According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General, Blackwater may have improperly received numerous contracts set aside for small businesses. In a July 25th memorandum, the Inspector General raised concerns that the SBA did not adequately address several ambiguities and discrepancies that could have disqualified Blackwater from receiving small business contracts.

Although media reports frequently discuss Blackwater, the meaning of the name is complicated. “Blackwater” in its common usage describes several affiliated companies that operate under the umbrella business name of “Blackwater Worldwide.” Many of these affiliates do not have “Blackwater” anywhere in their name, and many of the Blackwater contracts in question were awarded to the affiliate company Presidential Airways. To add to the confusion surrounding Blackwater’s name, “Blackwater Worldwide” was, until recently, “Blackwater USA.”

A recent exchange of letters between POGO and Blackwater provides an excellent example of just how complicated the naming issue is. POGO sent a letter addressed to “Blackwater USA” and received a reply from the General Counsel of “Blackwater Lodge and Training Center,” who used “Blackwater Worldwide” stationery and referred to www.blackwaterusa.com. According to this letter, “Blackwater USA” is a “fictitious business name.”

More at POGO

What, are they expecting a big attack in Camden County? WTF…..

Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have confiscated nearly two dozen automatic rifles from Blackwater Worldwide, the private security contractor and firearms training company in Moyock, N.C.

The move came two days after a story in The News & Observer raised questions about the legality of Blackwater’s deals to buy the guns for the Camden County Sheriff’s Department. The security firm kept the rifles at its giant firearms training facility and used them in training law enforcement officers and members of the military.

All told, Blackwater bought 17 Romanian-made AK-47 assault rifles and 17 Bushmaster M-16-style rifles for the sheriff’s department. That was nearly enough assault rifles for Camden’s 19 deputies to carry two apiece, but none of the deputies was qualified to use AK-47s, and they only shot them at Blackwater, Sheriff Tony Perry said in an interview last week.

More at McClatchy

Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army writes:

From California to Iraq, business has never been better for the controversial private security company Blackwater Worldwide. Company President Gary Jackson recently boasted that Blackwater has ”had two successive quarters of unprecedented growth.” Owner Erik Prince recently spun his company as the ”FedEx” of the U.S. national security apparatus, describing Blackwater as a “robust temp agency.”

Such rhetoric may seem brazen, given Blackwater’s deadly record in Iraq and troubled reputation at home, but here is the cold, hard fact: Blackwater knows its future is bright no matter who next takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The company’s most infamous moment came last September, when Blackwater operatives were alleged to have gunned down 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square. A U.S. military investigation labeled the shootings a ”criminal event,” and a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., is hearing evidence in the case.

The father of one of the dead, a 9-year-old boy shot in the head, testified before the grand jury in late May. He has rejected offers of monetary compensation from the U.S. government and Blackwater; he demands a public admission of guilt by the company. ”This is important for me, morally, for my family and my tribe,” said Mohammed Hafidh Abdul-Razzaq. Other survivors have been offering testimony to the United Nations, and some have filed a lawsuit in federal court in this country.

(more…)

Three Iraqis, including the father of a slain 9-year-old boy, appeared Tuesday before a federal grand jury investigating a deadly Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad involving Blackwater Worldwide contractors.

The Iraqis were escorted to the closed-door session by federal prosecutors who are overseeing the U.S. investigation into whether Blackwater security guards illegally fired into a crowded Baghdad intersection, resulting in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.

An Iraqi police major told The Associated Press in Baghdad that two of his officers were flown to the United States several days ago to testify. The major, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said they were expected to remain in the United States for two weeks.

It was not known whether the officers, whose names were not provided by the police major, were among the three men meeting Tuesday with grand jurors at the federal courthouse in Washington.

One of the three Iraqis was Mohammed Abdul Razak, whose son Ali, 9, was killed in the shooting. He left court holding what appeared to be a family portrait. The men did not talk to reporters after about three hours behind closed doors but before leaving Iraq, Razak told ABC News he agreed to testify because he wanted justice for “a crime that needs to be punished.”

“It was a true massacre, a slaughter,” Razak said.

More at Wiredispatch

Rep. Jan Shakowsky asks for support of her bill, HR4102, and asks: Would you rehire someone who killed dozens of innocents? She asks that we phase out Blackwater in Iraq. And to answer her question, Yes, yes they would rehire them, and they DID.

Oh, ok……another “I didn’t know” story. Either this is the biggest bunch of idiots in the history of the world…….or the biggest bunch of liars. Either way…..we need to get rid of them ALL.

The lawyer for State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard asked on Saturday that he not be called to testify before Congress on discrepancies between his statements and those of his brother over the brother’s ties to the Blackwater security firm.

“There is no legitimate purpose to be gained by publicly pitting two brothers against each other,” Barbara Van Gelder wrote in a letter to Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the government oversight panel.

The two brothers had differing recollections about whether Alvin “Buzzy” Krongard told Howard Krongard he was taking an advisory board position with Blackwater, which protects U.S. diplomats and other State Department officials in Iraq. Howard recalled Alvin stating he was not taking the position, and Alvin recalled saying he was taking it, the lawyer wrote.

“Alvin does not claim to have ever made any effort to inform Howard of the Blackwater position despite its obvious relevance to Howard’s oversight responsibilities,” Van Gelder wrote. The letter asked Waxman not to hold the hearing.

More at Reuters

From CNN.com:

The Times cited unidentified civilian and military officials in reporting for Wednesday’s editions that the killings of at least 14 of the 17 Iraqi civilians shot by Blackwater personnel guarding a U.S. Embassy convoy were unjustified and violated standards in place governing the use of deadly force.

Responding to the Times report, Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman, said the company “supports the stringent accountability of the industry. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators.”

Anne went on to say that the company will withhold further comment “until the findings are made available.” Translated, this means investigators plan on spinning around in their expensive Herman Miller chairs until all of this blows over.

Republicans still get in a tizzy just mentioning Elian Gonzalez or Terri Schiavo. Why? Innocent children are being murdered daily in Iraq and elsewhere, and these hypocrites turn their backs to it.

Blackwater. Killing innocent people… children!… in OUR NAME… and granted full immunity for it. That’s the American way. Now.

And impeachment is still off the table.

U.S. promised Blackwater guards immunity, officials say

WASHINGTON (CNN) — State Department investigators promised Blackwater guards immunity from prosecution for last month’s deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to officials familiar with the matter.

That could potentially complicate any attempt to bring criminal charges in the case, the officials said.

The Justice Department and FBI refused comment on the investigation, which the State Department announced in early October. Blackwater also declined to comment.

“They were told their statements can’t be used against them,” said one U.S. government official. “But this doesn’t necessarily mean charges can never be brought against these guys.”

A second official called the limited immunity “surprising and confusing” and questioned the authority of the State Department’s diplomatic security investigators to unilaterally make immunity decisions.

“I can understand there would be a lot of very unhappy people,” said a third official, an experienced investigator who said decisions are not usually made without consultation with federal prosecutors.

All the officials refused to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on this sensitive issue.

Terry Frieden, CNN

CNNPolitics.com