[quote]They were accused of skirting federal firearms laws and misrepresenting the weapons they were buying and the identities of the purchasers. This included a case in which weapons were given to Jordanian officials in hopes of winning their business, while it was stated they were bought by employees.
Also charged in the 15-count indictment were the company's former general counsel Andrew Howell, former executive vice president William Mathews, former vice president of logistics and procurement Ana Bundy, and former armorer Ronald Slezak.
Blackwater, which has changed its name to Xe Services, has faced intense scrutiny for its security work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of its guards were accused of wrongly killing Iraqi civilians in 2007 while protecting U.S. diplomats there.
In the Jordanian case, King Abdullah visited Blackwater's training facility in North Carolina as the company tried to win a lucrative contract for building and running a training center, according to prosecutors and the indictment.
He and his entourage were presented with five firearms as gifts "to gain favor," the indictment said.
When the company could not account for the weapons, Jackson allegedly directed employees to fill out the necessary forms to show that Blackwater employees had bought the guns for their own use.
The Justice Department said that there was no wrongdoing by the Jordanian government or its officials and said the country provided assistance in the investigation.
The group also was accused of amassing some 227 short barrels for M4 rifles for their work in Afghanistan and Iraq but U.S. law limits such weapons. Prosecutors said the group allegedly arranged straw purchases to evade detection.
It was not immediately clear whether the five individuals had retained lawyers.
A spokesman for Xe Services said it was aware of the charges and that the company has fully cooperated with the Justice Department's investigation.
"Given the pending criminal charges, the company will not comment further," said Mark Corallo, the spokesman for the company.[/quote]
[B]Source:[/B] [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F5DS20100416[/url]
Holy fuck, today is a great news day.
Fuck Blackwater so hard.
[editline]05:35PM[/editline]
Also, why don't they just call them mercenaries?
Does it have connotations too negative for the media's comfort?
Blackwater is... bad... right?
Changed article because it has more details.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21391273]
Also, why don't they just call them mercenaries?
Does it have connotations too negative for the media's comfort?[/QUOTE]
This is exactly it.
Free trade between US and Canada used to be called reciprocity, however no one would vote for you if you mentioned you supported it, so they renamed it free trade, and tricked people into thinking it was fabulous, and everyone loved it.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21391273]Also, why don't they just call them mercenaries?
Does it have connotations too negative for the media's comfort?[/QUOTE]
Mercenaries are hired to go out and fight in an offensive capacity. Blackwater work as escorts.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21391273]Holy fuck, today is a great news day.
Fuck Blackwater so hard.
[editline]05:35PM[/editline]
Also, why don't they just call them mercenaries?
Does it have connotations too negative for the media's comfort?[/QUOTE]
Mercenaries are illegal under international law. These types of civilian soldiers are not, though.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21391273]Holy fuck, today is a great news day.
Fuck Blackwater so hard.
[editline]05:35PM[/editline]
Also, why don't they just call them mercenaries?
Does it have connotations too negative for the media's comfort?[/QUOTE]
someone is gonna defend them by saying that "they aren't mercenaries, they aren't sent into combat" but that's beside the point because it's still a terrible organization involved in the illegal weapons trade and the deaths of iraqi civilians resulting from the criminal negligence of some of their employees
[QUOTE=TH89;21391388]Mercenaries are hired to go out and fight in an offensive capacity. Blackwater work as escorts.[/QUOTE]
Jeeze, make one little speech about repealing Don't Ask; Don't Tell, and the military starts hiring male prostitutes.
The Blackwater guys who murdered a dozen innocent people were charged too, and they all got to walk away.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;21391529]Jeeze, make one little speech about repealing Don't Ask; Don't Tell, and the military starts hiring male prostitutes.[/QUOTE]
Hahahha, that was really good.
-snip
I don't really mind blackwater. I guess it's cause my dad "owns" a company like them.
Here's a video of their "Fun time".
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZX1odzHdAo[/media]
[B]I hope those fucking cunts die.[/B]
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