Blackwater Firm Gets $120M U.S. Gov't Contract

[philw]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20008238-10391695.html?tag=nl.e879



120 mil


would it not be have been better to put that sort of $$$ in to the USMC or one of the other services  for this type of work  than contracting  it out

CBS News has learned in an exclusive report that the State Department has awarded a part of what was formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide a contract worth more than $120 million for providing security services in Afghanistan.

Private security firm U.S. Training Center, a business unit of the Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater, now called Xe Services, was awarded the contract Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday night.

Under the contract, U.S. Training Center will provide "protective security services" at the new U.S. consulates in Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, the spokeswoman said. The firm can begin work "immediately" and has to start within two months. The contract lasts a year but can be extended twice for three months at a time to last a maximum of 18 months.

Should the firm fulfill all 18 months available in the contract, it will be paid a total of $120,123,293, the spokeswoman said.

The awarding of the contract comes just more than four months after the government of Iraq ordered hundreds of Blackwater-linked security guards to leave the country within seven days or face possible arrest.

The Justice Department is also trying to prosecute a case against five Blackwater guards who had opened fire on a crowded Baghdad street in 2007. Last December, a federal judge dismissed the U.S. government's case against the guards in the deaths of unarmed Iraqi civilians killed in the shooting because prosecutors used sworn statements the guards gave under a promise of immunity. Federal prosecutors are continuing to appeal the dismissal.

The Justice Department's case or Blackwater's expulsion from Iraq didn't block U.S. Training Center from bidding on the multi-million dollar contract, the State Department spokeswoman said.

"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," the spokeswoman said. "On the basis of full and open competition, the department performed a full technical evaluation of all proposals and determined the U.S. Training Center has the best ability and qualifications to meet the contract requirements."

Two other companies submitted bids for the contract, the spokeswoman said; however, she could not name either of U.S. Training Center's competitors when reached Friday night.

[fightingquaker13]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20008238-10391695.html?tag=nl.e879



120 mil


would it not be have been better to put that sort of $$$ in to the USMC or one of the other services  for this type of work  than contracting  it out

Amen Phil. I don't care what others here may say. I don't believe we should "out source" the power of the sword. I don't like mercenaries, and their protestions aside, Blackwater is "mercenaries are us'. Better to recruit a few more good men and do the job ourselves. Just my .02.
FQ13

[JC5123]

Amen Phil. I don't care what others here may say. I don't believe we should "out source" the power of the sword. I don't like mercenaries, and their protestions aside, Blackwater is "mercenaries are us'. Better to recruit a few more good men and do the job ourselves. Just my .02.
FQ13

While I agree (to an extent) with you on principle. It's the same old story with the fact that contracting out to Blackwater, rather than putting it through the D.O.D. you are getting a far better value for the money. Historically mercenary forces have been able to do the same job (and most of the time a better job) as a conventional army for a fraction of the price tag.

For better or worse, merc's have been around as long as prostitution, and will continue to be around probably till the end of time. Personally I don't see a problem with it. YMMV

[twyacht]

Just like "Black Talon" bullets, now called the SXT's,...their not Blackwater anymore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Worldwide

Xe Services LLC (pronounced /ˈziː/ zee) is a private military company founded as Blackwater USA in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.[2][3]  The company has a wide array of business divisions, subsidiaries, and spin-off corporations but the organization as a whole has aroused significant controversy.[4][5][6][7][8]

Based in North Carolina, Xe operates a tactical training facility (36°27′N 76°12′W / 36.45°N 76.2°W / 36.45; -76.2) the company claims is the world's largest, at which it trains more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. and other military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personal security.

Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Xe provides, 744 are U.S. citizens.[9][10] At least 90% of the company's revenue comes from government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts.[11] Xe provided security services in Iraq to the United States federal government, particularly the Central Intelligence Agency[1] on a contractual basis. They no longer have a license to operate in Iraq: the new Iraqi government made multiple attempts to expel them from their country,[12] and denied their application for an operating license in January 2009.[13] However, the company is still under contract with the State Department and some Xe personnel were working legally in Iraq at least until September 2009.[14]

[tombogan03884]

First 3 paid professions, Mercenaries earned money, needed Spies, to find the whores.

[Sponsor]

[johnalbert]

They sure did a great job of security at that CIA base in Afghanistan where everybody was killed.

[JC5123]

They sure did a great job of security at that CIA base in Afghanistan where everybody was killed.

Kinda like the great job the CIA did during TET, when they cleaned out their offices and bailed, but didn't bother telling anyone else what was coming. 

[PegLeg45]

Traditionally, one main advantage to mercenaries versus regular troops (up until everyone older than 8 years old carried a camera phone) was to be able to do some 'really dirty' work and get away with it without too much oversight......while maintaining plausible deniability. 

[fightingquaker13]

I agree with the above comments. My objections though, are reinforced by them. Mercenaries and prostitutes are practicing two of the worlds oldest professions. They are both equally likely to stay faithful to you when they get a better deal. Its a fool that trusts a man willing to kill for money, not duty and country.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

FQ's opposition is the final seal of approval.
Good for Blackwater.