Eric Prince's Blackwater/XE/Academi or whatever they are calling themselves --

[diabeticman]

My wife is at home and just finished reading an article about Blackwater-or whatever they are calling themselves--was basically acting on CIA orders. Her "Tinfoil hat" started buzzing and text me with this question. What if BLACKWATER really was a branch of the CIA?


Has anyone thought of those lines or is it too crazy?

[oldhippydude]

1. either that or Liberty University n/t

[Arctic Dave]

2. Not tin foil hat at all.

That is how the CIA operates.

It's not like they go around the world doing what they do handing out business cards and wearing the logo on their jackets.

[Electric Monk]

3. My response was "Well, duh? Of course they were."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/14/exclusive-erik-prince-on-blackwater-s-secret-cia-past.html

[Mopar151]

4. "Contractors"

Some of it is deniability, some is convenience. Erik Prince has plenty of spending money, so I think that the CIA did'nt have to put up any capital - so it's not a branch in the classic sense.
Does'nt make 'em any better people, or less dangerous.

[bananas]

5. The CIA has long used proprietaries and contractors

A CIA propretary company is a company created by the CIA to provide cover for its operations.

A contractor is supposedly an independent company, but often all their work comes through the CIA and they basically act on CIA orders.

So the distinction isn't always clear.

This is purportedly a list of CIA propietaries, some of them might be contractors: http://cryptome.org/2012/10/cia-proprietaries-agents.htm