Blackwater Waging 'Secret War' in Pakistan

Terrorist threat leads to decision that could complicate war effort

(NEWSER) - The CIA’s top spy in Pakistan left the country yesterday, after a lawsuit blew his cover and terrorists threatened to kill him. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, accused the Islamabad station chief by name of ordering missile strikes that killed civilians. That name has been oft-repeated by Pakistani media, and featured prominently on protest signs in the capital. The lawyer in the case says he learned the name from a local journalist. More»

Including the artist formerly known as Blackwater

(NEWSER) - Afghanistan has begun disbanding the private security firms operating in the country, the Karzai administration announced today. Authorities have seized more than 400 weapons so far, according to Reuters . At the moment they're focusing on eight companies, including Xe Services, the artist formerly known as Blackwater, two other American firms and one British firm. More»

Biggest military leak in history underscores grim realities

(NEWSER) - Wikileaks has unveiled 92,000 secret documents about the Afghan war, which, in the New York Times ' words, "illustrate in mosaic detail why ... the Taliban are stronger than at any time since 2001." Don't have time to scan through 92,000 documents? Here are what appear to be the top revelations:

1. The Army Delta Force runs a top-secret group of commandos called Task Force 373, charged with assassinating Taliban leaders. Some of their raids have resulted in civilian casualties; in one case, seven children were killed by a rocket.
2. The Taliban has employed heat-seeking anti-aircraft rockets, of the same kind the US gave the mujahedeen during the Soviet occupation.
3. The US covered up one attack made with one of those rockets, saying it had been downed by conventional weaponry.

Gives company $100M for 'protective services'

(NEWSER) - The CIA has secretly given a $100 million contract to Xe Services—the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide—to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere, sources tell the Washington Post . The news comes hot on the heels of the revelation the State Department granted Xe a $120 million contract to guard US consulates in Afghanistan—a move that officials struggled to explain yesterday when questioned by the federal commission investigating Blackwater’s Iraq misdeeds. More»

Prince: Contractors best way to fight Iran influence

(NEWSER) - Blackwater wants the US government to hire teams of mercenaries to combat Iranian influence around the world, according to the Nation , which has obtained a tape of a talk boss Erik Prince gave to a friendly audience. Prince—who generally bans the media from his talks—said private soldiers from companies like his own would be a more politically sensitive and cost-effective way of defeating "the sinister hand" of Iran in Nigeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia. More»