The Mercenaries Previously Known as Blackwater
First it was Blackwater USA. Then it was Blackwater Worldwide. Now, it's "Xe" (pronounced "Zee"). The private military company has repeatedly tried to re-brand, after numerous controversies from the killing of civilians in Nisoor Square in Baghdad; to its no-bid contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan and New Orleans, post-Katrina; to its hiring troops with ties to repressive regimes, like that of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The company says its latest name change is meant to reflect a new focus. Blackwater / Xe spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "We've taken the company to a place where it is no longer accurately described as Blackwater." Its subsidiaries also have new names: Blackwater Airships is now Guardian Flight Systems, Blackwater Target Systems is GSD Manufacturing, and Blackwater Lodge and Training Center is the U.S. Training Center. The company has also shed its famous (or infamous) bear-paw and crosshairs logo. The new head of Blackwater / Xe, Gary Jackson, told employees, "Xe will be a one-stop shopping source for world class services in the fields of security, stability, aviation, training and logistics," reports the Wall Street Journal.
Comments
Shedding Skin from Organizational Rot
Tragic company but more pressure needs to be applied to them, and squirming out of their "Blackwater" brand may only draw more attention. I've posted this to http://twitter.com/earthintelnet for the 501c3 non-profit org I am executive director for.
Blackwater/Xe
A skunk by any other name still stinks!
What's in a name?
Mercenary thugs by any other name...
still Blackwater
I hope someone is still tracking their illegal and brutal behavior- whatever their new disguise...
Lost in the web
A Google search for "xe" turns up 103 million hits, almost none of which are about Blackwater. Clearly the name "Xe" was chosen because it will remain lost in a sea of terms with "xe" as a substring. Years from now it will be very difficult to find information about them, unless the old name Blackwater sticks when writing about them. I'm surprised they didn't choose "The" for their new name.
Amway Rebranded, Why Not Blackwater!
While mercenary, violence for profit corporation Blackwater has changed its name to some allegedly cool, two-character element from the periodic table (Xe), their mission and worldview remains the same. Their contract with the State Department is good until May 2009, they're still positioned on our Mexican, US land and oceanic borders in hopes of gaining that sole source border militarization contract I'm sure they're lobbying for (go Womble Carlisle!), and they're training both military and civilian personnel on how to ignore rules of engagement and take full advantage of excessive deadly force. And don't forget Blackwater is operating in both Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.
Despite owning and operating their own intelligence company, there was sheer stupidity on their part when they failed to do their homework to find out that they'll likely be sued for trademark infringement. Would you hire these guys to do your corporate intelligence and spying? Prospective customers beware!
A Stop Blackwater Conference will be held from April 24-27, 2009 in Stockton, Illinois. More information about Na-Xe.
Blackwater
I think the men and women of Blackwater are heros who have put there lives on the line for the US on numerous occasions and all you clueless retards should wake up and realize that just because you have the "right" to yap about what you "think" you know happened and or happens in Iraq or any other part of the sandbox over here... maybe you should just buy a plane ticket and join the fight or shut the hell up.
Yapping about Xe
Our "real heroes" that risk their lives protecting the U.S. are Americans sworn in under the U.S. Military and Government.
A privatized, military contracting business, like Xe (formerly Blackwater), employ people from around the globe. They are "rent-a-soldiers" who will fight for any country's highest bidder. Blackwater is purely interested in massive bottom-line dollar amounts to please their shareholders.
Our brave U.S. soldiers to not receive multi-million dollar pensions. Many privatized militaries like Xe/Blackwater do. Blackwater/Xe is a multi-billion dollar business. Spare us with the idealogue rant. Xe is a profit driven entity. Mercenaries held by multi-national shareholders don't care who wins...as long as there is war somewhere, there a large profit to be made by them. No ideology required.
Pres. Eisenhower warned the American people the dangerous path of high-profit driven, corporate military contracting before he left office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY
U.S. taxpayers pay for those Gov't contracts to other privatized militaries like KBR, whose shoddy construction of U.S. Marine showers ultimately led to Marine deaths. The Marines shower were not grounded and electrocuted our real heroes in uniform, sworn to fight for the U.S.. All the while, the private military contractor KBR's contract stated they could not be held responsible for their constructions.
Maybe these billion dollar accounts with private militaries like Xe and KBR should be spent on our own U.S. military men and women in uniform. Maybe for things like: Walter Reed V.A. or better equipment for our U.S. soldiers like body armor and I.E.D. resistant transport.
Blackwater are ultimately heroes to their shareholders.
Blackwater
I think any reasonable person will acknowledge the bravery, good intentions, and heroic behavior of many members of Blackwater. Heroism is not in question. The concerns surrounding Blackwater are as such, and they are very real and reasonable concerns;
1. First, and with the most difficulty, you have to understand the propaganda machine of the United States. If you can not acknowledge it exist then this entire exchange is in vein. U.S. Propaganda is so voluminously documented though that to deny its existence would be the equivalent of denying that the sun rises each day.
2. You have to be aware that heroes are often used by people seeking power for reasons you and I would likely agree are not humanistic reasons.
3. A corporate paramilitary force poses a huge threat to the foundations of a society of people who desire peaceful freedom. You have to use your imagination to understand the serious threats this can pose to us as human beings not belonging to Blackwater.
With all do respect, you should rethink your statement regarding 'joining the fight or shutting the hell up'. You are essentially telling people to follow and do not ask questions...THAT is THE most dangerous behavior in the world. It is the root of EVERY genocide that has ever occurred. I would simply ask you to think more and be less emotional and insulting.
a little less vitriol
and a little more attention to spelling would be good.
I agree
Most of the people leaving comments don't have a clue they believe what they hear and never question it's truth. I heard it on the news so it must be true!!! Wake up people because you really don't have a clue. What you would do in these situations you really don't know and thank god everyday for that!!! Blackwater has done a lot of great things but you don't hear that in the news so your simple mind will tell you it's not true!!! Right? Well your not right about much of anything!!! When are people going to get it???
This is addressed to the user "Blackwater"
Blackwater is a for profit only company. It is no different than hiring a merc or a hitman to complete a task. There is a reason why Blackwater came under scrutiny. They are not heroes. Heroes do things to benefit the people, not expecting money in return. Plus, many "contractors" are battle hardened disillusioned individuals who get off on killing.
Let me tell you I work with
Let me tell you I work with are military everyday and contractors like BLackwater do a lot of dang-eris missions that are troops dont have to do and they are grateful for that. and by the way every one in are military gets payed not as much i grant you but they do get payed to.Also contracting these company's are a lot cheaper than enlisting training housing and supplying every thing are troops need.
Balckwater
While the actions of Balckwater may be questionable, I can see the arguement regarding, "Walk a mile in their shoes first before passing judgement". Blackwater maybe the name everyone knows but dig a little deeper, and the Bush Admin cronies are to be found. When is America going to wake up and have Bush & HIS thugs impeached for crimes against humanity. The obscene profits that the companies controlled by these parasites collected by invading Iraq should be put on the table for all to see.
Since Obama has been
Since Obama has been President aerial drones have accidently killed civilians in Pakistan........WAR CRIMINAL
We are still in Iraq illegally.....WAR CRIMINAL...can issue an executive order and begin leaving tomorrow
Men are still be held without trial in Gitmo....WAR CRIMINAL can issue an executive order and begin releasing them tomorrow.
Of course we know why Bush did all of the above.....he is evil, stupid and wants to dole out money to the likes of Blackwater and Halliburton......Obama is the smartest guy around and he is doing the same thing. According to the nutty left Bush is stupid/evil......What's Obama's excuse since he seems to be mirroring Bush's policies. Why shouldn't Obama be a war criminal to?.....
its realy good
Thanks, for the good articles ...I am very intiresting..
Erstwhile Blackwater
I beg to differ with the potty-minded first poster; Blackwater employees do not sign up with that MERCENARY OUTFIT because they believe in a) noble causes, or b) to perform humanitarian gestures, or c) their love of country; rather, they happily sign their "John Hancock" on a contract form to murder people.for profit. Regardless of the name change,
Blackwater cannot hide what it represents: a nefarious Guns-For-Hire outfit!
Mercenaries
If we're going to protest armies for profit, then we have to also protest any company which makes weapons of mass destruction. They also use war to make money. Everybody wants to trash Blackwater, but nobody wants to touch the companies in the United States who manufacture chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. One mercenary is not nearly as dangerous as one scientist selling out his skills to make weapons which can kill many, horribly.
Damning and Broad Generalizations
Wow you guys are really at it, surely deeds of a few (tragic as they are) have been used to paint the whole of the organization and all of the people in it. Certainly most of the folks going into battle in Iraq had the right motives and calling all of these guys 'mercenaries' is shameful. Are you guys lined up at the airport waiting to spit on the troops coming off of the planes bringing them home as well?
Every conflict provides opportunity for blame to be dispersed, let's try to keep it all in perspective. If the pen is truly 'mightier than the sword' shouldn't you wield them as carefully as you would hope a 'mercenary' working to support the democratic ideal that provides the media it's right (and therefore responsibility) to exist?
JF
"Are you guys lined up at
"Are you guys lined up at the airport waiting to spit on the troops coming off of the planes?"
No, I'm just waiting to board. And, to remind you, we're talking about mercenaries, not our servicepeople.
"Surely deeds of a few (tragic as they are) have been used to paint the whole of the organization and all of the people in it."
The appropriate word here isn't "tragic" but "atrocious." We're talking, among other things, about an unprovoked massacre of civilians, and that's an atrocity.
And yes, Xe/Blackwater people are mercenaries from top to bottom. Those at the top are opportunists, in it to get rich, and would probably do just the same no matter how atrocious the regime they lived within. And some at the bottom are really "soldiers of fortune" while others are just trying to support their families in a lousy economy when they have no better-paying skills. One way or another, top or bottom, whether they're bastards or nice guys when you know them personally, they're all using training paid for by the taxpayers of whatever country they're from and doing it for money, not to "serve." That makes them mercenaries.
"Every conflict provides opportunity for blame to be dispersed..."
Not to mention hundreds of billions of dollars to be disbursed to people like the owners of Xe/Blackwater. As long as war is so profitable for so many powerful people, we're always going to have wars whether we really need them or not.
Blackwater
wouldn't this idea be best served right now, by going after the banks, and the upper- crust of them!?
reality isn't what your college professor says it is
get a reality check people. the rest of the world is not as peaceful as the one you live in. get out and see what its like then come back and talk about it. if you haven't been there you do not have the faintest idea of what you are talking about.
WE think it's 'peaceful' out there?
You're the one who needs a reality check.
If you think that you need
If you think that you need the reality check because you haven't a clue
Uh...what were we talking about?
It's been almost a year.
Oh, right:
If you think we think you think we think you think we think we think you think we think it's peaceful out there, YOU'RE the one who needs a reality check!!!
Morality or lack of there in
So I guess that means "kill em all let God sort em out". You go far in such places. Why dont you move?
I wonder how many?????????????????
How many of those guys would have gone over there for the same pay they received in the military. From someone running for Congress in 2010, all I see is overpaid security in a place where one gets paid over 100,000 to wear civilian attire, while the service man or woman next to him or her gets paid a lot smaller percentage. I for one will work to pass a law that does not pay private contractors such as Blackwater or XE or whatever name they come up with next to try and "change their image" from receiving no more than what our men and women in uniform get paid. How many will go then by choice? How many will show up the rodeo then? Taxpayers are tired of paying out billions to idiots that overprice and get contracts from taxpayers without proper and due process. Get all you can XE, it will come to an end.
Semper Fi
1981-1995
USMCDAV
Remember this as well: AIG
Remember this as well:
AIG will soon be AIU and their execs will still be getting their bonuses
Not a viable solution
The problem is that such regulation can be circumvented with relatively low costs. Imagine the same partners establishing a new private company, Xe, which then takes over the assets and contracts of Blackwater Worldwide. While the costs may be somewhat higher and the legalities more complex, it could be done without putting a visible dent on profits, and no amount of regulation could force the old name on the new entity.
The only working method - in both cases - is for the other interested parties to always refer to this company as "Xe, formerly known as Blackwater"
Focus on *all* Blackwater's POWER RELATIONS
Re- Debate by Mutternich and several Anonymous posters that perhaps
some Blackwater mercenaries, "are just trying to support their families in a
lousy economy when they have no better-paying skills."
Reasonable people will differ about the ethics of working
as a mercenary in those circumstances. Moreover, some may be
motivated not only by economic necessity, but also by disinformation.
Don't forget the Feb. 2006 Zogby poll of U.S. military (not Blackwater) troops
in Iraq, in which 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly
"to retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9-11 attacks;"
77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was:
"to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq."
Some of these naive troops may have signed with Blackwater/Xe,
after their U.S. govt. tour of duty.
I think the important focus should remain on Blackwater/Xe
as a corporate entity, and the type of POWER RELATIONS
used by that entity to succeed economically.
In particular, note the asymmetric POWER RELATIONSHIP between
Blackwater/Xe and its mercenary employees. This is exemplified
in the lawsuit by families of 4 Blackwater mercenaries, who were
improperly equipped, sent into hostile action, killed, and then
had their bodies dragged through the streets of Fallujah.
Maybe these 4 were vicious slimeball sadists; maybe they were
well-meaning chumps, used as "tools of capitalist exploitation".
But the employment contract these mercenaries signed with Blackwater/Xe
was heavily slanted in favor of Blackwater. Hence -- pursuant to the terms
of that contract -- U.S. courts dismissed the lawsuit, and ordered it into
secret arbitration by a panel tilted heavily in favor of Blackwater.
See more details in 5/23/07 Democracy Now article,
"Pivotal Family Lawsuit Against Blackwater USA Blocked from Court—
and Moved to Panel with Company Ties".
"Rent a soldiers"
Saying that they are "rent-a-soldiers" from all around the globe shows how much you know. Most people that are contracted with blackwater and other privateering companies are former/current US special forces and/or MI. idiot.
10-4 very good
10-4 very good
The whole business should be
The whole business should be illegal.
Blackwater
The world is a dangerous and crazy place
Blackwater mercenaries
Blackwater mercenaries deliberately kill the prisoners in cold blood. I thought misdeeds of Blackwater fired recklessly from moving vehicles. My understanding of the past 8 years since jihadists brought their war to us is that the cold blooded murder of prisoners are usually done by true believers shouting "Allah akbar" not by Central American mercenaries.
excellent article
excellent article
blackwater
I find the behavior of the Blackwater mercenaries to be criminal, and in my opinion, the company is liable for their actions.