Blackwater, a company of mercenaries hired by the Bush Administration to fight in Iraq, has been identified by the Pentagon under Barack Obama as the likely recipient of a one billion dollar contract to train fighters for Hamid Karzai’s central government in Afghanistan. Blackwater, now operating under the name Xe, has a long history of fraud, violence against civilians and other misconduct.
This week, Senator Carl Levin has received much publicity for his efforts in opposition to the Xe contract. Levin’s opposition to Xe, however, is matched by that of U.S. Representative Jim Moran.
On Wednesday, Congressman Moran strongly cautioned against the use of Xe for any new military projects. He explained, “Blackwater-Xe is synonymous with abuse, unprovoked violence, and a ‘shoot first’ attitude. Their personnel are directly responsible for killing dozens of innocent men, women, and children in Iraq. Clearly, they are not deserving of a U.S. contract to train the Afghan police. Hiring Xe may irreparably damage our efforts to work cooperatively with the Afghan people and will serve as a propaganda tool for our enemies. They will be seen as representing the American people, which they do not. Given Xe-Blackwater’s past performance, our government should not be doing business with Xe, and Secretary Gates should prevent this contract from going forward.”