private security guards news stories on Newser

Blackwater Settles With US for $42M

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:44:28 CDT

No stranger to controversy, Blackwater has settled a laundry list of transgressions with the State Department to the tune of $42 million. The deal treats violations—which include illegally exporting weapons to Afghanistan and offering to train Sudanese troops without authorization—as an administrative matter, and allows Blackwater, now known...

Sex Acts Tied to Promotion at Afghan Embassy: Guard

Jason Farago — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:37:00 CDT

One of the guards at the rowdy US embassy in Kabul went public last night, telling ABC News that new recruits had to participate in naked parties and perform sex acts with other men in order to get promoted or be assigned preferable shifts. The guard, one of 12 who...

Meet the New Blackwater, Same as the Old Blackwater

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:58:44 CDT

The military contractor known as Xe—and far better known as the former Blackwater—has changed little more than its name, NPR reports. Despite having said it's leaving the international security business, Xe recently extended its deal with the State Department to fly protective missions in Iraq. And as another...

US Confused by Afghan Mercenaries

Kevin Spak — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:36:43 CST

It’s becoming harder to keep gun-wielding men straight in Afghanistan. Private security firms have cropped up all over, the Wall Street Journal reports, hired to protect businesses, particularly those doing work for the US. But coalition troops often can’t tell such groups apart from militants, and have been in at...

Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Español

Kevin Spak — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:20:00 CST

Not every security contractor in Iraq is a hotshot American making $500 a day. Many of the private security personnel roaming Iraq are poor Latin Americans, for whom the promise of $1,000 a month and full benefits is nearly irresistible, reports the LA Times. “I’d rather die in a...