Blackwater tapped foreigners on secret CIA program

WASHINGTON (AP) - When the CIA revived a plan to kill or capture terrorists in 2004, the agency turned to the well-connected security company then known as Blackwater USA.

With Blackwater’s lucrative government security work and contacts arrayed in hot spots around the world, company officials offered the services of foreigners supposedly skilled at tracking terrorists in lawless regions and countries where the CIA had no working relationships with the government.

Blackwater told the CIA that it “could put people on the ground to provide the surveillance and support - all of the things you need to conduct an operation,” a former senior CIA official familiar with the secret program told The Associated Press.

But the CIA’s use of the private contractor as part of its now-abandoned plan to dispatch death squads skirted concerns now re-emerging with recent disclosures about Blackwater’s role.

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Blackwater tapped foreigners on secret CIA program

Do any of you remember the old Mission Impossible television series staring Peter Graves? How about the Mission Impossible movies with Tom Cruise? Surely some of you remember that!

Do you remember what a well trained team of specialists they were? They could speak any language, had intimate knowledge of all the intricacies of ANY area, the clothing, the language, the habits, the culture and every little detailed nuance required to infiltrate enemy territory, up to, and including, masquerading as an official of that enemy, rubber masks and voice patterns done to the point that the guys own family couldn’t even recognize him as being an impostor. You DO remember all that from TV and Hollywood, right?

Well, guess what? Very little, if ANY of that stuff is real. It only exists in the movies. The CIA uses any and every resource at hand in an effort to protect this nation, and Blackwater was one of those valuable resources.

These Super Spies, or, Spooks, just aren’t real. James Bond is a character. ALL Intel agencies use as many local assets as possible. Why? Because local asset blend in to the local terrain. They speak the language. They know the customs. They know who’s who and where it’s all taking place, and if they play their cards right, they can infiltrate the area that OUR Intel guys are needing to take a look at. Then the electronic surveillance takes over.

The former senior CIA official who had knowledge of the program explained that “you wouldn’t want to have American fingerprints on it.”

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IG report says Blackwater may lose license in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) - An internal State Department report says Blackwater Worldwide may lose its license to work in Iraq and recommends that the agency prepare alternative means to protect its diplomats there.

The 42-page draft report by the State Department’s Inspector General says the department faces “numerous challenges” in dealing with the security situation in Iraq, including the prospect that Blackwater may be barred from the country. The department would have turn to other security arrangements to replace Blackwater, officials said.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the report itself, but deputy spokesman Robert Wood said that after the probe is done, officials would look at “whether the continued use of Blackwater in Iraq is consistent with the U.S. government’s goals and objectives.”

It is not clear how the State Department would replace Blackwater. It relies heavily on private contractors to protect its diplomats in Iraq, as its own security service does not have the manpower or equipment to do so. The report suggests that one way to fill the void would be for the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service to beef up its presence in Iraq.

“The department faces the real possibility that one of its primary Worldwide Personal Protective Services contractors in Iraq - Blackwater (Worldwide) - will not receive a license to continue operating in Iraq,” says the recently completely report.

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IG report says Blackwater may lose license in Iraq

Anyone that has been reading here for ANY length of time knows that I am a HUGE fan of Blackwater Worldwide and their fine organization.

I am laughing my ass off, this is rocket science at it’s very best, al-Maliki and the Iraqis are going to force State to replace Blackwater with another security firm?? Genius, sheer genius I tell you, why didn’t anyone else think of that?? Well, I’ll tell you why.

Every one of those guys that works for Blackwater already has a new job waiting for them with the new company, whoever it may be that will be brought in to replace Blackwater. High speed, low drag, 1st class operators are at a premium on todays market, and make no mistake about it, they are a high value item. There are only so many to go around, really competent and trustworthy ones that is.

You can get hired cannons all day, for a dime a dozen, wannabes that can’t think their way through an episode of ‘Are you Smarter than a 5th grader?’, yeah, those guys, literally, a dime a dozen, the ones you wouldn’t want guarding a bank in your home town. But 1st class professionals are a rare and beautiful thing and worth their weight in gold if they really are good enough to keep you alive.

And again I ask, how many diplomats has Blackwater lost under their watch?? Anyone?? That’s right, NONE!!

It will be quite easy for these guys to slip back in under the noses of the Iraqis and go right back to work after a week or 2 off. They can afford to take that week or 2, but can our diplomats and other officials afford to be without them for that long?? Can they afford to have their personal security compromised over some petty BS like this??

I think not, but that’s something the guys at State will have to decide for themselves the 1st time a diplomatic procession that’s NOT being protected by Blackwater comes under enemy attack.

I can’t wait to hear the survivors screaming about lack of firepower or the operators inability to take effective action.

If there ARE any survivors.

Blackwater guards in Baghdad shooting surrender

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards surrendered on 14 counts of manslaughter and dozens of other charges Monday in connection with an investigation into a deadly 2007 shooting at a busy Baghdad intersection.

A sixth guard admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting, in which prosecutors say Blackwater guards used machine guns and grenade launchers on motorists and bystanders. His guilty plea, likewise, was unsealed Monday.

“The government alleges in the documents unsealed today that at least 34 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, were killed or injured without justification or provocation by these Blackwater security guards,” national security prosecutor Pat Rowan said.

In addition to being charged with manslaughter, the five guards also face 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They are also charged with using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum sentence.

Though they are charged in a sealed indictment in Washington, they surrendered at a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City.

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Blackwater guards in Baghdad shooting surrender

I am NOT going to condemn the Blackwater guys, not in ANY way. It is my opinion that until the full facts of these indictments are heard, in a court of law, they are simply indictments. And once again I say, indictment does not necessarily equate to conviction.

It is my opinion that Blackwater does employ some very bad guys, and I view them with the greatest respect. Blackwater guys are NOT in theater to make nice, they are NOT set decoration. They are in theater to protect their client, at ALL costs! That is their ONLY job and Blackwater USA does that job very well.

Blackwater employs high speed, low drag, 1st class professional operators. Guys that are at a premium in todays market, and make no mistake about it, they are a high value item. There are only so many of them to go around. I refer to really competent, and trustworthy ones, you can find hired cannons all day, for a dime a dozen, wannabes that can’t think their way through an episode of ‘Are you Smarter than a 5th grader?’.

Yeah, those guys, literally, a dime a dozen. The ones you wouldn’t them want guarding a bank in your home town. But 1st class professionals are a rare and beautiful thing, and worth their weight in gold simply because, they will keep you alive.

And again I ask, how many diplomats has Blackwater lost under their watch?? Anyone?? That’s right. NONE! That is all the vindication Blackwater needs, they deliver a JOB WELL DONE! And they bring their charges back alive!

I can’t speak for everyone, but to ANY man that has ever been in a combat situation, that one caveat, they bring their charges back alive, that equates to VICTORY! Now, lets see what the bleeding hearts and libbers have to say about that. And I am waiting to see if some of the Mil-Blogs jump to the defense of Blackwater the way they did for the Haditha Marines. I hope they do, Blackwater deserves that support too!