 | The Gunmen of Kabul by Fariba Nawa, Special to CorpWatch December 21st, 2007 The booming private security industry in Afghanistan has been the target of a number government raids in the last few months. One of the largest contractors -- United States Protection and Investigations (USPI) from Texas -- has been accused of corruption. |
| US: Border Fence Work Raises Environmental Concerns by Randal C. Archibold, New York Times November 21st, 2007 Environmental groups, elected officials and local Indian tribes criticize the Department of Homeland Security over environmental concerns related to fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. |
| US: Army may ban security firm from contracts; Executive accused of using information gained during affair by Matt Kelley, USA Today November 12th, 2007 The Army has threatened to ban a private security firm in Iraq from government work because an executive allegedly got inside information to win $2.5 million in contracts, Army records show. |
| PERU-IRAQ: A Year in Hell for 1,000 Dollars a Month by Ángel Páez, IPS News November 7th, 2007 Poor well-trained ex guerrillas from Peru are easily recruited for security contract work in Iraq. |
| US: Fort Huachuca intelligence center draws private contractors by Mike Sunnucks, Phoenix Business Journal November 7th, 2007 An increasing amount of U.S. intelligence work -- including training related to aggressive interrogation methods -- is being parceled out to defense firms making Arizona's Fort Huachuca a major contracting hub. |
| US: Blackwater Mounts a Defense With Top Talent
by John M. Broder and James Risen, NY Times November 5th, 2007 lackwater Worldwide, its reputation in tatters and its lucrative government contracts in jeopardy, is mounting an aggressive legal, political and public relations counterstrike. |
| US: US soldier's family brings legal action against British private security firm by Susan Goldenberg, The Guardian October 30th, 2007 A British private security firm hired to protect the oil installations of post-invasion Iraq is being sued for causing the death of an American soldier. |
| US: Homeland Security's Use of Contractors Is Questioned by Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post October 17th, 2007 DHS attempts to address concerns over contractor accountability. |
| NAMIBIA: All Hiring for Iraq Halted by Brigitte Weidlich, The Namibian October 16th, 2007 A Namibian labour hire company, which processed the applications of Namibian ex-combatants who wanted to become 'security' guards in Iraq and Afghanistan, has stopped the process. |
| US: Blackwater vies for jobs beyond security by August Cole, Wall Street Journal October 15th, 2007 Even as Blackwater USA works to recover from criticism of its private-security forces in Iraq, the company plans for an expansion into other areas. |
| IRAQ:2 Women Killed in Security Shooting Are Buried in Iraq by Andrew E. Kramer and James Glanz, NY Times October 11th, 2007 Two women killed Tuesday by a barrage of gunfire from private security guards in central Baghdad are buried there. |
| IRAQ: From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths by James Glanz and Alissa J. Rubin, NY Times October 3rd, 2007 Witness accounts give new details in the Blackwater shooting in Nisour Square. |
| Outsourcing Fear by Robert Young Pelton October 2nd, 2007 Robert Young Pelton is the author of "Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror " and the "Guide to the World's Most Dangerous Places." He is also co-founder of http://www.iraqslogger.com/ . This blog item is about his experiences attending the Congressional hearing into the Blackwater shootings in Iraq written on October 2nd, 2007. |
| US: Chief of Blackwater Defends His Employees by John M. Broder, New York Times October 2nd, 2007 Erik D. Prince, chief executive of Blackwater USA, told a Congressional committee on Tuesday that his company’s nearly 1,000 armed guards in Iraq were not trigger-happy mercenaries, but rather loyal Americans doing a necessary job in hostile territory. |
| US: U.S. Pays Steep Price for Private Security in Iraq by Walter Pincus, Washington Post October 1st, 2007 It costs the U.S. government a lot more to hire contract employees as security guards in Iraq than to use American troops. |
| US: State Dept. Tallies 56 Shootings Involving Blackwater on Diplomatic Guard Duty by James Risen, NY Times September 28th, 2007 The State Department said Thursday that Blackwater USA security personnel had been involved in 56 shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq so far this year. |
| US: State Dept. intercedes in Blackwater probe by Peter Spiegel, LA Times September 26th, 2007 The State Department has interceded in a congressional investigation of Blackwater USA, the private security firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians last week. |
 | The Boys from Baghdad: Iraqi Commandos Trained by U.S. Contractor by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch September 20th, 2007 Iraqi commandos are being training by USIS, a Virginia-based company that was once owned by the Carlyle Group. One of multiple "security" forces being created with $20 billion in U.S. funds, these Emergency Response Units may be stoking civil unrest as they accompany U.S. troops on raids. |
| US: U.S. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings by Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times September 18th, 2007 Blackwater USA, an American contractor that provides security to some of the top American officials in Iraq, has been banned from working in the country by the Iraqi government after a shooting that left eight Iraqis dead and involved an American diplomatic convoy. |
| IRAQ: Will Iraq Kick Out Blackwater? by Adam Zagorin and Brian Bennett, TIME Magazine September 17th, 2007 TIME has obtained an incident report prepared by the U.S. government describing a fire fight Sunday in Baghdad in which at least eight Iraqis were reported killed and 13 wounded. The loss of life has provoked anger in Baghdad, where the Interior Ministry has suspended Blackwater's license to operate around the country. |