[Peace-discuss] US war by Obama's hired thugs

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Published on Sunday, June 20, 2010 by The Nation
	Obama Administration Keeping Blackwater Armed and Dangerous
	in Afghanistan
	by Jeremy Scahill

Blackwater is up for sale and its shadowy owner, Erik Prince, is rumored to be 
planning to move to the United Arab Emirates as his top deputies face indictment 
for a range of alleged crimes, yet the company remains a central part of 
President Obama's Afghanistan war. Now, Blackwater's role is expanding.

On Friday, the US State Department awarded Blackwater another "diplomatic 
security" contract to protect US officials in Afghanistan. CBS News reports that 
the $120 million deal is for "protective services" at the US consulates in Herat 
and Mazar-e-Sharif. Blackwater has another security contract in Afghanistan 
worth $200 million and trains Afghan forces. The company also works for the CIA 
and the US military and provides bodyguards for US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry as 
well as US lawmakers and other officials who visit the country. The company has 
four forward operating bases in Afghanistan and Prince has boasted that 
Blackwater's counter-narcotics forces have called in NATO airstrikes.

The new security contract was awarded to one of Blackwater's alter egos, the 
United States Training Center, despite the indictments of five senior company 
officials on bribery, weapons and conspiracy charges. Its operatives in both 
Afghanistan and Iraq have been indicted for killing innocent civilians. The 
Senate Armed Services Committee has called on the Justice Department to 
investigate Blackwater's use of a shell company, Paravant, to win training 
contracts in Afghanistan. Despite these and numerous other scandals, the State 
Department once again awarded the company a lucrative contract.

"Under federal acquisition regulations, the prosecution of the specific 
Blackwater individuals does not preclude the company or its successive companies 
and subsidiaries from bidding on contracts," a State Department spokesperson 
told CBS. "On the basis of full and open competition, the department performed a 
full technical evaluation of all proposals and determined the US Training Center 
has the best ability and qualifications to meet the contract requirements."

Representative Jan Schakowsky, who chairs the Intelligence Subcommittee on 
Oversight and Investigations, immediately blasted the State Department's 
awarding of the contract to Blackwater. "This is a company whose cowboy-like 
behavior has not only resulted in civilian deaths; it has also jeopardized our 
mission and the safety of U.S. troops and diplomatic personnel worldwide. 
Instead of punishing Blackwater for its extensive history of serious abuses the 
State Department is rewarding the company with up to $120 million in taxpayer 
funds," Schakowsky said. "I strongly believe that the former Blackwater should 
not be receiving further U.S. contracts, and I have repeatedly urged the U.S. 
government to no longer do business with this company. Though the name 
Blackwater has become synonymous with the worst of contractor abuses, the bigger 
problem is our dangerous reliance on such companies for the business of waging war."

Earlier this year, Schakowsky and Senator Bernie Sanders reintroduced the Stop 
Outsourcing Security Act, which would phase out the use of private security 
contractors by the government. Ironically, Hillary Clinton was a co-sponsor of 
the legislation when she was a senator and running for president. Now, as 
Secretary of State, she is the US official in charge of most Blackwater 
contracts. Blackwater is also bidding on a contract potentially worth up to $1 
billion to train the Afghan National Police.

© 2010 The Nation

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