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NEWS ABOUT: Blackwater

Blackwater stories: 84 news summaries

1 - 20 of 84 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>

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Blackwater OK'd $1M Bribe Fund After '07 Iraq Shooting

Money was destined for officials critical after 17 killed

Nov 10, 09 9:39 PM CST
(Newser) - Security firm Blackwater set aside $1 million for secret payments to critical Iraqi officials after the 2007 Baghdad shootout that left 17 civilians dead. With Blackwater fearing it could lose its lucrative operating license in the country, former executives tell the New York Times , then-president Gary Jackson authorized the bribe... More »

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Iraq • Baghdad • Blackwater • bribe • private security firm • shooting • Gary Jackson

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

(Newser) - The CIA has relied on a secret division inside the company once known as Blackwater for its drone operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, private employees and government officials tell the New York Times. The for-profit company assembles and loads Hellfire missiles and quarter-ton bombs on secret CIA bases on both... More »

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Afghanistan • CIA • Pakistan • intelligence • Dianne Feinstein • Blackwater • drones • private security firm • Xe Services • Blackwater Select

(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 »

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CIA • Blackwater • Erik Prince • al-Qaeda • Leon Panetta • Xe Services

(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

 Blackwater Bilked US Out of 
 $55M for Iraq Security: Audit 

Company didn't provide enough workers

Jun 16, 09 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US overpaid Blackwater by $55 million for its security work in Iraq, a government audit has found. The company, since renamed Xe, didn't employ enough guards, medics, and other personnel to protect high-level officials but still collected full payment from the State Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. "... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • State Department • Blackwater • security guards • audit • government contracts • Xe

 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

(Newser) - Washington refused to renew Blackwater's contracts in Iraq, and Baghdad told the company to get out—but that doesn't mean it's actually left, the AP reports. The private mercenary firm, now called Xe, still runs ground operations and provides air security for US convoys, and may continue doing so until... More »

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Iraq • Blackwater • Iraq war • Xe

 Meet the New Blackwater, 
 Same as the Old Blackwater 

New contractor may hire the same people

Apr 15, 09 2:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - The military contractor known as Xe—and far better known as the former Blackwater—has changed little more than its name, NPR reports. Despite having said it's leaving the international security business, Xe recently extended its deal with the State Department to fly protective missions in Iraq. And as another... More »

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Blackwater • Triple Canopy • Iraq contractors • private security guards • Iraq war

 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 Founder Steps Down as CEO

Now called Xe, security company regroups, changes focus

Mar 2, 09 11:30 AM CST
(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 »

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Iraq • CEO • Blackwater • resignation • Erik Prince

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

 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

Guard: Blackwater Baghdad
Massacre Was Unprovoked

Chilling details emerge in indictments of five guards in deaths of 17 Iraqis

Dec 9, 08 3:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Five guards working for the Blackwater security company in Baghdad opened fire without provocation and massacred Iraqi civilians on a busy Baghdad intersection in 2007, according to chilling indictments filed against the men. The guards, protecting a convoy, used automatic weapons and grenade launchers to fire on cars, houses, a... More »

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Iraq • FBI • State Department • Blackwater • massacre • Department of Defense • indictment • Nisour Square • shooting • Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act • Paul A. Slough • Nicholas A. Slatten • Evan S. Liberty • Dustin L. Heard • Donald W. Ball • Jeremy Ridgeway

(Newser) - Five former Blackwater guards involved in a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead turned themselves in today and were charged with voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and using firearms in the commission of a crime, CNN reports. The men, all in their 20s, were arraigned in Salt Lake City... More »

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Iraq • Department of Justice • State Department • civilian casualties • Blackwater • Salt Lake City • manslaughter • defense contractors • weapons charges

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

(AP) - Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted and a sixth was negotiating a plea with prosecutors for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents, people close to the case said today. Prosecutors obtained the indictment late yesterday and had it... More »

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Iraq • Blackwater • shooting • federal prosecution

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