[Peace-discuss] "hard-faced men who did well out of the war"

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Of course, this scum is put in place by that nice man whom we elected president 
for hope and change.  They couldn't do it without him.  --CGE]

	FEBRUARY 8, 2010
	Blackwater, Now Xe, Vying For $1 Billion
	Contract To Train Afghan National Police

"Blackwater Worldwide's legal woes haven't dimmed the company's prospects in 
Afghanistan, where it's a contender to be a key part of President Barack Obama's 
strategy for stabilizing the country," the AP reported recently.

"Now called Xe Services, the company is in the running for a Pentagon contract 
potentially worth $1 billion to train Afghanistan's troubled national police 
force. Xe has been shifting to training, aviation and logistics work after its 
security guards were accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians more than two 
years ago.

"Yet even with a new name and focus, the expanded role would seem an unlikely 
one for Xe because Democrats have held such a negative opinion of the company 
following the Iraqi deaths, which are still reverberating in Baghdad and Washington.

"During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, now Obama's 
secretary of state, backed legislation to ban Blackwater and other private 
security contractors from Iraq.

"Xe eventually lost its license to operate as guardian of U.S. diplomats in Iraq 
and the State Department, with Clinton at the helm, elected not to rehire the 
company when the contract expired in 2009. Delays in getting a new company in 
place led to a temporary extension of the State contract."

Derrick Crowe of Rethink Afghanistan notes that Xe is in the running for this 
contract "despite the fact that they've 'trained' the notoriously corrupt and 
incompetent Afghan Border Police. Recently, two Blackwater / Xe trainers were 
indicted for murdering Afghan civilians, and the company has a history of hiring 
people with a criminal record. Xe Services / Blackwater is a liability to the 
American cause around the world and doesn't deserve another dime of taxpayer money."

Rethink Afghanistan has posted a new video on the topic featuring 
Afghanistan-based correspondent Anand Gopal...

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