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For OpEdNews: William Fisher – Writer

Reprinted from Truthout

Legal headaches are growing exponentially for thesecurity firm formerly known as Blackwater – once the darling of themilitary-industrial community.

In separate developments, two former employees ofthe company previously charged that the security firm committed”systematic fraud” under their contracts with the US State Departmentin Iraq and Afghanistan, the Iraqi government announced it would seizeheavy weapons from foreign security firms and expel ex-Blackwatercontractors still in the country and a US Senate hearing learned thatBlackwater employees stole more than 500 assault rifles intended forthe Afghan police force.

The accusations of fraud came from two formeremployees, who filed a false claims lawsuit that allows the employees,acting as whistleblowers, to win a portion of any public money thegovernment recovers as a result of the information.

The Washington Post reported that the formerBlackwater (now known as Xe Services) employees, Brad and Melan Davis,accused the firm of overbilling for travel, charging for liquor and spatrips, having a fire pit built for Blackwater staff parties andcharging for the services of a Filipino prostitute who was kept on”staff” in Afghanistan as part of the company’s “Morale WelfareRecreation.”

Brad Davis was a former Marine and served as a teamleader and security guard, including a posting in Iraq. Melan Davis,his wife, worked as a finance and payroll employee. Melan Davis hasaccused the company of terminating her in 2008 because she questionedbilling practices. Her husband resigned shortly afterward.

Blackwater changed its name to Xe – pronounced “zee”- early last year in an effort to shed the negative baggage acquiredbecause of its frequent run-ins with Iraqi, Afghan, US and NATO forces.Blackwater Lodge & Training Center – the subsidiary that conductsmuch of the company’s overseas operations and domestic training – hasbeen renamed US Training Center Inc.

In a related development, the Iraqi governmentannounced that it would seize weapons from foreign security firms andexpel ex-Blackwater contractors still in the country within days,according to Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani. The decision wastriggered by the Iraqi government’s outrage over the dismissal by a UScourt of charges against Blackwater Worldwide guards, who were accusedof killing 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. The guards said theyshot in self-defense. The judge said there was evidence ofprosecutorial misconduct. The US government is appealing the dismissalof the court case. The Iraqi government, which has prohibitedBlackwater from operating in Iraq, has hired US lawyers to prepare alawsuit against the company.

For many Iraqis, the killing of the 14 civiliansbecame emblematic of the impunity from prosecution in Iraq enjoyed byforeign security contractors after the 2003 US invasion. That immunityended last year under a US-Iraqi security agreement transferringsovereignty back to Iraq.

Parliamentary elections scheduled for March 7 arealso fueling Iraqi anger at Blackwater. Minister Bolani, who is runningas the head of his own coalition against a slate headed by PrimeMinister Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters news service that he had “orderedthat the heavy weapons used by some of the foreign security firms becollected.”

And in yet another development, it emerged at ahearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Blackwateremployees took more than 500 assault rifles intended for the Afghanpolice force and routinely carried weapons without permission.

It also emerged that, to burnish its negative imageto win contracting business in Afghanistan, Blackwater created what onesenator called a shell company. Senators said that company, Paravant,deceived US officials. It claimed Blackwater was not involved, but usedBlackwater’s past performance to establish its credentials.

“They made representations here that are wildlyfalse,” said Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat. “Everyone knew in the fieldit was Blackwater trying to get rid of a negative name.”

Levin warned that Afghan civilians did notdistinguish between troops and contractors, and that when contractorsmisbehaved it turned the population against US forces and encouragedthem to side with the Taliban.

The Senate hearing focused in part on a December2008 accident in which a Blackwater employee was shot in the headduring what the company described as a vehicle training exercise, butLevin called horseplay.

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