Two weeks after re-christening his mercenary outfit with the inscrutable moniker Xe, Erik Prince steps down as CEO. This news amid layoffs, multiple lawsuits, criminal charges, a helicopter crash, contract losses and outright banishment. Meanwhile, Xe reaches out to new target markets. Nostalgic for the old days? The Blackwater Pro Shop still has gear!
posted by grounded on Mar 2, 2009 - 56 comments

The State Department has promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in last month's murder of 17 Iraqi civilians. Richard J. Griffin, the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security which granted the immunity, announced his resignation effective last Thursday.
posted by Mr_Zero on Oct 29, 2007 - 27 comments

Mysterious Mr. Moto. Severo Moto Nsa, Equatorial Guinea's exiled opposition leader reappeared in Madrid yesterday, after a strange episode in which he first was presumed abducted (or worse), and then, from an undisclosed location in Croatia, had accused the Spanish government of trying to kill him. He already made international headlines last year, with the most bizarre, incompetent coup attempt in a while. Not that the dictator he's trying to topple is a nice character (even if his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, was even worse). And, of course, there's oil involved. Lots of it.
posted by Skeptic on May 1, 2005 - 11 comments

Red, White and Blue Dogs of War Just found this story in The Nation about a decision by the Bush administration to hire Aegis Defense Services to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The trouble is, its boss, ex-British Lt. Col. Tim Spicer, who is responsible for actually starting a coup in Papua New Guinea in 1996, among other things. Perhaps Bush, the free market disciple, is beginning to think that he needs to hire some mercs to make up for all the reserve and Guard guys quitting. If the Army needs more help and advice, they could hire this or that homegrown "consulting firm."
posted by Leege on Jan 11, 2005 - 22 comments

You too can apply to become a private interrogater in Baghdad! [Via Randi Rhodes on Air America]

Assists the interrogation support program team lead to increase the effectiveness of dealing with Detainees, Persons of Interest, and Prisoners of War (POWs) that are in the custody of US/Coalition Forces...
posted by moonbird on May 7, 2004 - 44 comments

Indian mercenaries serving in Iraq. Can you really outsource a foreign occupation?
posted by rks404 on Apr 29, 2004 - 9 comments

Modern Mercenaries on the Iraqi Frontier In his own way, Stevie is a modern soldier-of-fortune, paid by a private security firm to lead a 44-man unit that is protecting American officials in charge of rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq. He left his native Glasgow, Scotland, to join the British army at 16, served for 24 years in conflicts around the globe, about half that time as a member of the special forces. In the shadowy tradition of his trade, he asked that only his first name be used and declined to say much about the wars he has fought. "That is one topic I'd rather not talk about," he said in his rich brogue, speaking by phone from the Baghdad villa run by Kroll Inc., the company that employs him. Some bloggers have gotten in trouble of late for using the M-word, but now a wider conversation on Kroll, Blackwater, and friends seems to be emerging. Is the presence of mercenaries --both nationals of coalition countries and foreign nationals-- in Iraq part of Rumsfeld's broader transformation policy? Is their presence in Iraq even legal in the first place?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly on Apr 3, 2004 - 30 comments

Can Mercenaries Protect Hamid Karzai? The US govt is hiring private mercenaries to do it's dirty work overseas. In short, by hiring private military contractors such as DynCorp, the U.S. government has found an effective way to conduct foreign policy by proxy and in secret. These proxies cannot be monitored, are effectively immune from all criminal sanctions, and are dangerously hard to control since they answer to corporate bosses, not military brass. (easy registration required)
posted by Coop on Nov 20, 2002 - 12 comments

One of science fiction's favorite dark futures is pretty well along now. Until he quit to be Vice President in 2000, Dick Cheney ran a company called Halliburton. A Halliburton subsidiary, Kellog Brown and Root, is a private corporation that performs missions for the US military. Their employess are out there, performing missions in places like the Balkans, wearing US Army uniforms and carrying US Army issued guns.
posted by badstone on May 6, 2002 - 28 comments

Customer-specific solutions
"When the Department of State (or other public sector entities) needs personnel to reconstitute, establish and maintain rule of law in emerging democracies, they come to DynCorp. " Found thru Washington's secret forces in Latin America
posted by riley370 on Jun 13, 2001 - 4 comments