Have you heard of Xe, aka Blackwater? I never heard of them until I saw this clip.
Xe is a private military company founded in 1997 as Blackwater USA. Xe, like any other private business, provide services to its consumers for profit. The difference however, is that Xe owns guns, armoured vehicles, jet fighters and employs highly trained commandos. Xe is a company of mercenaries. The US government has Xe take care of things the army can't handle.
I am surprised to have never heard of Xe, especially since they provided essential military services to the Iraq war and occupation, and was ultimately dismissed by the Iraq government in 2007. In 2004, the media broad-casted news of four American soldiers killed in Fallujah. A mob burned the soldier's bodies, dragged them through the streets and finally hung them on a bridge for display. It was announced later that the victims were not actually soldiers, but highly trained Xe employees.
So right now, I have a lot of questions:
Why haven't I heard of Xe until now?
Why haven't most people heard of Xe?
Isn't privatizing warfare a controversial issue that deserves more media attention?
Who are private military companies accountable to? Are they above the law?
Perhaps I should write more on the subject after some research.
it's scary....
Almost 80% of the people I talk to have never heard of blackwater. Even my brother, former soldier and current police officer never heard of them. Damn....
Jeremy Scahill's book is a really good account of Blackwater and the privatization of the military. Many people don't know this, but they were also sent to New Orleans after Katrina hit to defend the homes of the wealthy elite.
Xe changed its name from Blackwater because BW received so much negative attn after the iraq war. at first they were not accountable to the geneva conventions / rules of war, etc., although US law changed that.
and yes, it is disconcerting...
http://blackwaterbook.com/