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NEWS ABOUT: Erik Prince

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Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for UAE

$529M force for special operations, suppressing revolt

(Newser) - At a military complex amid the sands of the United Arab Emirates, Blackwater founder Erik Prince has set up a hundreds-member-strong, $529-million private army designed to suppress internal revolts, protect high-rises and oil infrastructure from terrorist attack, and conduct special operations both in and out of the UAE, reports the... More »

Judge Ends Blackwater Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Because the plaintiff was out of money

(Newser) - A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackwater because the plaintiff could no longer afford to pay for the proceedings, the Washington Post reports. The case, which blamed Blackwater for the deaths of four contractors in 2004, has dragged on for six years. Katy Helvenston, mother of... More »

Blackwater Founder Training Somali Mercenaries

Erik Prince joins forces with controversial South African firm

(Newser) - Lawless, chaotic Somalia appears to be a land of opportunity for controversial Blackwater security company founder Erik Prince. The ex Blackwater honcho—who has left the security company he created and set up shop in the United Arab Emirates—is involved in a project to recruit and train thousands of... More »

Blackwater Used Shell Companies to Get Contracts

It set up 30 firms after Iraqi trouble

(Newser) - When Blackwater got into trouble in Iraq for general thuggery and lost lucrative contracts, it came up with an easy solution: It put on a fake nose and mustache and kept right on collecting government money under different names. In another damning piece about the contractor everyone loves to hate,... More »

Blackwater Founder Moves to Abu Dhabi

Erik Prince no doubt hoping to leave bad press behind

(Newser) - The rumors were true: Blackwater founder Erik Prince has up and moved to Abu Dhabi, according to court documents. Sources say the former Navy Seal hopes to provide security services to African and Middle Eastern governments—and escape the bad press and legal scrutiny he's faced here. “He needs... More »

Blackwater Founder Plans Move to UAE

...which doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US

(Newser) - Blackwater founder Erik Prince is not only selling his company , he's getting ready to move to the United Arab Emirates, reports the Nation . It's apparently not for the scenery: The UAE doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US, and five of Prince's top deputies already have been indicted on... More »

For Sale: One Disgraced Security Firm

Name change didn't rescue Blackwater from its bad reputation

(Newser) - The private security firm that used to be known as Blackwater is up for sale, after a recent name change to Xe Services failed to cure its dismal reputation. Founder Erik Prince has put the company on the block, saying improvements since the disastrous shootout at a Baghdad intersection in... More »

Blackwater Boss Lobbies for Private Assassin Teams

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... More »

Suit: Blackwater Charged US for Strippers, Payroll Hooker

Ex-workers accuse company of massive fraud

(Newser) - Controversial private security firm Blackwater Worldwide scammed the US for millions through overbilling, including charges for alcohol, strippers and a hooker on a monthly payroll, according to a lawsuit filed by two ex-employees. The company hired a prostitute to pleasure male employees in Kabul and sent the bill to Uncle... More »

Iraqi Nixes Blackwater Settlement Offer

'We won't accept such an amount' for Baghdad massacre, he says

(AP) - An Iraqi injured by the US private security firm once known as Blackwater today rejected a compensation deal for injuries he suffered after company employees opened fire in a crowded Baghdad square. "We have rejected the settlement because it is a small amount. We won't accept such an amount,... More »

Iraq Will Sue Blackwater Guards

Dismissal of manslaughter charges leaves Baghdad irate

(Newser) - Outraged by an American judge's dismissal of manslaughter charges against five security contractors accused of massacring 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007, Iraq plans to sue the former Blackwater Worldwide security guards. "We were expecting that American justice system is fair and independent," an Iraqi lawyer tells CNN . "... More »

Judge Dismisses Charges in Blackwater Shooting

He blasts Justice Department's handling of the case

(Newser) - A federal judge today dismissed charges against five Blackwater guards accused of manslaughter in a Baghdad shooting that left at least 14 people dead. The judge criticized how the Justice Department handled the high-profile case from 2007, saying that prosecutors violated the guards' rights by coercing testimony "under a... More »

Blackwater Helped CIA With Covert Raids

Guards took part in missions against suspected insurgents

(Newser) - The ties between Blackwater and the CIA just keep getting deeper. A new series of interviews by the New York Times with former employees and intelligence officials spells out how Blackwater guards took part in almost nightly covert raids with the CIA against suspected insurgents in Iraq, blurring the separation... More »

Blackwater's Erik Prince Is 'Graymailing' the CIA

The strategy: Don't prosecute me, or I'll spill sensitive details

(Newser) - Blackwater founder Erik Prince talks in "remarkable" detail about his work with the CIA in his recent Vanity Fair interview, writes Jeremy Scahill. Why now? Scahill thinks he's using the strategy of "graymail" as an "insurance policy against possible future criminal prosecution." It's a warning shot... More »

Blackwater Founder: CIA 'Threw Me Under the Bus'

Erik Prince's story raises security issues

(Newser) - Erik Prince says he and Blackwater—the defense contractor now known as Xe—got a raw deal from the government. "I put myself and my company at the CIA's disposal for some very risky missions," the firm's founder tells Vanity Fair . "But when it became politically expedient... More »

CIA Hired Blackwater to Help Plan al-Qaeda Killings

(Newser) - We knew the US outsourced a lot of its work in Iraq to Blackwater, but this takes the cake: The CIA hired the infamous military contractor in 2004 to help it figure out how to track down and kill al-Qaeda operatives, reports the New York Times. The move to hire... More »

Blackwater Founder Linked to Investigators' Murders

(Newser) - Two former Blackwater employees accused company founder and CEO Erik Prince of murder in statements filed in federal court this week, the Nation reports. The former guards, including an ex-Marine, say Prince may have either killed or facilitated the killing of operatives probing the security contractor's Iraq operations. The investigators... More »

Blackwater Founder Steps Down as CEO

Now called Xe, security company regroups, changes focus

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

US Firm Calls for Islamic Law in Lawsuit

Blackwater boss seeks Sharia law to dodge Afghan plane crash suit

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

Embattled Blackwater Maneuvering to Expand Role

Seeks new contracts despite massacre

(Newser) - Blackwater, the private security firm under fire for controversial shootings in Iraq, is preparing expansion plans to develop a bigger role as an arm of the US military. Company founder Erik Prince wants to make Blackwater a one-stop shop for all kinds of operations to which Washington won't commit US... More »

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