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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Blackwater wins new deal in Afghanistan


Sat Oct 2, 2010 5:43PM
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Private US security firm Xe Services LLC, formerly known as Backwater, has won another lucrative contract with the administration of President Barack Obama despite its involvement in a trail of legal problems.


The notorious company has been awarded a five-year State Department contract worth up to USD 10 billion for operations in Afghanistan, Wired News reported.

The deal was granted to one of Blackwater's many subsidiaries, "International Development Solutions."

The firm also secured another contract worth 100 million dollars for the CIA in Afghanistan two months ago.

The deals come despite a campaign promise by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to keep Blackwater away from federal contracts.

"When I am president I will ask the Joint Chiefs for their help in reducing reliance on armed private military contractors with the goal of ultimately implementing a ban on such contractors," Clinton said during her presidential campaign in 2008.

The company has been embroiled in a string of legal problems and civil lawsuits, including a controversial case for killing 17 Iraqi civilians during a Baghdad shootout in 2007.

Blackwater also has thousands of operatives outside American borders, mostly providing security for US diplomats.

Earlier in June, the CIA reportedly admitted that the private security company had been loading bombs on US drones that target suspected militants in Pakistan.

JR/CS/MMN 


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