Scahill: President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February? (tags)
For those already outraged at the AIG bonus scandal, here is a fact that should add more fuel to the fire: The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq and, according to The Washington Times, may keep the company on the payroll months past the official expiration of its Iraq contract in May. I reviewed Blackwater's recent transactions with the Obama State Department and discovered a $45 million payment to Blackwater on February 4, 2009 for "protective services-Iraq." It is described as a "funding action only." Here is the interesting part: The estimated "Ultimate Completion Date" is 5/07/2011.
Blackwater's California Wildfire Relief Efforts Backfire With Local Residents (tags)
While hundreds of thousands of citizens were fleeing Southern California's wildfires in October, Blackwater USA was charging back in. While the fires still burned, executives from the private security firm personally delivered food and supplies to displaced residents and eventually set up temporary housing. But don't accuse Blackwater of taking advantage of the disaster for the purposes of self-promotion. The company insists that it is just a friendly corporate citizen.