LiberalLucy has written an excellent article at DailyKos asking some important questions about the extremely rich and ultra-conservative president of Blackwater, Erik Prince. While the war in Iraq has provided an immense influx of cash and power for Prince and his mercenary army, Lucy states the real problem is how Blackwater has been run.

From DailyKos:

The real problem is with what he's turned Blackwater into, how the company is being used to our ridicule country's justice system and the careless way in which its employees are being treated.

According to BASIC's Isenberg, private military companies like Blackwater use political campaign contributions and lobbying firms to influence the government.

Jeremy Scahill, author of the new book "Blackwater: the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and writer for The Nation magazine, will be speaking in Los Angeles next Monday, April 30th at 7:30pm. Jeremy will discuss the privatization of the U.S. Military and it's impact on taxpayers. The event is hosted by ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Peace and Justice).

A $10 contribution is requested, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All proceeds will benefit Holy Nativity and ICUJP.

Location:

Holy Nativity Episcopal Church
6700 West 83rd Street
Los Angeles, California
310.670.4777

Protest over the proposed 842-acre Blackwater base in Potrero California we wrote about last week is continuing to increase. The San Jose Mercury News reports:

Last Thursday, county planners held a state-mandated "scoping session" to outline the review process. Such sessions usually are pro forma, done quickly and with little fuss.

For the Blackwater scoping session, at least 200 protesters lined the streets outside the county's Department of Planning and Land Use building in San Diego.

Three dozen San Diego police and county sheriff's deputies were on hand. One deputy thought it necessary to wear an extra belt of ammunition across his chest.

Ivan Haller, the county's deputy planning director, said the law enforcement presence was in response to a threat. "That's all I'm prepared to say," he said.

Outside, motorists including garbage-truck drivers and office workers honked their horns in apparent support of the protesters carrying signs blasting Blackwater, the Bush administration and U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Protesters are convinced the public is on their side.

An article in Raw Story reveals Blackwater USA is facing growing resistance to a proposed 842-acre base in Potrero California which would include 15 firing ranges for automatic and semi-automatic weapons and small caliber guns, emergency vehicle operator's course the length of ten football fields, bunkhouses, commando-style training facilities, ship simulators and law enforcement training towers with rock climbing walls and platforms. Potrero, a small town of 850 located south east of San Diego is surrounded by Cleveland National Forest and is environmentally sensitive.

Internal documents acquired by Raw Story reveal Blackwater indicated the bases' effect on the local eagle population as a "potential fatal flaw." Potrero property owner Dania Raum said the project site is a hidden valley filled with wetlands and various varieties of raptor birds. Golden eagles nest just 3,500 feet north of the site.

The News and Observer reported yesterday that someone used a U.S. Embassy security gate camera to fake video evidence and may have tried to bribe witnesses in a case involving a Blackwater employee. From the News and Observer:

The alleged faked videotape and attempted bribes were part of ... a road rage incident Sept. 19 in Kabul, Afghanistan, that led to charges against two Air Force pilots.

In a February hearing in Kabul to help determine whether the pilots, Lt. Col. Gary W. Brown and Lt. Col. Christopher R. Hall, should be court-martialed, prosecutors said the pair had rammed an SUV driven by Blackwater employee Jimmy Bergeron.

When Bergeron approached them on foot at a security gate into the U.S. Embassy compound, they pointed a pistol and an assault rifle at him, and Brown tossed away Bergeron's keys.

The two officers said the bearded Bergeron, who was dressed in civilian clothes and a vest carrying ammunition and was in an unmarked vehicle, had actually struck their SUV, then rammed it again. Given that suicide bombers in the area were targeting Westerners, they testified, they feared for their lives.

According to military rules of engagement, the pilots had the right to use force -- deadly force if necessary -- to protect themselves.

IraqSlogger.com also has reported on the incident, pointing out that the outcome of the case could affect how Blackwater is used in the region. Normally when incidents between private contractors and military personnel occur, an apology letter is sent to the commanding officer and the issue is dropped. In this particular case, the U.S. government has decided to prosecute the two Air Force colonels and now Lt. Col. Leslea Pickle has called for an investigation into evidence and witness tampering.

Read more at the News and Observer and IraqSlogger.com.

Brian Bennett at Time.com has written an article looking into the outsourcing of the Iraq war and revisiting the Fallujah massacre, in which several Blackwater employees were killed, burned and dragged through the streets. Katy Helvenston (featured in Iraq For Sale), mother of Scott Helvenston - one of those killed - is featured in the article. From Time.com:

Helvenston, along with the families of the three men killed with her son--Wes Batalona, Mike Teague and Zovko--are suing Blackwater for wrongful death in a case that, after more than two years and a stop before the Supreme Court, has landed in front of a North Carolina state judge, who will move it along April 9. The families want to know what happened that day in Fallujah. But they also want to press their claims that Blackwater, in its zeal to exploit this unexpected market for private security men, showed a callous disregard for the safety of its employees. In the process, the case of the Fallujah Four, as some now refer to them, has stirred a nest of questions about accountability, oversight and regulations governing for-profit gunslingers in war zones.

Rick Jacobs, Co-Executive producer of Iraq for Sale wrote today on The Huffington Post:

When there's good news, celebrate, even if it's one step at a time.

According to the AP, "The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a lawsuit against a private security company stemming from the slaying of four of its guards by an angry mob in Iraq.

Blackwater Security Consulting LLC is trying to have the wrongful death case brought by the estates of the four men transferred from the North Carolina state court system to the federal courts.

By turning down Blackwater's request, the Supreme Court leaves the case in state court."

Two of the families that are suing Blackwater for its negligence that led to the death of their sons were featured in Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers. Those same brave women also testified before Congressman Henry Waxman's House Government Reform Committee two weeks ago.

An article today from the Virginia-Pilot reports on a two year investigation which is finally exposing the trail of taxpayer dollars which paid Blackwater during the time of the Fallujah massacre in March 2004. Extensive research by the Army has uncovered that Blackwater was hired by two intermediary companies - Regency Hotel & Hospital Co., and ESS Worldwide Services with KBR being at the top of the chain, ultimately billing the government. Last week federal investigators uncovered $10 billion of $57 billion squandered on overcharges or unreported expenses. Virginia-Pilot:

A January 2005 audit of a different Blackwater contract, with the State Department, found that Blackwater was charging the government separately for "drivers" and "security specialists," who were in fact the same people. The audit also found that Blackwater was improperly including profit in its overhead costs, resulting "not only in a duplication of profit, but also a pyramiding of profit because, in effect, Blackwater is applying profit to profit."

IraqSlogger is the latest outlet to report on the story we posted back on January 2nd about a Blackwater employee drunkly murdering an Iraqi security contractor on Christmas Eve. The story was originally sent to us by an anonymous source in Iraq and has since been confirmed from numerous media outlets. The IraqSlogger blog reveals that the Iraqi security contractor worked for the Vice President as a security guard and that the Blackwater employee emptied the entire magazine of his pistol into his body. In complete contrast with military personnel, private contractors hold apparently no accountability for their actions, even when it comes to murder -- the Blackwater employee was whisked back to the U.S. and dropped from payroll. The article continues:

"Under normal circumstances the contractor would have been arrested (the Green Zone is in effect a U.S. base) under the Patriot Act, MEJA, the military code or Iraqi law but he wasn't ... According to Blackwater's lawyer, he was "off duty" returned to the US and is being "investigated" by the FBI. The yet to be identified contractor is a perfect example of how and why contractors are accountable to no one."

Upon discovering Halliburton had hired Blackwater USA for armed security guards in Iraq, the U.S. Army announced it will be withholding $19.6 million due to a potential breach of contract. The Army's $16 billion contract forbids Halliburton from using private armed guards. The announcement came on Wednesday during congressional hearings on Iraq war profiteering by private contractors. Read more details on this story.

Katy Helvenston-Wettengel testified that a Blackwater program manager physically and verbally attacked her son Scott Helvenston when he indicated he was not well enough to leave the next morning on a mission. Despite two other Blackwater operators offering to go in Scott’s place, the Blackwater manager burst into Scott’s room late one night, confiscated his weapon, and told Scott that if he personally did not go on the mission the following day, he would be fired. Later that night, Scott wrote an e-mail addressed to the president and upper-management of Blackwater stating:

"It is with deep regret and remorse that I send you this e-mail. During my short tenure here with Blackwater I have witnessed and endured some extreme unprofessionalism."

Donna Zovko, mother of Jerry Zovko, testified that Blackwater told her husband they would have to sue the company to find out where their sons belongings were and how he died. When asked if she thought Blackwater was more concerned with the safety of it's personnel, or how much profit it could make from the contract, she stated: "It is profit. It is definitely profit."

Another e-mail from Tom Powell, a Blackwater Iraq operations manager, outlined critical gear shortages on March 30, 2004:

"I need Comms (communications equipment). ... I need ammo. ... I need Glocks and M4s. ... Guys are in the field with borrowed stuff and in harm's way ... I have requested Hard cars from the beginning and from my understanding an order is still pending."

Kerry Candaele, a story producer on Iraq For Sale, blogs today on The Huffington Post about how Ted Koppel has "taken up the privatization of the U.S. military as one of his post-Nightline causes." Candaele questions Koppel's assertions that:

The increased use of private companies in wartime Iraq is "the inevitable response of a market economy to a host of seemingly intractable public policy and security problems" such as a "growing public disenchantment with the war in Iraq," "the prospect of an endless campaign against global terrorism" and "the expansion of American corporations into more remote, fractious, and potentially hostile settings." Words that Candaele says "could have come straight from the mouth of Eric Prince, Blackwater founder and major benefactor to extreme right-wing fundamentalist organizations."

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Rep. Henry Waxman, will be holding four days of hearings beginning today on waste, fraud and abuse by private contractors. Tomorrow will focus specifically on Blackwater USA. Founder and chairman Erik Prince has been invited as a witness, but it is still unclear if he intends on attending. Also invited to testify are family members of the four Blackwater contractors killed in Fallujah, Iraq in March 2004.

Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia noted that in nearly four years of war no civilian contractor has yet been prosecuted for abuse or misconduct in Iraq. Read all the details.

Blackwater refused to comment today on news that a company helicopter was shot down in Iraq, killing five. While details are not yet public, an anonymous source says the helicopter was shot down over a predominantly Sunni Fadhil neighborhood in Baghdad. Katy Helvenston, mother of Scott Helvenston who was killed in Iraq in 2004 and who was featured in Iraq for Sale commented, "This just breaks my heart, I'm so sick of these kids dying." Read the full story.

The families seen in the film are suing Blackwater for negligence. In a deeply cynical move and after repeatedly being shot down in trying to get the case dismissed, Blackwater is now suing them back for $10 million arguing, of all things, breach of contract.

Memo to Blackwater: Their sons are dead, so yeah, they didn't fulfill the contract.

The Virginia-Pilot has picked up on a story we posted a week ago about an alleged murder which took place on Christmas Eve by a Blackwater employee. According to the Virgina-Pilot article, the U.S. State Department said a civilian U.S. contractor killed an Iraqi security officer on December 24th. The event could serve as a test to the accountability of private contractors conduct in Iraq, who so far have escaped the reach of the law which governs U.S. soldiers.

The article goes on to quote Peter W. Singer, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who is an author of a book about the private military industry saying: "This is going to be part of a much, much bigger debate: Have we outsourced too much? It was never debated. The consequences of it were never weighed. Now we're trying to clean up all the mess that's been created." Read the full story.

Below is the full email from an anonymous source in Iraq who wrote us last week about an alleged Christmas Eve murder cover up by Blackwater.

I live and work in the Green Zone here in Baghdad. I am writing this email from inside the palace. I don't think anyone would like it if they found out.

I have a lot of friends who work for Blackwater. I hang out in their camp from time to time. All the Blackwater employees have been told not to talk to anyone about the shooting but I ask my friends questions and they tell me stuff.

The shooting happened on Christmas eve. A Blackwater employee that works at the armory inside the palace left a dance party at Liberty pool. He was very drunk and got disoriented. He ran into an Iraqi guard that was guarding a judge and got into a fight of some sort. The Blackwater guy shot the Iraqi in the chest ten times and fled the scene. When he was leaving he dropped his ID and that's how they found him. He had made his way back to his hooch. I've also been told that the incident was caught on security cameras and that BW has those tapes. The guy was flown out of the country the next day.

All the Blackwater guys were really pissed at this guy because at their emergency meeting on Christmas morning (Monday) they were told that Blackwater was installing a no drinking policy for all it's employees. But, by Thursday the ban was lifted and I was drinking with a bunch of Blackwater employees that night. Many of them were drunk. Usually they know that if they are drinking they should not be carrying a weapon. I have heard some different versions of the story but this is a good place to start if you want to investigate.

They sell bootleg DVD's of IRAQ FOR SALE at the haji-marts over here for $1.50. I really enjoyed it and found it so informative. I see the waste that you talk about every day. When I go to the mess hall to eat.

I never sign my name so KBR won't make money off of me. All the wasted money makes me so mad. I use my own little subversive measures to undermine KBR whenever I can. I have bought over 10 of your DVD's and sent them to friends in the states to view and hopefully prod into action. My one friend owns a business and is going to hold a screening of your movie. Another friend has a cousin in Government and is gonna try to spur him into action. Even though I'm over here making money, I'd give it all up if that meant not another young soldier had to die in order to make KBR rich. I know you said it in your movie and it is so true. KBR controls everything over here.

They just replaced all the hot water heaters over here in all the hooches, Thousands of them. The ones they took out and replaced worked perfectly well. In fact the new ones are cheaper and smaller and everyone hates them. They are in the process of replacing all the perfectly good AC/Heater units in all the hooches now with cheaper ones. The waste just keeps on going and going. I'll help you with any other info if you want. You can email me at this address. I'll check it every once in a while.

Regards,
me

P.S. I just chatted with my Blackwater friends before logging here. The alcohol ban is back on and they are all pissed off.

The following was sent to us by an anonymous source in Iraq:

"On [Christmas] eve (2006) here in the Green Zone a Blackwater employee got into a scuffle with an Iraqi personal guard that was guarding a judge and shot him ten times and killed him. The Blackwater employee was drunk. Why did he have his weapon on him? He has been whisked out of Iraq as fast as possible so the local authorities could not get a hold of him.

Blackwater is trying to keep it all hush-hush so the media doesn't find out about it and dirty their already dirty reputation. Now all the Blackwater employees are pissed off cause they have installed a no alcohol ban on all Blackwater employees.

Spread the word. I hope a reporter gets a hold of this story and runs with it. Please, someone please start asking questions."

News & Observer:

Taxpayers paid exorbitant prices for Blackwater's services, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman wrote in a letter to outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Waxman said it wasn't clear precisely how much taxpayers overpaid because the Army hasn't provided answers to questions first raised two years ago,

The California congressman said that Blackwater's services were not just pricey, but prohibited, because the Army never authorized Blackwater or any other Halliburton subcontractors to guard convoys or carry weapons. Houston-based Halliburton has been paid at least $16 billion to provide food, lodging and other support for troops in Iraq, and $2.4 billion to work on Iraqi oil infrastructure.

Waxman demanded "whether and how the Army intends to recover taxpayer funds paid to Halliburton and Blackwater for services prohibited under [Halliburton's] contract."

Blackwater hired Ken Starr in an attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit surrounding the 2004 murder of four Blackwater employees in Fallujah.

Youtube link and Quicktime

To learn more about Erik Prince, read Matt O's profile.

Blackwater hoodwinked 35 Colombian mercenaries, paying them $34/day, a fraction of what they'd been promised by recruiters. Read Matt O's blog →

"You train on the range as if it were a real life-threatening situation." YouTube link

Jeremy Scahill: "In a major blow to one of the most infamous war profiteers operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and New Orleans, a federal appeals court has ruled that a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the mercenary firm Blackwater USA can proceed in North Carolina's state courts. The suit was brought by the families of the four Blackwater contractors ambushed and killed in Falluja, Iraq on March 31, 2004. Blackwater had tried to have the case dismissed or moved to federal court."

Katy Helvenston (seen in the film), her son Scott was killed in Falluja: "I've been bawling ever since I've heard the decision. It's been overwhelming. I am so glad that they ruled this way. Blackwater has stalled and stalled. Look at the hundreds of millions of dollars in profits in Iraq and New Orleans they've made since my son was killed. It's time to go to trial and let the chips fall where they may."

Teddy Garcia from Davao City posted this incredible video on YouTube:

NOTE: A little crude language, not safe for work... and the whole thing might not be suitable for children.

In the week following the Fallujah massacre, Behrends organized two secret meetings. The first was between Erik and four GOP heavyweights in the House: DeLay, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (and now former CIA Director) Rep. Porter Goss (R-Florida) and Rep. Bill Young (R-Florida), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The second meeting involved GOP senators (and the fearsome foursome): Ted "Totally Tubular" Stevens (R-Alaska) of the Appropriations Committee (chairman), chairman of the Armed Services Committee John Warner (R-Virginia), George "Duke of Hazard" Allen (R-Virginia) and Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum (R-Pennsylvania).

In August 2003, the governing body set up by the U.S. -- the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) -- awarded Blackwater a $21 million contract to provide security for CPA head, Paul Bremer, and other CPA officials in Iraq. (According to the linked UPI report, Blackwater USA has received "$505 million in contracts since 2000, primarily with the State Department.")

On March 31, 2004 in Fallujah, four contractors were killed, and in the aftermath, the company hired the Alexander Strategy Group (ASG) to conduct damage control and improve its image. ASG is notorious for its involvement in the K-Street Project in Washington, D.C. Alexander Strategy spokesman Chris Bertinelli was quoted by the Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, saying, "They did not go out looking for the publicity and did not ask for everything that happened to them. We want to do everything we can to educate [the media and Congress] about what Blackwater does."

In 1997, Erik Prince founded Blackwater USA, expanding the family's Christian conservative empire into private security and war for hire.

Erik is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and son of the late billionaire automotive parts supplier, Edgar. (In a Q&A published by the Virginian-Pilot on July 24, Erik noted some of his father's less successful ideas, including a sock drawer light and an automated ham de-boning device.)