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NEWS ABOUT: security contractors

security contractors stories: 31 news summaries

1 - 20 of 31 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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INVESTIGATION

 Taliban Is Paid to Protect 
 US Supply Convoys 

US military funding Taliban through contractors

Nov 12, 09 5:20 AM CST
(Newser) - The Taliban is getting a big chunk of its financing by protecting supply convoys to the American military. Security contractors paid by the US to bring supplies into Afghanistan pay huge amounts of protection money to warlords and insurgents, an investigation by the Nation has discovered. Pentagon officials are... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • US military • security contractors • convoy • Afghanistan war • military contractors

Boosted US Presence Rankles Pakistan

Military fears too many strings are attached to new $7.5 billion in aid

Oct 6, 09 1:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The $7.5 billion aid package to Pakistan recently approved by the Senate appears to have triggered more suspicion than goodwill. Many in Pakistan, especially in the military, object that the conditions tied to the aid—which include keeping the military out of politics—are an unacceptable encroachment on national... More »

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Pakistan • Inter Service Intelligence • security contractors • DynCorp • Asif Ali Zardari • al-Qaeda • Pakistan military

Contractor Bought Guns on Black Market:
Ex-Employees

Triple Canopy accused of funding insurgents

Sep 18, 09 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Triple Canopy, the company that succeeded Blackwater as the top US security contractor in Iraq, bought its weapons on Iraq’s black market, former employees allege in court documents obtained by ProPublica. “We’re spending a lot of money on these rifles, millions of dollars—where do you think... More »

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Iraq • Blackwater • black market • Triple Canopy • security contractors • Xe Services • military contractors • Ronald Boline

 Kabul Embassy 
 Whistleblower 
 Sues Security Firm 

Manager says he was forced out after trying to stop embassy guards visiting brothels

Sep 11, 09 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - A former manager who says he tried to lift the lid on bad behavior by guards at the US Embassy in Kabul is suing security contractor ArmorGroup, CNN reports. James Gordon says he was forced out of his job after asking the company and the State Department to investigate guards'... More »

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Kabul • US Embassy • security contractors • James Gordon • ArmorGroup

(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 »

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Blackwater • Erik Prince • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war

Pentagon Drops Ball on Contractor Oversight: Report

Says tens of billions in contracts lack decent US supervision

Jun 9, 09 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Though US defense contracting has reached “unprecedented proportions” in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department isn’t adequately monitoring the contracts, according to an independent watchdog. A report to be presented to Congress tomorrow says the government lacks central records showing the identities, activities, and pay of some 240,... More »

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Congress • Pentagon • oversight • Department of Defense • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Defense Dept • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • defense contractors • monitoring • Wartime Contracting Commission

 Blackwater's Iraq 
 Contract Ends 

Virginia firm takes over security duties

May 7, 09 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Blackwater’s turbulent term in Iraq ends today with the expiration of its contract, CNN reports. The US opted not to renew the firm’s security services deal in January after Iraqi officials denied it a renewed operating license in the wake of a 2007 shooting in a public square.... More »

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Iraq • Baghdad • Blackwater • contract • Triple Canopy • security contractors • Nisoor Square • Iraq war • Xe

 Blackwater Guards 
 Keeping Iraq Jobs 

Loss of contract means many guards will just change uniforms

Apr 4, 09 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Blackwater is getting kicked out of Iraq but not all of its workers will be leaving with the shamed company, the New York Times reports. The Iraq government refused to renew the security firm's license after its guards were repeatedly accused of using excessive force but many, if not most,... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • mercenaries • Triple Canopy • security contractors

Blackwater Ditches Name, Attempts to Change Image

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

Feb 13, 09 2:58 PM CST
(Newser) - Private security firm Blackwater Worldwide is hoping to shed some of the controversy that has dogged it since its bloody tenure in Iraq by renaming itself Xe (pronounced “Zee”), the AP reports. Besides the name change, the firm has altered the focus of its business from contracting out... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • training • mercenaries • security contractors • logistics

US Flushes Blackwater Contract

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

Jan 31, 09 2:58 AM CST
(AP) - The State Department said Friday it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May. A department spokeswoman said the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate, amid lingering outrage over a 2007 shooting... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war

 Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract 

Official: 'They have a bad history'

Jan 29, 09 7:00 AM CST
(Newser) - The Iraqi government has refused to grant Blackwater a license to continue its security work in the country, the New York Times reports. The controversial firm probably won’t exit the country at least until spring, as the US and Iraq work on rules for private contractors. “There are... More »

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Iraq • Blackwater • security contractors • Iraq war • license

Obama Picks CIA Veteran as
Terror Adviser

Controversial Brennan backs harsh tactics, has contractor ties

Jan 9, 09 9:11 AM CST
(Newser) - The rumors are true: Barack Obama has picked John O. Brennan as his top counterterrorism adviser, the Washington Post reports, just six weeks after Brennan was forced to back out of the hunt for the CIA directorship. Brennan has made public statements about controversial CIA tactics such as extraordinary... More »

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CIA • interrogation • security contractors • John Brennan

 Fire Blackwater: 
 State Dept. Panel 

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

Dec 17, 08 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) - The US military should stop using contractors from Blackwater Worldwide, concludes a report by a State Department advisory panel, obtained by the AP. In light of numerous allegations of violent misconduct, Blackwater’s contract to defend American diplomats should not be renewed when it expires next year, the panel recommends.... More »

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Iraq • State Department • murder • Blackwater • manslaughter • security contractors • bodyguard • convoy

OPINION

Tired of Pirate Attacks?
Time to Call Blackwater

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

Dec 11, 08 6:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Somali hijackers have free rein around the Horn of Africa, and neither the US nor any other nation has a prayer of stopping them with their ineffectual patrols. What to do? Call in the troops—or, more precisely, the fomer troops, writes Peter Hannaford in the American Spectator. Namely,... More »

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Somalia • Blackwater • GPS • pirates • Navy SEALs • security contractors • AK-47

Facing Charges, 5 Blackwater Guards to Surrender

Sixth working on plea in '07 Baghdad massacre

Dec 7, 08 8:48 AM CST
(Newser) - Five ex-Blackwater security guards will surrender to the FBI tomorrow after indictments in a 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqis, CNN reports. A sixth is negotiating a plea. Blackwater says its former workers were responding to an attack, but an Iraqi probe called the incident “premeditated murder.” The... More »

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Blackwater • indictment • surrender • security guards • security contractors

Contractors in Iraq Could Be Charged for Old Incidents

Charges Could Loom for Contractors in Old Iraq Disputes

Nov 21, 08 12:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Iraq may be able to prosecute US contractors for misdeeds committed when they were thought to be operating under American immunity, McClatchy reports. The new security pact doesn’t block such retroactive legal action, news that came as a surprise to Blackwater, whose contractors have been involved in the most... More »

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Blackwater • security contractors • Iraqi government • Iraq war • security pact

Blackwater Faces Hefty Fine for Iraq Gun Violations 

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

Nov 13, 08 4:08 PM CST
(Newser) - The government will hit security firm Blackwater USA with a multimillion-dollar fine for shipping hundreds of unauthorized guns to Iraq, McClatchy reports. A lengthy State Department investigation has concluded that the security contractor shipped some 900 weapons to the country—some of which likely wound up on the black market—... More »

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Blackwater • black market • security contractors • Iraq contractors • weapons • Iraq war • defense contractors

 Blackwater Steps Up to
 Take on Somali Pirates

Offers its services in battling piracy epidemic

Oct 17, 08 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - As Somalia seeks private help in battling its piracy problem, security contractor Blackwater has offered its services, Wired reports. “As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALs, with a 50,000-person database of former military and law enforcement professionals, Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping... More »

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Somalia • Blackwater • piracy • pirates • security contractors

ANALYSIS

As Troops Exit Iraq, US Spends More on Contractors

$1.2B spent for private security firms; critics say Iraqis should be picking up slack instead

Aug 28, 08 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - American troops are trickling home, but at a hefty cost: The US has spent more than $1.2 billion this year on private security contractors—mostly to protect diplomats, but also to secure infrastructure and supplies, USA Today reports. The State Department says now that focus has shifted to rebuilding,... More »

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contractors • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Iraq war • Iraq war spending

US Contractor Bills in Iraq
to Hit $100B

Workers outnumber troops, account for
20% of war spending

Aug 12, 08 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - By the end of the year, the US will have spent $100 billion on private defense contractors in Iraq, a congressional report finds, showing more private-sector reliance than any previous wartime. Some 20% of funds spent on the war have gone to contractors, whose numbers are now greater than the... More »

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US military • Halliburton • security contractors • Iraq contractors • KBR • Iraq war • Iraq war spending

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