Academi - blackwater - Xe. Academi is a private security services provider founded in 1997 by Erik Prince.[2][3] Formerly and still popularly known as Blackwater,[4] the company was renamed "Xe Services" in 2009, and "Academi" in 2011.[5] The company was purchased in late 2010 by a group of private investors who changed the name to Academi and instituted a Board of Directors and new Senior Management.
Erik Prince retained the rights to the name Blackwater and has no affiliation with Academi. The company received widespread publicity in 2007 when a group of its employees shot at Iraqi civilians killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad.[6][7] Academi provided diplomatic security services in Iraq to the United States federal government on a contractual basis.[8] The company's headquarters is located in McLean, Virginia.[1] Corporate history[edit] 1997 Blackwater USA[edit] Training Center[edit] 2002 Blackwater Security Company[edit] Jamie Smith along Pakistani border in Afghanistan 2002 Xe logo Products[edit] Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Coordinates: Election posters at the scene of the Blackwater Baghdad shootings in Nisour Square, Baghdad (2010).
On September 16, 2007, Blackwater Security Consulting (since renamed Academi) military contractors shot at Iraqi civilians killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad.[1][2] The fatalities occurred while a Blackwater Personal Security Detail (PSD) was clearing the way for a convoy of US State Department vehicles transporting diplomats to a meeting in western Baghdad with officials of the United States Agency for International Development. Special: Blackwater - America's Private Army in Iraq. US: Blackwater Guards Stayed in Iraq Despite Ban. Exclusive: Erik Prince on Blackwater’s Secret CIA Past. The documentary ‘When the Garden Was Eden,’ premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, focuses on the ‘70s New York Knicks, and how the basketball team served as a refuge for a city plagued by crime.
“Now here comes Willis... and the crowd is going wild!” That was Marv Albert’s call on the radio for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, and even though New York City is seen as some kind of secularist’s utopia or dystopic hellscape depending on your point of view vis-à-vis organized religion, Reed’s entrance is practically a shibboleth for Gotham basketball fans; flash a few stills from the grainy TV footage, and the entire gloriously improbable tale comes spilling out in gushing, reverent tones, as if retelling the deeds of saints. The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers were tied at three games apiece, but Knicks Captain Willis Reed had suffered a torn muscle in his right thigh during Game 5, and skipped Game 6 entirely.
As Araton wrote: Jackson himself wasn’t exempt. But there is hope. Blackwater guards finally face manslaughter charges. NYT: Appeals Court Revives Case Against Blackwater Guards. New Blackwater Iraq Scandal: Guns, Silencers and Dog Food. A federal grand jury in North Carolina is investigating allegations the controversial private security firm Blackwater illegally shipped assault weapons and silencers to Iraq, hidden in large sacks of dog food, ABCNews.com has learned.
Under State Department rules, Blackwater is prohibited from using certain assault weapons and silencers in Iraq because they are considered "offensive" weapons inappropriate for Blackwater's role as a private security firm protecting US diplomatic missions. "The only reason you need a silencer is if you want to assassinate someone," said former CIA intelligence officer John Kiriakou, an ABC News consultant.
Six Blackwater employees are under investigation by another federal grand jury, in Washington, D.C., in connection with the shooting deaths of at least 17 civilians in September 2007 at a Baghdad traffic circle. John Cusack: The Real Blackwater Scandal: Build a Frontier, You Get Cowboys. Two weeks ago, I talked with Naomi Klein about her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.
If you missed the original video, you can watch it here, and the longer transcript is here. You can also learn more about the book and read excerpts here. At that point, the Blackwater scandal over the massacre in Baghdad's Nisoor Square was just breaking. Since then, the story has blown wide open, with more mind-boggling details coming to light every day. It turns out the US occupation is so dependent on this one private mercenary company that it can't even function without Blackwater on the roads, providing the kind of protection that levels everything in its path... including the lives of Iraqi civilians.
Now we find out that the original report exonerating Blackwater, issued on U.S. diplomatic letterhead, was actually written by a Blackwater guy. Here's more from our ongoing conversation: Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for Arab State. The U.A.E.’s rulers, viewing their own military as inadequate, also hope that the troops could blunt the regional aggression of Iran, the country’s biggest foe, the former employees said. The training camp, located on a sprawling Emirati base called Zayed Military City, is hidden behind concrete walls laced with barbed wire. Photographs show rows of identical yellow temporary buildings, used for barracks and mess halls, and a motor pool, which houses Humvees and fuel trucks. The Colombians, along with South African and other foreign troops, are trained by retired American soldiers and veterans of the German and British special operations units and the French Foreign Legion, according to the former employees and American officials.
The United Arab Emirates — an autocracy with the sheen of a progressive, modern state — are closely allied with the United States, and American officials indicated that the battalion program had some support in Washington. Photo Mark C. For Mr. A Lucrative Deal. Former Blackwater Ditches Xe for Yet Another Name. Blackwater 3.0: Rebranded 'Academi' Wants Back in Iraq. So much for naming your mercenary company after an obscure element from the periodic table.
Say goodbye to Xe. Academi XE Service LLC Blackwater.