that case, how is it always possible for deeply injured, half dead commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan etc, manage to be evacuated safely to US-run military facilities in Afghanistan after being hit hard back in the tribal belts of Pakistan and started resurfacing in the country where thousands of US led NATO/ISAF troops are apparently engaged in “Hot Pursuit” of the same militant elements, at least two such cases have recently surfaced, reveal the findings of The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail’s findings reveal that at least 2 most wanted militant, being persuaded by the Pakistan Defence Forces in the tribal belt that connects the nuke powered Pakistan with the war ravaged Afghanistan, after being badly hit by the Pakistani troops, managed to get evacuated to Afghanistan in very safe and composed manner.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that the 2 Most Wanted militant Commanders including Maulvi Fazlullah and Qari Hussain were earlier reported to have been seriously injured during Pakistan Army’s anti militancy operation, code-named “Operation Rah-e-Rast” and their hideouts were destroyed by law enforcing agencies in Swat, were secretly taken to Afghanistan by the operatives of Blackwater’s or the Xe-Service and have recently surfaced in Afghanistan.
According to The Daily Mail’s investigations, Maulvi Fazaluallah is spotted residing in Kamdesh district of Nooristan along with 300 militants and other middle level Commanders. These finding also disclose that Maulvi Fazlullah had remained under treatment in a medical facility under US troops in Bagram airbase before he returned to Kamdesh district.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate further that it is the same area where US troops vacated their posts with the intention of allowing the fleeing Pakistani militants space to regroup. His escape was made possible with the active support of the Afghan intelligence, financially supported by Indian Intelligence agency R&AW and executed by the operatives of Xe-Services while the Xe-Services also work for the Afghan drug mafia and warlords.
The Daily Mail’s investigations further reveal that similarly, the other militant Commander of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan Qari Hussain surfaced in Afghanistan soon after the launching of operation “Rah-e-Nijat” . These findings reveal that the Blackwaters or the Xe-Services even used the choppers to evacuate the top militant to Afghanistan. According to credible sources in South Waziristan (Pakistan’s tribal area) who requested not to be named, few helicopters were seen entering Pakistan territory from neighbouring Afghan province of Paktia, close to Pak-Afghan border which landed on Pakistani soil and evacuated Qari Hussain and a few others, then departed immediately towards Afghanistan. Some other sources have also reported spotting foreign helicopters in the area while the locals, when contacted also confirmed to have witnessing landing, take off and flying of helicopters in the aerial direction of the bordering Afghan province of Paktika and Paktia. A notable of Makeen (Resident), Abdul Samad Khan who attended local Jirga in area close to the border and stayed there for a few days, revealed that since start of military operation in South Waziristan, the helicopters traffic of USA/Afghan Government had increased manifold in the war zone for unknown reasons.
It is worth mentioning here that the US troops vacated posts in Paktika at the crucial time when operation “Rah-e-Nijat” was progressing well, again thus allowing fleeing militants space on Afghan soil to regroup and escape capture.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that the Xe-Services were also tasked to evacuate many RAW sponsored militants from the Balochistan province of Pakistan and all these “evacuated” militants and separatists are being dubbed as “missing people” by their families and courts back in Pakistan. These findings indicate that around three thousand, “evacuated” Pakistanis are being trained further by the operatives of RAW and the personnel of India’s Military Intelligence that are present in Afghanistan for more than five years. These findings further elaborate that RAW’s Special Operations Division Chief Chhota Rajan is personally supervising the training and facilitation process. These findings indicate that the evacuated militants are later reorganized and trained further at different camps that are being run under the joint supervision of Chhota Rajan and a senior Indian MI officer with the rank of Major General.
According to The Daily Mail’s investigations, Maulvi Fazaluallah is spotted residing in Kamdesh district of Nooristan along with 300 militants and other middle level Commanders. These finding also disclose that Maulvi Fazlullah had remained under treatment in a medical facility under US troops in Bagram airbase before he returned to Kamdesh district.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate further that it is the same area where US troops vacated their posts with the intention of allowing the fleeing Pakistani militants space to regroup. His escape was made possible with the active support of the Afghan intelligence, financially supported by Indian Intelligence agency R&AW and executed by the operatives of Xe-Services while the Xe-Services also work for the Afghan drug mafia and warlords.
The Daily Mail’s investigations further reveal that similarly, the other militant Commander of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan Qari Hussain surfaced in Afghanistan soon after the launching of operation “Rah-e-Nijat” . These findings reveal that the Blackwaters or the Xe-Services even used the choppers to evacuate the top militant to Afghanistan. According to credible sources in South Waziristan (Pakistan’s tribal area) who requested not to be named, few helicopters were seen entering Pakistan territory from neighbouring Afghan province of Paktia, close to Pak-Afghan border which landed on Pakistani soil and evacuated Qari Hussain and a few others, then departed immediately towards Afghanistan. Some other sources have also reported spotting foreign helicopters in the area while the locals, when contacted also confirmed to have witnessing landing, take off and flying of helicopters in the aerial direction of the bordering Afghan province of Paktika and Paktia. A notable of Makeen (Resident), Abdul Samad Khan who attended local Jirga in area close to the border and stayed there for a few days, revealed that since start of military operation in South Waziristan, the helicopters traffic of USA/Afghan Government had increased manifold in the war zone for unknown reasons.
It is worth mentioning here that the US troops vacated posts in Paktika at the crucial time when operation “Rah-e-Nijat” was progressing well, again thus allowing fleeing militants space on Afghan soil to regroup and escape capture.
DAILY MAIL: BLACKWATER, US MILITARY WORKING FOR TALIBAN DRUG LORDS
January 23, 2010 posted by Gordon Duff · 33 Comments
BLACKWATER/XE ACCUSED OF COMPLICITY IN TERRORISM AND WAR AGAINST US TROOPS
TOP TALIBAN MILITANTS RECEIVE MEDICAL CARE AT BAGRAM AIR FORCE BASE
From Sabrina Elkhani & Steve Nelson
Introduction and Editorial note: Gordon Duff, Senior Editor Veterans Today
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been briefed by the Pakistani Military High Command that they are being overwhelmed by highly trained and extremely well armed militants in the border regions and terrorists operating across the country. We have been told by the highest sources that Blackwater/Xe and other US based mercenary groups have been actively attacking police, military and intelligence organizations in Pakistan as part of operations under employment of the Government of India and their allies in Afghanistan, the drug lords, whose followers make up the key components of the Afghan army.
Investigations referenced in the Pakistan Daily Mail by abrina Elkani and Steve Nelson indicate that, rather than hunt terrorists who have been killing Americans, these groups have actually taken key militant leaders into Afghanistan where they are kept safe and even offered medical treatment by the United States military. Years ago, we all heard the rumor that Osama bin Laden had received care at a US hospital in Qatar after leaving Sudan to take over what we claim was the planning of 9/11. FBI transcripts verify that bin Laden, according to testimony by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, was working for the US at that time and had maintained contact with his CIA handlers through the fateful summer of 2001.
The Army of Pakistan has been regularly capturing advanced weapons of Indian manufacture from militants in the border region. India maintains 17 “consular” camps inside Pakistan, near the border, adjacent to Blackwater facilities, falsely designated as CIA or USAID stations. Pakistan claims these operations train Taliban soldiers and terrorists for operations against civilian targets in Pakistan. Thousands have died in Pakistan over recent months during these attacks. Pakistan also contents these same groups are, not only fighting the Pakistan military but the Americans as well.
General Stanley McChrystal had withdrawn American forces from key areas in Afghanistan across from enemy held regions under attack by the Army of Pakistan. We are now told that this allowed those areas to become safe havens for forces formerly operating in Pakistan, who are now enjoying the freedom and hospitality of, not only Afghanistan but are being ignored by the NATO forces in the region.
The untold story is the massive complicity of Americans with their private airline, now suspected in yet another war, not Vietnam, not Central America/Iran Contra but Afghanistan, for a third time, of smuggling narcotics. The pattern is impossible to ignore.
Read the list of accusations. Note that many of them have been corroborated from 5 or more sources already:
From Sabrina Elkhani & Steve Nelson
NKabul—While the Pakistan government continues to deny that the infamous private army of the United States, known as the Blackwaters or the Xe Services, Islamabad would defiantly be having no answer if questioned that in that case, how is it always possible for deeply injured, half dead commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan etc, manage to be evacuated safely to US-run military facilities in Afghanistan after being hit hard back in the tribal belts of Pakistan and started resurfacing in the country where thousands of US led NATO/ISAF troops are apparently engaged in “Hot Pursuit” of the same militant elements, at least two such cases have recently surfaced, reveal the findings of The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail’s findings reveal that at least 2 most wanted militant, being persuaded by the Pakistan Defence Forces in the tribal belt that connects the nuke powered Pakistan with the war ravaged Afghanistan, after being badly hit by the Pakistani troops, managed to get evacuated to Afghanistan in very safe and composed manner.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that the 2 Most Wanted militant Commanders including Maulvi Fazlullah and Qari Hussain were earlier reported to have been seriously injured during Pakistan Army’s anti militancy operation, code-named “Operation Rah-e-Rast” and their hideouts were destroyed by law enforcing agencies in Swat, were secretly taken to Afghanistan by the operatives of Blackwater’s or the Xe-Service and have recently surfaced in Afghanistan.
According to The Daily Mail’s investigations, Maulvi Fazaluallah is spotted residing in Kamdesh district of Nooristan along with 300 militants and other middle level Commanders. These finding also disclose that Maulvi Fazlullah had remained under treatment in a medical facility under US troops in Bagram airbase before he returned to Kamdesh district.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate further that it is the same area where US troops vacated their posts with the intention of allowing the fleeing Pakistani militants space to regroup. His escape was made possible with the active support of the Afghan intelligence, financially supported by Indian Intelligence agency R&AW and executed by the operatives of Xe-Services while the Xe-Services also work for the Afghan drug mafia and warlords.
The Daily Mail’s investigations further reveal that similarly, the other militant Commander of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan Qari Hussain surfaced in Afghanistan soon after the launching of operation “Rah-e-Nijat” . These findings reveal that the Blackwaters or the Xe-Services even used the choppers to evacuate the top militant to Afghanistan. According to credible sources in South Waziristan (Pakistan’s tribal area) who requested not to be named, few helicopters were seen entering Pakistan territory from neighbouring Afghan province of Paktia, close to Pak-Afghan border which landed on Pakistani soil and evacuated Qari Hussain and a few others, then departed immediately towards Afghanistan. Some other sources have also reported spotting foreign helicopters in the area while the locals, when contacted also confirmed to have witnessing landing, take off and flying of helicopters in the aerial direction of the bordering Afghan province of Paktika and Paktia. A notable of Makeen (Resident), Abdul Samad Khan who attended local Jirga in area close to the border and stayed there for a few days, revealed that since start of military operation in South Waziristan, the helicopters traffic of USA/Afghan Government had increased manifold in the war zone for unknown reasons.
It is worth mentioning here that the US troops vacated posts in Paktika at the crucial time when operation “Rah-e-Nijat” was progressing well, again thus allowing fleeing militants space on Afghan soil to regroup and escape capture.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that the Xe-Services were also tasked to evacuate many RAW sponsored militants from the Balochistan province of Pakistan and all these “evacuated” militants and separatists are being dubbed as “missing people” by their families and courts back in Pakistan. These findings indicate that around three thousand, “evacuated” Pakistanis are being trained further by the operatives of RAW and the personnel of India’s Military Intelligence that are present in Afghanistan for more than five years. These findings further elaborate that RAW’s Special Operations Division Chief Chhota Rajan is personally supervising the training and facilitation process. These findings indicate that the evacuated militants are later reorganized and trained further at different camps that are being run under the joint supervision of Chhota Rajan and a senior Indian MI officer with the rank of Major General.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
CIA hires Xe, formerly Blackwater, to guard facilities in Afghanistan, elsewhere
By Jeff Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
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.
The previously undisclosed CIA contract is worth about $100 million, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deal, which is classified.
"It's for protective services . . . guard services, in multiple regions," the source said.
Two other security contractors, Triple Canopy and DynCorp International, put in losing bids for the CIA's business, the source said.
The revelation comes only a day after members of a federal commission investigating war-zone contractors blasted the State Department for granting Xe a new $120 million contract to guard U.S. consulates under construction in Afghanistan.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano stopped short of confirming the contract, saying only that Xe personnel would not be involved in operations.
"While this agency does not, as a rule, comment on contractual relationships we may or may not have, we follow all applicable federal laws and regulations," Gimigliano said.
The spokesman added: "We have a very careful process when it comes to procurement, and we take it seriously. We've also made it clear that personnel from Xe do not serve with the CIA in any operational roles."
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Erik Prince, chairman of the board at Xe and owner of Prince Group -- which owns Xe -- said the firm had no comment.
"Blackwater has undergone some serious changes," said a U.S. official who is familiar with the deal and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it freely.
"They've had to prove to the government that they're a responsible outfit. Having satisfied every legal requirement, they have the right to compete for contracts. They have people who do good work, at times in some very dangerous places. Nobody should forget that, either."
The firm, based in Moyock, N.C., has been fighting off prosecution and lawsuits since a September 2007 incident in Baghdad, when its guards opened fire in a city square, allegedly killing 17 unarmed civilians and wounding 24.
Two weeks ago, Prince announced that he was putting the company on the block. A spokeswoman said "a number of firms" are interested in buying but declined to elaborate.
Washington Post Staff Writer
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.
The previously undisclosed CIA contract is worth about $100 million, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deal, which is classified.
"It's for protective services . . . guard services, in multiple regions," the source said.
Two other security contractors, Triple Canopy and DynCorp International, put in losing bids for the CIA's business, the source said.
The revelation comes only a day after members of a federal commission investigating war-zone contractors blasted the State Department for granting Xe a new $120 million contract to guard U.S. consulates under construction in Afghanistan.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano stopped short of confirming the contract, saying only that Xe personnel would not be involved in operations.
"While this agency does not, as a rule, comment on contractual relationships we may or may not have, we follow all applicable federal laws and regulations," Gimigliano said.
The spokesman added: "We have a very careful process when it comes to procurement, and we take it seriously. We've also made it clear that personnel from Xe do not serve with the CIA in any operational roles."
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Erik Prince, chairman of the board at Xe and owner of Prince Group -- which owns Xe -- said the firm had no comment.
"Blackwater has undergone some serious changes," said a U.S. official who is familiar with the deal and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it freely.
"They've had to prove to the government that they're a responsible outfit. Having satisfied every legal requirement, they have the right to compete for contracts. They have people who do good work, at times in some very dangerous places. Nobody should forget that, either."
The firm, based in Moyock, N.C., has been fighting off prosecution and lawsuits since a September 2007 incident in Baghdad, when its guards opened fire in a city square, allegedly killing 17 unarmed civilians and wounding 24.
Two weeks ago, Prince announced that he was putting the company on the block. A spokeswoman said "a number of firms" are interested in buying but declined to elaborate.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
US: Manslaughter case against Blackwater guards should have gone forward
By The Associated Press
There was more than enough untainted evidence to justify a trial for five Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, the Justice Department told a federal appeals court.
In court papers seeking to reinstate criminal charges, the department asserted that some of the evidence tainted by immunized statements in the case was harmless and did not justify scuttling the manslaughter charges against the guards.
In December, a federal judge dismissed the case against the security guards, who had opened fire on a crowded Baghdad street. Seventeen people were killed, including women and children, in a shooting that inflamed anti-American sentiment in Iraq.
In the filing released Wednesday by the appeals court, the government said the judge who dismissed the charges lost sight of the key question of whether the defendants' testimony given under a grant of immunity from prosecution was actually used against them.
There was more than enough untainted evidence to justify a trial for five Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, the Justice Department told a federal appeals court.
In court papers seeking to reinstate criminal charges, the department asserted that some of the evidence tainted by immunized statements in the case was harmless and did not justify scuttling the manslaughter charges against the guards.
In December, a federal judge dismissed the case against the security guards, who had opened fire on a crowded Baghdad street. Seventeen people were killed, including women and children, in a shooting that inflamed anti-American sentiment in Iraq.
In the filing released Wednesday by the appeals court, the government said the judge who dismissed the charges lost sight of the key question of whether the defendants' testimony given under a grant of immunity from prosecution was actually used against them.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Is Blackwater's Erik Prince Moving to the United Arab Emirates?
Jeremy Scahill
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). The Middle Eastern nation, a major hub for the US war industry, has no extradition treaty with the United States. In April, five of Prince's top deputies were hit with a fifteen-count indictment [1] by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, weapons and obstruction of justice charges. Among those indicted were Prince's longtime number-two man, former Blackwater president Gary Jackson, former vice presidents William Matthews and Ana Bundy and Prince's former legal counsel Andrew Howell.
The Blackwater/Erik Prince saga took yet another dramatic turn last week, when Prince abruptly announced [2] that he was putting his company up for sale.
While Prince has not personally been charged with any crimes, federal investigators and several Congressional committees clearly have his company and inner circle in their sights. The Nation learned of Prince's alleged plans to move to the UAE from three separate sources. One Blackwater source told The Nation that Prince intends to sell his company quickly, saying the "sale is going to be a fast move within a couple of months."
Mark Corallo, a trusted Prince advisor and Blackwater spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the allegation that Prince is planning to move to the United Arab Emirates. "I have a policy on not discussing my client’s personal lives—especially when that client is a private citizen," Corallo, who runs his own crisis management and PR firm [3], said in an e-mail to The Nation. "It is nobody’s business where Mr. Prince (or anyone else) chooses to live. So I’m afraid I will not be able to confirm any rumors."
A source with knowledge of the federal criminal probe into Blackwater's activities told The Nation that none of Prince's indicted colleagues have flipped on Prince since being formally charged, but rumors abound in Blackwater and legal circles that Prince may one day find himself in legal trouble. Former Blackwater employees claim they have provided federal prosecutors with testimony about what they allege is Prince's involvement in illegal activity.
If Prince's rumored future move is linked to concerns over possible indictment, the United Arab Emirates would be an interesting choice for a new home—particularly because it does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. "If Prince were not living in the US, it would be far more complicated for US prosecutors to commence an action against him," says Scott Horton [4], a Columbia University Law lecturer and international law expert who has long tracked Blackwater. "There is a long history of people thwarting prosecutors simply by living overseas." The UAE, Horton says, is "definitely a jurisdiction where Prince could count on it not being simple for the US to pursue him legally."
The UAE is made up of seven states, the most powerful among them being Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Since 9/11, they have emerged as hubs for the US war industry. "Global service providers" account for some three-quarters of Dubai's GDP, while oil represents only 3 percent. "They have established themselves as the premiere location in the Middle East for offshore banking and professional services," says Horton, who has legal experience in the UAE. "If you have connections to the royal families, then the law doesn't really apply to you. I would be very surprised if Erik Prince does not have those kinds of connections there."
As a matter of policy the Justice Department will not discuss possible investigations of people who have not yet been charged with a crime.
Two former employees made serious allegations against Prince last August in sworn declarations [5] filed as part of a civil lawsuit against Prince and Blackwater. One former employee alleged that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into Iraq on his private planes. A four-year employee of Blackwater, identified in his declaration as "John Doe #2," stated that "it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." He also stated that "Mr. Prince feared, and continues to fear, that the federal authorities will detect and prosecute his v! arious criminal deeds," adding: "On more than one occasion, Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been shredded and destroyed."
John Doe #2's identity was concealed in the sworn declaration because he "fear[s] violence against me in retaliation for submitting this Declaration." He also alleged, "On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince's employ, Mr. Prince's management has personally threatened me with death and violence." Doe #2 stated in his declaration that he provided the information contained in his statement "in grand jury proceedings convened by the United States Department of Justice."
Prince is also facing civil lawsuits brought by Iraqi victims of Blackwater. Among these is a suit filed in North Carolina by the family of 9-year-old Ali Kinani [6]. Kinani's family alleges he was shot in the head and killed by Blackwater operatives in the infamous Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad in 2007. Earlier this year, Prince claimed [7] he was spending $2 million a month in legal fees and on what he described as a “giant proctological exam” by nearly a dozen federal agencies.
Even if prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to charge Prince with a crime, because of the classified nature of some of Blackwater and Prince's work for the CIA and other agencies of the US government, prosecuting him could prove challenging. Prince has deep knowledge of covert US actions that the US government or military may not want public, which could be revealed as part of a potential defense Prince could offer. Blackwater—and Prince specifically—long worked on the CIA's assassination program.
Some observers believe that Prince has already engaged in "graymail [8]" by revealing some details of his classified work for the CIA and military, specifically in a January 2010 article [7] in Vanity Fair, written by a former CIA lawyer. Graymail is a legal tactic that has been used for years by intelligence operatives or assets who are facing prosecution or fear they soon will be. In short, these operatives or assets threaten to reveal details of sensitive or classified operations in order to ward off indictments or criminal charges, based on the belief that the government! would not want these details revealed.
After Jackson and the other former Blackwater executives were indicted, their lawyers claimed [9] that the US government approved of their conduct. "All of this was with the knowledge of, the request of, for the convenience of, an agency of the US government," Jackson's lawyer Ken Bell told the judge during a bond hearing in April. Bell did not reveal which agency he was referring to and did not answer questions from reporters.
The latest developments in the Blackwater story come after a two-year campaign by Blackwater to rebrand itself [10] as "Xe Services" and the "US Training Center." In March 2009, Prince announced [11] he was stepping down as CEO of the company, though he has remained its sole owner. While Blackwater continues to be a significant player in US operations in Afghanistan under the Obama administration—working for the State Department, Defense Department and CIA—it is facing increased scrutiny [12] on Capitol Hill and continued pressure from the Justice Department.
On June 11, federal prosecutors filed a massive brief in their appeal of last year's dismissal [13] by a federal judge of manslaughter charges against the Blackwater operatives alleged to be the "shooters" at Nisour Square. In the brief, prosecutors asked that the indictment of the Blackwater men be reinstated. Meanwhile, two other Blackwater operatives were indicted [14] in January on murder charges [15] stemming from a shooting in Afghanistan in May 2008. Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee has called on the Justice Department [16] to investigate Blackwater's use of a shell company, Paravant, to win training contracts in Afghanistan.
Blackwater has been spending heavily this year on lobbyists—particularly Democratic ones. In the first quarter of 2010, the company spent more than $500,000 [17] for the services of Stuart Eizenstat [18], a well-connected Democratic lobbyist who served in the Clinton and Carter administrations. Eizenstat heads the international practice for the powerhouse law and lobbying firm Covington and Burling.
Prince sold [19] Blackwater's aviation division earlier this year for $200 million. In announcing last week that the rest of Blackwater was up for sale, the company said in a statement [20] that Blackwater's "new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the US government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser." While Blackwater has tried to shed the Blackwater name in many aspects of its business, the company has recently opened a series of Blackwater "Pro-Shop" retail stores [21], offering merchandise bearing the Blackwater name and original logo. Among the items for sale: pink Blackwater baby onesies [22], Blackwater pint glasses [23], Blackwater beach towels [24] and, of course, rifles [25].
In a speech in January [26], obtained by The Nation, Prince said that he intends to publish a book this fall. He was originally slated [27] to come out with a book in June 2008 with the title We Are Blackwater.
Source URL: http://www.thenation.com/blog/blackwaters-erik-prince-moving-united-arab-emirates
Links:
[1] http://www.justice.gov/usao/nce/press/2010-apr-16_2.html
[2] http://www.thenation.com/blog/blackwater-sale
[3] http://www.corallocomstock.com/
[4] http://harpers.org/subjects/NoComment
[5] http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwater-founder-implicated-murder
[6] http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwaters-youngest-victim
[7] http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001?printable=true
[8] http://www.thenation.com/article/erik-prince-graymailing-us-government
[9] http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/22/448778/blackwater-exec-blames-feds.html
[10] http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/126863/
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/mercenary-king-erik-princ_b_171105.html
[12] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030803706.html
[13] http://www.thenation.com/article/federal-judge-dismisses-all-charges-ira! q-massacre
[14] http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crm-011.html
[15] http://rebelreports.com/post/322008047/two-blackwater-guards-arrested-by-fbi-on-murder-charges
[16] http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=322765
[17] http://www.thenation.com/blog/bipartisan-mercs-blackwater-hires-powerful-democratic-lobbyist
[18] http://www.cov.com/seizenstat/
[19] http://www.thenation.com/blog/mercenary-owners-they-are-changin-sort
[20] http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1974791
[21] http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/retail-guns-for-hire-blackwater-opens-storefronts/
[22] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/Babys-Onesies-P1781.aspx
[23] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/BW-Pint-Glass-P1507.aspx
[24] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/BW-Beach-Towel-P1747.aspx
[25] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/bw15.aspx
[26] http://www.thenation.com/blog/secret-erik-prince-tape-exposed
[27] http://ww! w.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24834
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). The Middle Eastern nation, a major hub for the US war industry, has no extradition treaty with the United States. In April, five of Prince's top deputies were hit with a fifteen-count indictment [1] by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, weapons and obstruction of justice charges. Among those indicted were Prince's longtime number-two man, former Blackwater president Gary Jackson, former vice presidents William Matthews and Ana Bundy and Prince's former legal counsel Andrew Howell.
The Blackwater/Erik Prince saga took yet another dramatic turn last week, when Prince abruptly announced [2] that he was putting his company up for sale.
While Prince has not personally been charged with any crimes, federal investigators and several Congressional committees clearly have his company and inner circle in their sights. The Nation learned of Prince's alleged plans to move to the UAE from three separate sources. One Blackwater source told The Nation that Prince intends to sell his company quickly, saying the "sale is going to be a fast move within a couple of months."
Mark Corallo, a trusted Prince advisor and Blackwater spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the allegation that Prince is planning to move to the United Arab Emirates. "I have a policy on not discussing my client’s personal lives—especially when that client is a private citizen," Corallo, who runs his own crisis management and PR firm [3], said in an e-mail to The Nation. "It is nobody’s business where Mr. Prince (or anyone else) chooses to live. So I’m afraid I will not be able to confirm any rumors."
A source with knowledge of the federal criminal probe into Blackwater's activities told The Nation that none of Prince's indicted colleagues have flipped on Prince since being formally charged, but rumors abound in Blackwater and legal circles that Prince may one day find himself in legal trouble. Former Blackwater employees claim they have provided federal prosecutors with testimony about what they allege is Prince's involvement in illegal activity.
If Prince's rumored future move is linked to concerns over possible indictment, the United Arab Emirates would be an interesting choice for a new home—particularly because it does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. "If Prince were not living in the US, it would be far more complicated for US prosecutors to commence an action against him," says Scott Horton [4], a Columbia University Law lecturer and international law expert who has long tracked Blackwater. "There is a long history of people thwarting prosecutors simply by living overseas." The UAE, Horton says, is "definitely a jurisdiction where Prince could count on it not being simple for the US to pursue him legally."
The UAE is made up of seven states, the most powerful among them being Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Since 9/11, they have emerged as hubs for the US war industry. "Global service providers" account for some three-quarters of Dubai's GDP, while oil represents only 3 percent. "They have established themselves as the premiere location in the Middle East for offshore banking and professional services," says Horton, who has legal experience in the UAE. "If you have connections to the royal families, then the law doesn't really apply to you. I would be very surprised if Erik Prince does not have those kinds of connections there."
As a matter of policy the Justice Department will not discuss possible investigations of people who have not yet been charged with a crime.
Two former employees made serious allegations against Prince last August in sworn declarations [5] filed as part of a civil lawsuit against Prince and Blackwater. One former employee alleged that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into Iraq on his private planes. A four-year employee of Blackwater, identified in his declaration as "John Doe #2," stated that "it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." He also stated that "Mr. Prince feared, and continues to fear, that the federal authorities will detect and prosecute his v! arious criminal deeds," adding: "On more than one occasion, Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been shredded and destroyed."
John Doe #2's identity was concealed in the sworn declaration because he "fear[s] violence against me in retaliation for submitting this Declaration." He also alleged, "On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince's employ, Mr. Prince's management has personally threatened me with death and violence." Doe #2 stated in his declaration that he provided the information contained in his statement "in grand jury proceedings convened by the United States Department of Justice."
Prince is also facing civil lawsuits brought by Iraqi victims of Blackwater. Among these is a suit filed in North Carolina by the family of 9-year-old Ali Kinani [6]. Kinani's family alleges he was shot in the head and killed by Blackwater operatives in the infamous Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad in 2007. Earlier this year, Prince claimed [7] he was spending $2 million a month in legal fees and on what he described as a “giant proctological exam” by nearly a dozen federal agencies.
Even if prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to charge Prince with a crime, because of the classified nature of some of Blackwater and Prince's work for the CIA and other agencies of the US government, prosecuting him could prove challenging. Prince has deep knowledge of covert US actions that the US government or military may not want public, which could be revealed as part of a potential defense Prince could offer. Blackwater—and Prince specifically—long worked on the CIA's assassination program.
Some observers believe that Prince has already engaged in "graymail [8]" by revealing some details of his classified work for the CIA and military, specifically in a January 2010 article [7] in Vanity Fair, written by a former CIA lawyer. Graymail is a legal tactic that has been used for years by intelligence operatives or assets who are facing prosecution or fear they soon will be. In short, these operatives or assets threaten to reveal details of sensitive or classified operations in order to ward off indictments or criminal charges, based on the belief that the government! would not want these details revealed.
After Jackson and the other former Blackwater executives were indicted, their lawyers claimed [9] that the US government approved of their conduct. "All of this was with the knowledge of, the request of, for the convenience of, an agency of the US government," Jackson's lawyer Ken Bell told the judge during a bond hearing in April. Bell did not reveal which agency he was referring to and did not answer questions from reporters.
The latest developments in the Blackwater story come after a two-year campaign by Blackwater to rebrand itself [10] as "Xe Services" and the "US Training Center." In March 2009, Prince announced [11] he was stepping down as CEO of the company, though he has remained its sole owner. While Blackwater continues to be a significant player in US operations in Afghanistan under the Obama administration—working for the State Department, Defense Department and CIA—it is facing increased scrutiny [12] on Capitol Hill and continued pressure from the Justice Department.
On June 11, federal prosecutors filed a massive brief in their appeal of last year's dismissal [13] by a federal judge of manslaughter charges against the Blackwater operatives alleged to be the "shooters" at Nisour Square. In the brief, prosecutors asked that the indictment of the Blackwater men be reinstated. Meanwhile, two other Blackwater operatives were indicted [14] in January on murder charges [15] stemming from a shooting in Afghanistan in May 2008. Senator Carl Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee has called on the Justice Department [16] to investigate Blackwater's use of a shell company, Paravant, to win training contracts in Afghanistan.
Blackwater has been spending heavily this year on lobbyists—particularly Democratic ones. In the first quarter of 2010, the company spent more than $500,000 [17] for the services of Stuart Eizenstat [18], a well-connected Democratic lobbyist who served in the Clinton and Carter administrations. Eizenstat heads the international practice for the powerhouse law and lobbying firm Covington and Burling.
Prince sold [19] Blackwater's aviation division earlier this year for $200 million. In announcing last week that the rest of Blackwater was up for sale, the company said in a statement [20] that Blackwater's "new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the US government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser." While Blackwater has tried to shed the Blackwater name in many aspects of its business, the company has recently opened a series of Blackwater "Pro-Shop" retail stores [21], offering merchandise bearing the Blackwater name and original logo. Among the items for sale: pink Blackwater baby onesies [22], Blackwater pint glasses [23], Blackwater beach towels [24] and, of course, rifles [25].
In a speech in January [26], obtained by The Nation, Prince said that he intends to publish a book this fall. He was originally slated [27] to come out with a book in June 2008 with the title We Are Blackwater.
Source URL: http://www.thenation.com/blog/blackwaters-erik-prince-moving-united-arab-emirates
Links:
[1] http://www.justice.gov/usao/nce/press/2010-apr-16_2.html
[2] http://www.thenation.com/blog/blackwater-sale
[3] http://www.corallocomstock.com/
[4] http://harpers.org/subjects/NoComment
[5] http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwater-founder-implicated-murder
[6] http://www.thenation.com/article/blackwaters-youngest-victim
[7] http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001?printable=true
[8] http://www.thenation.com/article/erik-prince-graymailing-us-government
[9] http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/22/448778/blackwater-exec-blames-feds.html
[10] http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/126863/
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/mercenary-king-erik-princ_b_171105.html
[12] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030803706.html
[13] http://www.thenation.com/article/federal-judge-dismisses-all-charges-ira! q-massacre
[14] http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crm-011.html
[15] http://rebelreports.com/post/322008047/two-blackwater-guards-arrested-by-fbi-on-murder-charges
[16] http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=322765
[17] http://www.thenation.com/blog/bipartisan-mercs-blackwater-hires-powerful-democratic-lobbyist
[18] http://www.cov.com/seizenstat/
[19] http://www.thenation.com/blog/mercenary-owners-they-are-changin-sort
[20] http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1974791
[21] http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/retail-guns-for-hire-blackwater-opens-storefronts/
[22] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/Babys-Onesies-P1781.aspx
[23] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/BW-Pint-Glass-P1507.aspx
[24] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/BW-Beach-Towel-P1747.aspx
[25] http://proshop.blackwaterusa.com/bw15.aspx
[26] http://www.thenation.com/blog/secret-erik-prince-tape-exposed
[27] http://ww! w.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24834
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
