Blackwater Worldwide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Type | Private military security firm |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder(s) | Erik Prince Al Clark |
| Headquarters | Moyock, North Carolina, USA[1] |
| Industry | Private military and security contractor |
| Divisions | Nine |
| Website | http://xecompany.com/ |
Xe Services LLC (pronounced /zi/) is a private military company founded as Blackwater USA in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.[2][3]
In October 2007, the company was renamed Blackwater Worldwide and was colloquially referred to as "Blackwater". It has drawn controversy,[4][5][6][7][8]
and has a wide array of business divisions, subsidiaries, and spin-off corporations.
Based in the U.S. state of North Carolina, Xe operates a tactical training facility (36°27′N
76°12′W / 36.45°N 76.2°W) which the company claims is the world's largest, and at which the company trains more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. or foreign military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personal security.
The company announced on February 13, 2009, that it would operate under the new name "Xe". In a memo sent to employees, President Gary Jackson wrote that the new name "reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security." A spokesman for the company stated that it feels the Blackwater name is too closely associated with the company's work in Iraq.[9]
Spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said there was no meaning in the new name, which the company spent over a year to arrive at in an internal search.[10]
Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Xe provides, 744 are U.S. citizens.[11][12] At least 90 percent of the company's revenue
comes from government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts.[13] Xe provided security services in Iraq to the United States federal government, particularly the
Department of State[1] on a contractual basis. They no longer have a license to operate in Iraq: the new Iraqi government made multiple attempts to expel them from their country,[14]
and denied their application for an operating license in January 2009.[15] However, the company is still under contract with the State Department and some Xe personnel will likely remain in Iraq at least until September, 2009. [16]
(a lot more)
bad company has been totaly out of control and when you see who they hire to guard our gates at our bases over here in europe it would make your blood curdle my friend-
AntwortenLöschenps I always wondered who was really behind them ?
Thanks for this. Interesting to see whats behind the smoke and mirrors. .
AntwortenLöschenInteresting article, thank you. I didn't realize that they changed their name, interesting that it seems the end of their contract in Iraq made the change of their name necessary. Always good to know whom to get out of the way, if possible!
AntwortenLöschenI can't understand the need for their existence but wouldn't be surprised to learn that some high-powered people have a finger in a very lucrative pie and it allows what is basically a mercenary force to do the bidding of the government whilst they can distance themselves (as a government) should anything go wrong. I would have thought that as most of the employees are ex-military that it would be in the interests of the government and the taxpayer for such functions to be directly controlled by the military employing those ex-military personnel deemed suitable.
AntwortenLöschenThere is no "need". It is "business". All it needs to be is "profitable". Think of all its potential markets:
AntwortenLöschenAny 3rd world dictator who wants to have his rag-tag soldiers trained.
An intermediary to get arms and other war equipment
Governments who seek to do covert military operations in another country.
US, UK etc, training the military of their allies (Latin America?)
They can be contracted to "defend" an embassy, yet, under the table, they can be used to train and lead insurgents.
That keeps the hands of governments "clean".
Had there been a second "Allende" issue, the US would not need direct CIA involvement at all.
During the Iraq occupation, a large number of US military weapons ended up in the hands of the terrorist organization PKK, a Kurdish separatist group. All indicators point to the mercenaries.
Democracy Now has some very informative programmes on Blackwater - notably with Jeremy Scahill who has researched the company extensively. Check out democracynow.org and look in the archives. All you need to know, Almost.
AntwortenLöschenThank you for this, greatly.
AntwortenLöschenThe problem is... who else reads it besides you and me?
Don't have to read! Watch and listen. For example: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/4/blackwater_ceo_erik_prince_resigns_in
AntwortenLöschenMercenaries and prostitutes have been around for ever, feeding off each other.
AntwortenLöschenThank you, that is handy to know.
AntwortenLöschenOK. I think these are the two articles over there:
AntwortenLöschenBlackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Part II – Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Isn't 'Xe' your made up word, Gurcan, to cover the problem of perceived sexism - 'he or she'?
AntwortenLöschenI wonder if they chose a Chinese sounding name deliberately
I used to track my investment portfolio with Xe.com. Recently I changed to Bloomberg's service, which give more options worldwide. Probably not the same Xe though.
AntwortenLöschenYup. Once I was promoting that, but did not find enough support.
AntwortenLöschenI still think that xe wold be a good choice for continuously writing s/he.
They claim it is an "invented" name w/o any meaning (like KODAK). I think it actually DOES have a 'secret' meaning(!). Who cares!
I did not find it "Chinese sounding". In particular the symbol, with the "e" buried in "X", I found peculiar.
However, that does not prevent us from "INVENTING" a meaning to it!
= )
eXmarines
"ex" spelled backwards: xe" : "We are not ex- any more"...
"Xenophobics"
...