Private Security

Blackwater Repainted Trucks Immediately After Deadly Baghdad Shooting

AP | LARA JAKES JORDAN and MATT APUZZO | Posted 01.12.2008 | Politics

Read More: Private Contractors, Blackwater Guards, Blackwater, Blackwater Iraq, Private Security Firms, Iraq War, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Blackwater Shooting Baghdad, Blackwater Shooting, Private Security, Warwire, Politics News

Blackwater Worldwide repaired and repainted its trucks immediately after a deadly September shooting in Baghdad, making it difficult to determine whet...

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My "McLaughlin Awards" For 2007 [Part 2]

Chris Weigant | Posted 12.28.2007 | Politics

Read More: Stuart Bowden, Hong Kong, Ron Paul, Pakistan, Darfur, Bhutto, Best Government Dollar Spent, Mercenary, Primary Schedule, Do-Nothing Congress, Euro, China, Worst Political Theater, Wide Stance, CAFE Standards, President, Most Overreported Story, Surge, Mercenaries, Dollar, Blackwater, Worst Political Scandal, John Edwards, Katrina, Gas Mileage, Sorry to See You Go, Global Warming, Mark Foley, Airport Bathroom, Kurt Vonnegut, MoveOn.Org, Ethnic Cleansing, Democrat, Fema, Most Underrated, Private Security, Democrats, Barack Obama, Best Idea, Predictions, John Murtha, Oprah Winfrey, Don't Tase Me Bro, Bomb Iran, Honorable Mention, 15 Minutes of Fame, Fred Thompson, Schip, Edwards Hair Cut, Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Best Spin, Hail Eris, Senate, Steve Fossett, Taiwan, Destined for Political Oblivion, Cloture, Cia, Do-Nothing, Sidney Sheldon, Beijing, Molly Ivins, Cheney, Filibuster, Robert Anton Wilson, Iraq, Most Overrated, Larry Craig, Bush, Iran, Destined for Political Stardom, Biggest Government Waste, Obstructionism, Fake News Conference, Scooter Libby, Sectarian Cleansing, Evel Knievel, Hair Cut, Most Underreported Story, Best Political Theater, Boldest Political Tactic, Roadblock Republicans, Nie, Olympics, Fake News, Rudy Giuliani, Musharraf, Ahmadinejad, Columbia University, Oil, Most Honest Person, Fema Trailers, Worst Idea, $400 Hair Cut, Discordianism, Politics News

OK, here we go with Part 2 of my annual McLaughlin Awards. Last week's column covered the first half of these awards. Unfortunately (as of this writi...

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Calif. City Planners Set To Lose Posts For Backing Blackwater Camp

New York Times | SOLOMON MOORE | Posted 12.11.2007 | Politics

Read More: Private Contractors, Blackwater Security Iraq, Blackwater Security, Iraq, Iraq Blackwater, Breaking News, War on Terror, War Contractors, Blackwater, Iraq War, War in Iraq, State Department Blackwater Bonuses, Breaking Politics News, Baghdad, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Warwire, Politics News

The scandal in Iraq involving Blackwater, the private security firm, is a world away from this tiny town near the Mexican border. But five members of ...

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Stop Blackwater Investigation "IMMEDIATELY"

AP | Richard Lardner | Posted 11.26.2007 | Politics

Read More: Private Contractors, Blackwater Probe, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Blackwater, Politics News

The State Department's acerbic top auditor wasn't happy when Justice Department officials told one of his aides to leave the room so they could discus...

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State Department Official Removes Himself From Blackwater Investigation

Seattle Times | Warren P. Strobel | Posted 11.15.2007 | Politics

Read More: Iraq War, War Contractors, Private Contractors, Blackwater, Breaking Politics News, Baghdad, Blackwater USA, Iraq Blackwater, Iraq, Private Security, Breaking News, Politics News

The State Department's embattled inspector general suddenly removed himself Wednesday from investigations into security contractor Blackwater Worldwid...

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State Department Inspector General Grilled By Congress Over Ties To Blackwater

Huffington Post | Posted 11.14.2007 | Politics

Read More: Congress Investigates Inspector General, Inspector General, Contractors, State Department Inspector General, Congress, Eric Prince, Hearings on Blackwater, State Department, Blackwater, Iraq War, Private Security, Waxman, Iraq, Politics News

The Oversight Committee is currently holding a hearing, "Assessing the State Department Inspector General." Inspector General Howard J. Krongard will ...

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"They Just Killed A Man And Drove Away"

New York Times | James Glanz | Posted 11.11.2007 | Home

Read More: Iraq Private Contractors Shooting, Private Contractors, Private Security Contractors, Iraq Private Contractors, Private Security Firms, Iraq War, Iraq, DynCorp Shooting, Private Security, Home News

An Iraqi taxi driver was shot and killed on Saturday by a guard with DynCorp International, a private security company hired to protect American diplo...

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Blackwater Expands Into Spies For Hire

Washington Post | Dana Hedgpeth | Posted 11.03.2007 | Politics

Read More: Private Contractors, Erik Prince, Cia, Cofer Black, Intelligence, Blackwater, Private Security Firms, Espionage, Iraq War, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Spies, Politics News

First it became a brand name in security for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it's taking on intelligence. The Prince Group, the holding company...

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Blackwater is Still Accountable to No One

Rep. Elijah Cummings | Posted 10.30.2007 | Politics

Read More: Blackwater Hearings, Private Security, Blackwater, Blackwater Immunity, Private Security Contractors, Erik Prince Blackwater, Blackwater Iraq, Politics News

Blackwater's questionable and careless practices are endangering the credibility of U.S. troops during a time when cooperation with the Iraqi people and government is critical for our success.

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Blackwater To Stop Guarding Diplomats In Iraq

McClatchy Newspapers | Warren P. Strobel | Posted 10.19.2007 | Politics

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Blackwater, Private Contractors, Politics News

Troubled military contractor Blackwater USA is likely to be eased out of its role of guarding U.S. diplomats in Iraq in the aftermath of a shooting la...

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Report: Blackwater Took Iraqi Military Planes, Refused To Give Them Back

AP | Richard Lardner | Posted 10.19.2007 | Politics

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Erik Prince, Private Contractors, Private Security, Blackwater, Politics News

Blackwater USA tried to take at least two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq two years ago and refused to give the planes back when Iraqi officials s...

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Blackwater Chief Concedes It Is "Possible" Guards Made A Mistake

HuffingtonPost.com | Max Follmer | Posted 10.13.2007 | Politics

Read More: Private Contractors, Erik Prince, Charlie Rose, Pbs, Private Security Contractors, Iraq War, Baghdad, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Politics News

In an interview with Charlie Rose to air Monday on PBS, Blackwater USA chief Erik Prince continues to defend his security guards, and indeed argues th...

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New Evidence That Blackwater Guards Took No Fire

The New York Times | James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Michael Kamber | Posted 10.12.2007 | Politics

Read More: Iraq War, Baghdad, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Contractors, Private Security, Private Security Contractors, Politics News

Fresh accounts of the Blackwater shooting last month, given by three rooftop witnesses and by American soldiers who arrived shortly after the gunfire ...

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First US Soldiers On Scene Say Blackwater Fired On Fleeing Iraqis

Washington Post | Sudarsan Raghavan and Josh White | Posted 10.11.2007 | Home

Read More: Private Contractors, Iraq War, Baghdad, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Home News

Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square on Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the fir...

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Iraqi PM's Office: Blackwater Committed "Deliberate Murder"

New York Times | James Glanz and Alissa Rubin | Posted 10.07.2007 | Home

Read More: Private Contractors, Iraq War, Baghdad, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Security, Blackwater, Home News

The Iraqi prime minister's office said Sunday that the government's investigation had determined that Blackwater USA private security guards who shot ...

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Intelligence Czar McConnell A Principal Architect Of Private Security Industry

KPIX - CBS 5 San Francisco | Frank Viviano | Posted 10.05.2007 | Home

Read More: Mike McConnell, Iraq War, Director of National Intelligence, Iraq, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cia, Private Security, Home News

Where does the buck stop? It�s a question that Washington has ignored through a long succession of scandals in Iraq, while senior offficials plead i...

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Blackwater Out Of Control And Indifferent To Civilian Toll: Report

AP | RICHARD LARDNER | Posted 10.01.2007 | Home

Read More: Iraq War, Baghdad, Iraq, Blackwater USA, Private Contractors, Private Security, Blackwater, Home News

Blackwater USA is an out-of-control outfit indifferent to Iraqi civilian casualties, according to a critical report released Monday by a key congressi...

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Leaked Iraqi Police Report Suggests Blackwater Shooting Was Unprovoked

Newsweek | Kevin Peraino | Posted 09.30.2007 | Home

Read More: Private Contractors, Iraq War, Iraq, Private Security, Blackwater, Home News

Since the fatal Sept. 16 Blackwater USA shooting in Baghdad's Nasoor Square, officials from the private security company have insisted that their guar...

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Blackwater Guard Reportedly Pulled Gun On Colleague During Baghdad Shootout

The New York Times | JAMES GLANZ and SABRINA TAVERNISE | Posted 09.27.2007 | Home

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq, Private Security, Blackwater, Home News

Participants in a contentious Baghdad security operation this month have told American investigators that during the operation at least one guard cont...

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Feds Probing Iraq Arms Smuggling By Blackwater Guards

AP | MATTHEW LEE | Posted 09.21.2007 | Home

Read More: Iraq War, Federal Prosecutors. Violence, Iraq, Mercenaries, Private Security, Blackwater, Weapons Smuggling, Home News

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have...

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US Suspends All Civilian Travel Outside Green Zone

AP | ROBERT H. REID and MATTHEW LEE | Posted 09.19.2007 | Home

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq, Private Security, Blackwater, Home News

The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Gree...

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