MILITARY ~ Honor, Duty, Country

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not sure why anybody was upset over this program

CIA Hired Blackwater Hit Squads

No change in US drawdown despite Iraq bombings
US plans to withdraw forces from Iraq over the next two years remain in place despite a wave of "tragic" bombings in Baghdad, a Pentagon spokesman told AFP on Wednesday. "The bombings are unfortunate and tragic," said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Ryder. "We certainly express our condolences to those who lost family and friends. "But in terms of affecting our drawdown plans, there's no effect," Ryder said. Devastating attacks across Baghdad killed at least 95 people on Wednesday in the worst day of carnage to hit the Iraqi capital in 18 months and the bloodiest since US troops pulled out of the country's cities. Iraqis pointed the finger at their domestic security forces, which in turn blamed members of executed former dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. "These are attempts by insurgent groups to try to exploit sectarian tensions," Ryder said. "But to this point we have not seen the retributive, retaliatory violence that we saw back in 2006-2007." He said the US military retained confidence in Iraqi security forces. "There are certainly still challenges," he said. "But the security forces continue to make progress and obviously have the lead on security operations. We're confident in their abilities to continue moving forward." US President Barack Obama has vowed to withdraw all combat troops from the country by the end of August next year, leaving behind an advisory force of up to 50,000. A security agreement with Iraq requires all US forces to be out by the end of 2011. Obama on Monday warned that Iraqis would be tested by violent attacks but repeated his promise that the United States would abide by the 2011 deadline under its security deal with Baghdad. The US president has sought to shift the focus to the war in Afghanistan but has had to balance competing demands from the commander in Iraq, amid warnings the situation there remains fragile. About 131,000 American troops are stationed in Iraq and at least two brigades, or about 10,000 troops, are due to withdraw by the end of the year. Citing positive security trends, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month the pace of the drawdown might speed up with an additional brigade of up to 5,000 troops possibly departing by 2010. Despite a reduction in violence compared with last year, attacks on security forces and civilians remain common in Baghdad, the restive northern city of Mosul and in the ethnically divided oil city of Kirkuk. (AFP Report)
by Staff Writers
Baghdad (UPI) Aug 20, 2009
The CIA enlisted U.S. contractor Blackwater as part of a covert program to hunt and kill senior al-Qaida members, U.S. media reports say.

Quoting current and former government officials, The New York Times said the controversial U.S. private security company helped the CIA with planning, training and surveillance.

The hit squad plan was revealed in June, sparking furor among congressional leaders who said they had never been briefed.

When the news broke, CIA director Leon Panetta informed lawmakers and then pulled the plug on the program. The Central Intelligence Agency maintained that no hit missions had been launched and that no militants had either been located or captured, according to the report.

Still, citing senior intelligence officials, the Times reported that in 2004, during the Bush administration, the CIA went as far as hiring Blackwater for an unknown role in the secret program, designed to take out high-value members of al-Qaida.

About 1,000 Blackwater staff members were used to guard U.S. government personnel in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, making it among the largest security companies operating in this country.

Its operations for the U.S. government, however, have come under scrutiny and raised questions of accountability.

Blackwater first drew fire on March 31, 2004, when four employees were killed by an angry mob in Fallujah, then a Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold.

The bodies were mutilated and strung from a bridge as images of the incident were broadcast worldwide. The gruesome event fanned a monthlong assault on Fallujah, leaving 36 U.S. soldiers, 200 insurgents and 600 civilians dead.

Earlier this year the Iraqi government cancelled Blackwater's operating license for using excessive force on a number of occasions, including the killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square on Sept. 16, 2007.

In an attempt to shed its negative reputation, the U.S. company, based in North Carolina, has since been renamed Xe.

Controversy spawning from the Times report centered on its revelation that while the CIA held no formal contract with Blackwater it retained individual agreements with top executives in the company.

It remains unclear whether the U.S. spy agency planned to use Blackwater contractors to actually capture and kill militants or just assist in the training and surveillance of the program, the Times reported.

In a related report, a senior State Department official told The Nation that Blackwater was operating in Iraq under the name "U.S. Training Center" and would continue its armed presence in the country until Sept. 3.

"Authorized personnel under that task order are permitted to continue carrying weapons until that time," the magazine quoted a State Department diplomatic security official as saying on condition of anonymity. "The purpose and mission of the Department of State's private security contractors is limited to protection of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic facilities only and is defensive in nature."

Blackwater's remaining contract for diplomatic security in Iraq is an aviation contract, The Nation reported. It said the Obama administration extended that contract on July 31, increasing Blackwater's payment by $20 million and bringing the total paid by the State Department to Blackwater for its "aviation services" in Iraq to $187 million.

The company, whose owner is said to views its role as fighting a Christian crusade to "eliminate" Muslims and Islam globally, is scheduled to be replaced by Triple Canopy for its protective security work in Iraq, The Nation said.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/CIA_hired_Blackwater_hit_squads_report_999.html