edwinjoel22 asked: Blackwater Worldwide, formerly Blackwater USA, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.[2] It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports by the U.S. and international media.[3][4][5][6][7] In October 2007, Blackwater USA renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide, basing themselves in the U.S. state of North Carolina, where it operates a tactical training facility ( [show location on an interactive map] 36°27′19″N 76°12′09″W / 36.455359, -76.202545) claiming to be the world’s largest. The company undertakes training of more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. or foreign military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personnel security. However, technologies used and techniques trained are not limited by U.S. domestic law, although it is unclear what legal status Blackwater Worldwide operates under in the U.S. and other countries, or what protection the U.S. extends to Blackwater Worldwide operations globally.[8]
Blackwater Worldwide is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department’s three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Blackwater provides, 744 are U.S. citizens.[9][10] At least 90 percent of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts.[11] Blackwater Worldwide is currently contracted by the United States government to provide security services in the Iraq War.[1]
On March 31, 2004, four Blackwater Security Consulting (BSC) employees were ambushed and killed in Fallujah, and their bodies were hanged on bridges.
On September 16, 2007, Blackwater employees in Nisour Square, Baghdad shot and killed 17 Iraqis, at least 14 of whom were killed “without cause” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[12] In November 2008, the U.S. State Department prepared to slap a multimillion-dollar fine on Blackwater for shipping hundreds of automatic weapons to Iraq without the necessary permits. Some of the weapons were believed to have ended up on the country’s black market
Ron
