The Associated Press reports that

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S. designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.

The time has come to ask ourselves here in Illinois do we really want a company with Blackwater’s reputation training our local law enforcement. Can we trust the “quality training” they say they are delivering anymore than we can trust the distortions coming from their public relations office?

On Tuesday Blackwater defended itself in relation to the shooting of Iraqi civilians over the weekend.

“Blackwater regrets any loss of life, but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life.” said Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell, reported in the September 19th edition of the Chicago Tribune.

This makes Blackwater seem very innocent. However the Friday edition of the NY Times reports that a copy of the Iraqi official investigation into the shootings reports that it was Blackwater who opened fire first. Firing on a car with a male driver and woman passenger holding a baby. This testimony came from an Iraq police officer at the scene. He reported that the car did not stop when an Iraqi police officer instructed him to stop. Blackwater then shot him. The woman began to scream and then they shot her. The car kept rolling so they then shot an explosive into the car so that it would burn. Read the rest of this entry

Sources that wish to remain unidentified in Thailand and others close to Blackwater executives report that Blackwater USA is in negotiations with the government of Thailand. The purpose of the talks is reportedly to open a training center in the country. Having lost their attempt last year to open a jungle training facility in the Philippines, it appears that Blackwater has now turned its sights on Thailand.

Blackwater President Gary Jackson said in May of 2006, according to a June article in the Virginian Pilot that the company planned to open an Asian branch on 25 acres of the former U.S. naval base at Subric Bay to teach jungle survival skills.

The Philippine Congress however took steps to stop those plans before a facility could open. Chris Taylor, a Blackwater vice president, blamed the controversy on “misinformation and confusion.”

Blackwater USA, located in at least nine countries world wide, is one of the most widely known of the many private military firms that have flourished since the start of the war in Iraq. Gary Jackson said the company saw a 600% revenue jump from 2002 to 2005. Earlier this year they started to provide training in the Sudan region. Read the rest of this entry