No license, but Blackwater is still in Iraq

[IDemo]

AP -updated 2:40 p.m. MT, Mon., April 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - Armed guards from the security firm once known as Blackwater Worldwide are still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, even though the company has no license to operate there and has been told by the State Department its contracts will not be renewed two years after a lethal firefight that stirred outrage in Baghdad.

Private security guards employed by the company, now known as Xe, are slated to continue ground operations in parts of Iraq long into the summer, far longer than had previously been acknowledged, government officials told The Associated Press.

In addition, helicopters working for Xe's aviation wing, Presidential Airways, will provide air security for U.S. diplomatic convoys into September, almost two years after the Iraqi government first said it wanted the firm out.

The company's continued presence raises fresh questions about the strength of Iraq's sovereignty even as the Obama administration urges the budding government to take more responsibility for the nation's future.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30312789/

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[Arctic Dave]

2. K&R

[IDemo]

3. "re-competing": Try again. And again.

Duckworth said that State would "re-compete the aviation task order," allowing Xe and Virginia-based DynCorp and Triple Canopy to bid for the air security contract.

--snip

The State Department has not yet selected a successor to Blackwater for ground protection in al Hillah. But both Triple Canopy and DynCorp have the capability to do the job.

If Xe (say "SHE"!) sounds familiar, it's because "she" is simply a rebranded BlackWater. I'm sure Iraqis won't know the difference, with those new truck logos to throw them off.

The other two companies hoping to get a piece of the action are no better.

Triple Canopy: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Triple_Canopy_Inc

DynCorp: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11119

[Hydra]

4. And the bad news just keeps coming...

I wonder if President Obama gave the order to pay them.