[Peace-discuss] America's real war is against Pakistan

[C. G. Estabrook]

	CIA admits Blackwater presence in Pakistan
	Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:13:42 GMT

Despite repeated denials, the CIA has now confirmed that US security contractor 
Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, has been operating in Pakistan.

CIA spokesman George Little said that agency Director Leon Panetta has 
terminated a contract with Xe services that allowed the company's employees to 
load bombs on CIA drones at secret airfields in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Although the spokesman denied that Blackwater was currently involved in CIA 
operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, his comments, contradicted past US 
assertions that the company does not operate in Pakistan.

Other than the US administration, the Pakistani government and Xe itself had 
denied that the company was operating in Pakistan.

Little did say, however, that the contractor still provides so-called security 
or support assistance to the US intelligence agency in the two countries. He did 
not elaborate further on exactly what that role involves.

While the New York Times published CIA's claim that Blackwater employees no 
longer have an operational role in the agency's covert programs in Pakistan and 
Afghanistan, the Guardian posted a quite different article.

Citing comments from an unnamed former US official, the British daily reported 
that Blackwater was still operating in Pakistan at a secret CIA airfield used 
for launching drone attacks.

According to the official, who has direct knowledge of the operation, Xe 
employees patrol areas surrounding the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan's Baluchistan 
province.

Blackwater gained its notoriety mainly from its activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraqis have launched several cases against the company in US courts over violent 
attacks carried out by the company against unarmed people, including an 
unprovoked 2007 shooting spree in Baghdad that killed 17 civilians.

After the Baghdad incident Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services.

The company CEO Erik Prince also is facing allegations by a former US marine and 
a past employee that he organized the murder of witnesses that could have 
testified against his company during the hearings.

He has also been accused by the two witnesses, whose identities have not been 
disclosed by the courts for safety purposes, of having anti-Muslim sentiments, 
"encouraging and rewarding the destruction of Iraqi life", and arms smuggling.

CIA confirmation of Xe involvement in Pakistan comes a day after the New York 
Times reported that links between Blackwater and the CIA in Iraq and Afghanistan 
have been closer than has yet been disclosed.

A US Congressional committee is apparently investigating links between 
Blackwater and American intelligence services.

The paper said that Blackwater staff had participated in clandestine CIA raids.

Blackwater is a sensitive subject in Pakistan where its name is associated with 
drone strikes, bombings and violent activities that have left hundreds of 
civilians dead.

Before the US avowal, some Pakistani TV stations had already aired images of 
what seemed to be "Blackwater houses" in Islamabad. Several papers had also 
published reports accusing certain US officials and journalists of being Xe 
operatives.

Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, has even offered to resign if it is 
proven that Blackwater is present in Pakistan.

However, it remains to be seen whether he will keep that promise now that the 
CIA has confirmed that Blackwater is and was working in Pakistan.

C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> [The paramount concern of US policy-makers in the ME is to prevent 
> populous & well-armed Pakistan from becoming an effective source of 
> opposition to US control of the region.  And apparently the Obama 
> administration will stop at nothing to accomplish that. --CGE]
> 
>     Blackwater behind Pakistan bombings: Ex-intel chief
>     Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:09:05 GMT
> 
> The former head of Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, Asad Durrani 
> said in an interview with Press TV that Blackwater, a notorious US 
> security firm, is carrying out operations in the country.
> 
> His comments came after the US Central intelligence Agency (CIA) 
> revealed that Blackwater, which currently works under the name Xe 
> Services, has been involved in drone attacks in Pakistan.
> 
> The CIA said the private security company has been loading bombs on US 
> drones that target suspected militants in Pakistan. The attacks, 
> according to Pakistani media, kill civilians as well.
> 
> General Durrani, however, said the group may be involved in actions that 
> destabilize the country.
> 
> "My assessment is that they [Blackwater agents] — either themselves or 
> most probably through others, through the locals — do carry out some of 
> the explosions," he said.
> 
> "The idea is to carry out such actions, like carrying attacks in the 
> civilian areas to make the others look bad in the eyes of the public."
> 
> Pakistan, suffering from a wave of violence, has witnessed the loss of 
> lives of more than two thousands civilians in the past two years because 
> of bomb attacks across the country.
> 
> JR/MD
> Related Stories:
> CIA admits Blackwater presence in Pakistan
> Ex-intel chief discusses Blackwater in Pakistan
> 
> http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113540&sectionid=351020401
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