Hot Water Controversy Over Blackwater

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 31, 2009 -- Over $400 million in contracts is still being paid, by the U.S. State Department to Blackwater, a private security firm. Blackwater performs some of the United States most hypersensitive operations and protects some of its most important assets.

Current and former Blackwater employees, plus government officials, disclosed this week that the company is involved in the U.S.A.'s most important counter-terrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones (UAVs) to assassinate Al Qaeda leaders.

Blackwater continues to supply aviation services to diplomats in Iraq, under a two-year $217 million contract, which expires on Sept 3rd. "The work would be given to another security and logistics company, DynCorp International", said spokesman for the State Department, Ian C. Kelly.

Blackwater will earn $6 million on a three-year contract, training foreign security guards in antiterrorism tactics, in a remote camp in North Carolina. Besides that, the 2011 contract to supply personnel and security to American diplomats in Afghanistan is worth $210 million.

It is well known that the overstretched military and spy service are compelled to outsource some of their most important jobs. These include the collection of intelligence in foreign countries, working with foreign agents and covert programs.

Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton has stated that the U.S. government is committed to reduce their dependency on private security contractors. "I certainly am of the mind that we should, insofar as possible, reduce our dependence. Whether we can go all the way to banning them, under current circumstances, seems unlikely".

About 25 percent of the intelligence workforce consists of contractors and up to 70 percent of the entire intelligence budget goes on outside contracts, says government officials.

A senior department official believes it would be costly for the government to terminate its contracts with Blackwater, without cause, particularly as one contracts extends into 2011.

When 17 civilians were killed in a shoot-out in Baghdad, the United States State Department required that Blackwater contractors to undergo ‘Afghan cultural awareness’ training.

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