| The former Navy SEAL who founded the mercenary outfit in 1997 is stepping down as the company's president and CEO. He announced earlier today that he is appointing a new president and a new CEO, and that the moves are being made in the interest of "continued reorganization and self-improvement."
Last month the company launched a rebranding effort by changing its name from Blackwater to Xe. (Prounounced "Zee" - as in Nazi.)
The name change came on the heels of the the State Departments decision not to renew the company's current contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May. The company has one other major security contract remaining, but the details are classified so no one knows who that client is.
In September 2007 mercenaries in Blackwater's employ engaged in a bloody, murderous, fiery rampage that left at least 17 innocent Iraqi civilians dead. The attack was unjustified, tantamount to cold-blooded murder, and the forensics collected by the United States military after the attack proved it.
After that incident, a report by a House committee deemed Blackwater an out-of-control outfit, indifferent to Iraqi civilian casualties. Blackwater, the report determined, had been involved in nearly 200 shooting incidents in less than two years.
In January, five Blackwater security guards pleaded not guilty to federal manslaughter and gun charges in relation to the Nisoor Square massacre.
I hope this decision on Prince's part indicates that prosecutors are closing in on him, too. |
