Blackwater Firm Gets $120M U.S. Gov't Contract (in Afghanistan)

tekisui

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Sat Jun-19-10 06:54 AM
Original message

Blackwater Firm Gets $120M U.S. Gov't Contract (in Afghanistan)

Source: 10 Connects/CBS

CBS News has learned in an exclusive report that the State Department has awarded a part of what was formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide a contract worth more than $120 million for providing security services in Afghanistan.

Private security firm U.S. Training Center, a business unit of the Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater, now called Xe Services, was awarded the contract Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday night.

Under the contract, U.S. Training Center will provide "protective security services" at the new U.S. consulates in Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, the spokeswoman said. The firm can begin work "immediately" and has to start within two months. The contract lasts a year but can be extended twice for three months at a time to last a maximum of 18 months.

Should the firm fulfill all 18 months available in the contract, it will be paid a total of $120,123,293, the spokeswoman said.

The awarding of the contract comes just more than four months after the government of Iraq ordered hundreds of Blackwater-linked security guards to leave the country within seven days or face possible arrest.

more: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=134472&catid=81

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unhappycamper

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Sat Jun-19-10 06:57 AM
Response to Original message

1. WTF?

Just plain :wtf:.

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midnight

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:02 AM
Response to Original message

2. The beat goes on....

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DrDan

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:12 AM
Response to Original message

3. change you can believe in . . . . oh, wait . . . nothing has changed, has it

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Scuba

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:16 AM
Response to Reply #3

5. Hard to imagine that Hillary or Barack would allow this. Or is it?

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Golden Raisin

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:16 AM
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4. Well, the audacity is there

but the hope has been stomped into the dust and extinguished. Blackwater/Xe are nothing more than a private army of stormtroopers for hire, and perceived as exactly such by the countries we occupy. No good can come from this. I expected this from Bush/Cheney. For me this is another major downward re-evaluation of President Obama.

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tekisui

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:30 AM
Response to Original message

6. This shouldn't surprise anyone. We've been using Blackwater in our Pakistan War

for a while.

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DrDan

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:52 AM
Response to Reply #6

7. doesn't mean we shouldn't be phasing these crooks out . . . .

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tekisui

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:56 AM
Response to Reply #7

8. Without a doubt.

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donco6

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Sat Jun-19-10 07:59 AM
Response to Original message

9. Maybe someone will come explain why this is a good thing.

Because I'm confused.

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tekisui

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Sat Jun-19-10 08:01 AM
Response to Reply #9

10. The State Department prefers their own private armies for protection.

They are in the process of getting a private army in Iraq to stay after the 'combat troops' and probably after all the troops have left.

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donco6

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Sat Jun-19-10 08:42 AM
Response to Reply #10

11. Ah . . . so we can say we're "out of Iraq".

I get it. Interesting.

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Bluebear

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Sun Jun-20-10 09:30 PM
Response to Original message

12. oops sorry I missed this....so kick!

More "disingenuous" info according to some lol!

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