Blackwater news stories on Newser

Blackwater, Er, We Mean Xe, Changes Name Again

Kevin Spak — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:38:05 CST

Blackwater's attempt to scrub clean its image by rebranding itself as Xe Services didn't really throw anyone off the scent—it was forever identified as "the company formerly known as Blackwater"—so now the company is trying again. Today, it will formally announce its new name, "Academi," and it's one...

Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for UAE

Mark Russell — Sun, 15 May 2011 05:55:26 CDT

At a military complex amid the sands of the United Arab Emirates, Blackwater founder Erik Prince has set up a hundreds-member-strong, $529-million private army designed to suppress internal revolts, protect high-rises and oil infrastructure from terrorist attack, and conduct special operations both in and out of the UAE, reports the...

Blackwater Hires John Ashcroft as Ethics Head

Kevin Spak — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:58:40 CDT

Xe Services, the artist formerly known as Blackwater, has hired none other than John Ashcroft to be its guiding light on ethics. Ashcroft has been named an “independent director” in charge of Xe’s new subcommittee on governance. His job? To “promote the highest degrees of ethics and professionalism.” In other...

Judge Ends Blackwater Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Kevin Spak — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:04:18 CST

A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackwater because the plaintiff could no longer afford to pay for the proceedings, the Washington Post reports. The case, which blamed Blackwater for the deaths of four contractors in 2004, has dragged on for six years. Katy Helvenston, mother of...

Blackwater Founder Training Somali Mercenaries

Rob Quinn — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 01:22:06 CST

Lawless, chaotic Somalia appears to be a land of opportunity for controversial Blackwater security company founder Erik Prince. The ex Blackwater honcho—who has left the security company he created and set up shop in the United Arab Emirates—is involved in a project to recruit and train thousands of...

Yet Another Blackwater Case Collapses

Matt Cantor — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:24:00 CDT

Legal cases against Blackwater employees accused of committing murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collapsing one by one, the New York Times reports. This week, the Justice Department dropped a case against an armorer accused of killing a guard to an Iraqi official; the move...

Afghanistan Disarms Security Contractors

Kevin Spak — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 14:10:00 CDT

Afghanistan has begun disbanding the private security firms operating in the country, the Karzai administration announced today. Authorities have seized more than 400 weapons so far, according to Reuters . At the moment they're focusing on eight companies, including Xe Services, the artist formerly known as Blackwater, two other American firms...

Mistrial Declared in Blackwater Murder Case

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 CDT

A federal judge has declared a mistral in the case of two former Blackwater contractors accused of murdering two unarmed Afghan civilians and wounding a third man in Kabul. The jury came up deadlocked after several days of deliberations. A new trial date was set for March 1.

Blackwater Used Shell Companies to Get Contracts

John Johnson — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:51:22 CDT

When Blackwater got into trouble in Iraq for general thuggery and lost lucrative contracts, it came up with an easy solution: It put on a fake nose and mustache and kept right on collecting government money under different names. In another damning piece about the contractor everyone loves to hate,...