Blackwater, billions and alleged bribery of Iraqi officials

Former top Blackwater executives claim the company planned to use about $1 million in bribe money to silence Iraqi officials "and buy their support" after security guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007. Billions for Blackwater were at stake.

Four former Blackwater executives told New York Times reporters that Blackwater Worldwide, now called Xe Services, "authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad." Speaking only on the condition of anonymity, the four former high-ranking Blackwater executives described a scenario in which Blackwater was concerned about being refused an operating license in Iraq. Lacking the license could jeopardize Blackwater's annual multi-million dollar contracts with the State Department. The strategy to buy-off officials in the Iraqi government was allegedly conceived after the Nisour Square massacre that took place in September 2007. The incident, according to author Jeremy Scahill in his book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, was dubbed by some as "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday." Blackwater guards were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians and "Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country" reports the New York Times. According to the New York Times:

Five Blackwater guards involved in the shooting are facing federal manslaughter charges, and their trial is scheduled to start in February in Washington. A sixth guard pleaded guilty in December.

By December of 2007, just a few months following the Nisour Square massacre, "Blackwater approved the cash payments" the company's former executives told the New York Times. Further, the executives said "that Gary Jackson, who was then Blackwater’s president, had approved the bribes and that the money was sent from Amman, Jordan, where the company maintains an operations hub, to a top manager in Iraq." The New York Times reports that two of the executives actually took part in the bribery payment talks, and the other two learned about the payments from discussions with other Blackwater officials. The executives indicated to the NYT that "they did not know whether the cash was delivered to Iraqi officials or the identities of the potential recipients." The New York Times states:

If Blackwater followed through, the company or its officials could face charges of obstruction of justice and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans bribes to foreign officials.

Paying $1 million in bribery money to get Iraqi officials to drop inquiries into the Nisour Square massacre, thus likely allowing Blackwater to stay in Iraq, would have been a good return on investment for this "mercenary army." As Scahill writes in his book:

Since September 11, Blackwater had risen to a position of extraordinary prominence in the “war on terror” apparatus, and its contracts with the federal government had grown to more than $1 billion.

That quote was dated October 2, 2007. The NYT notes that "From 2004 through today [Nov. 10, 2009], the company [Blackwater] has collected more than $1.5 billion for its work protecting American diplomats and providing air transportation for them inside Iraq." While there is some overlap on the dates, the numbers convey the billions that were at stake for Blackwater Worldwide had the company been ousted from Iraq. In Rachel Maddow's interview with Scahill, which is included in this report, Scahill states that Iraqi officials did an "about-face" and "Blackwater remains in Iraq to this day." Scahill discusses the $200 million contract that Blackwater (Xe Services) retains for aviation services in Iraq, and in the Maddow interview he adds:

There has never been a company in recent history that made the case that corporations are corrupt, evil organizations than Blackwater.

Erik Prince, the chairman and founder of Blackwater (Xe Services), was said to have been confronted about the secret payments and that Prince "did not dispute that there was a bribery plan" the NYT reports. The NYT reports that Stacy DeLuke, a spokeswoman for the company, now called Xe Services, "dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and said the company would not comment about former employees."