<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Despite Denials, Blackwater Still Working for&nbsp;U.S.]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<div class="entryDescription">
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<li class="entryAuthor"> By <a title="Posts by Spencer Ackerman" href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/author/spencer_ackerman/">Spencer Ackerman</a> <a href="mailto:spencerackerman@gmail.com"> </a></li>
<li class="entryDate"> January 11, 2011</li>
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<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-38580" href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/despite-denials-blackwater-still-working-for-u-s/blackwaterhellokittylove_2-300x266-4/"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-38580" title="blackwaterhellokittylove_2-300x266" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2011/01/blackwaterhellokittylove_2-300x2661.gif" alt="" width="300" height="266" /></a>Reports  that Blackwater is out of the government’s private-security game have  been greatly exaggerated. A consigliere to the company’s new owners  tells Danger Room that not only does the controversial firm still hold  security contracts with the State Department, it has every intention of  seeking more.</p>
<p>In October, Danger Room reported that U.S. Training Center, a division of the renamed “Xe Services,” had won part of State’s <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/exclusive-blackwater-wins-piece-of-10-billion-merc-deal/">$10-billion Worldwide Protective Services contract</a> to guard diplomats. U.S. Training Center formed a partnership with  Kaseman, another security firm, called International Development  Solutions, to bid on the contract. But last week, an anonymous State  Department official told Danger Room pal Jeff Stein of the <em>Washington Post</em> that the firm “<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2011/01/blackwater-linked_firm_scores.html">no longer had a relationship with Xe</a>.”</p>
<p>Untrue, says Harry Clark, an adviser to USTC Holdings, the group of investors that <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/will-blackwater-go-vegan-after-sale-to-hippy-firm/">purchased Xe</a> from founder Erik Prince last month. “U.S. Training Center is a  subsidiary of Xe Services. Still,” Clark says. Any future security  services Xe provides to State will be conducted through International  Development Solutions, in which USTC is a “minority partner.”</p>
<p>First up — as Stein was the first to report — International Development Solutions will <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/is-blackwater-heading-for-the-holy-land/">guard the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem</a>,  part of a Worldwide Protective Services deal worth up to $84 million.  It includes providing “protective security in the West Bank,” says State  Department spokesman Andy Laine.</p>
<p>That’s the first opportunity for the revamped Xe to demonstrate that its guards are no longer the sort of people that <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/12/feds-issue-indi/">open fire on civilians</a>, <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/aint-no-party-like-a-blackwater-party-cause-a-blackwater-party-got-coke-roids-and-aks/">take drugs</a> or <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/blackwater-in-kabul-or-eric-cartman-gets-an-ak-47/">carry unauthorized firearms</a> — part of the rationale for selling the company off.</p>
<p>That’s a case Xe 2.0 wants to make. The new ownership is “committed  to being the best-in-class in security services,” in Clark’s words.  Don’t think for a second Xe isn’t going to keep pitching the government  on its guard services, even as it also emphasizes its training packages  for law enforcement. “USTC will pursue training and security services  contracts as [Xe] did before,” Clark says.</p>
<p>While the $84 million Jerusalem contract is a boon, just a week after  USTC Holdings bought Xe, the company was dealt a loss when the Army  opted to <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/controversial-firm-snags-another-billion-dollar-afghan-police-deal/">hire DynCorp for a $1.04 billion contract</a> to train Afghan cops. Still, Xe got a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/23/AR2010062305255.html">$100 million deal to guard CIA bases in Afghanistan</a> last year, and Clark said that the new owners retain “95 percent” of  Xe’s pre-sale government contracts. He declined to specify which ones  the firm no longer retains.</p>
<p>Next up for Xe: finding a new CEO and building an independent board  and appointing an external-compliance officer, all of whom will chart  the company’s future. Could this be the end of an era when lawmakers  accuse Xe of <a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/blackwaters-34th-front-company-wins-big-diplo-jackpot/">setting up front companies</a> to win government contracts? Clark said to expect the firm to be more  open and transparent “than when Erik Prince was in charge.” We’ll be  watching.</p>
<p><strong>See Also:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/exclusive-blackwater-wins-piece-of-10-billion-merc-deal/">Exclusive: Blackwater Wins Piece of $10 Billion Mercenary Deal …</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/blackwaters-34th-front-company-wins-big-diplo-jackpot/">Mystery Merc Group Is Blackwater’s 34th Front Company [Updated …</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/is-blackwater-heading-for-the-holy-land/">Is Blackwater Heading for the Holy Land?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/will-blackwater-go-vegan-after-sale-to-hippy-firm/">Will Blackwater Go Vegan After Sale to Hippie Firm?</a></li>
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<p><a href="http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/despite-denials-blackwater-still-working-for-u-s/">Despite Denials, Blackwater Still Working for U.S. | Danger Room | Wired.com</a>.</p>
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