Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder (Nation)

[katty]

more: more: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill

(Jeremy Scahill: In an exclusive interview with The Nation, Sen. Russ Feingold defends his lone vote to oppose the latest amendment to the Defense Authorization bill.
Blackwater Seeks Gag Order Blackwater)

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

Jeremy Scahill: Sworn statements filed in Federal Court allege that Blackwater founder Erik Prince launched a "crusade" to eliminate Muslims and Islam.
White House is Whistling Past Afghan Graveyard Russell Feingold

Jeremy Scahill: The private security company, facing charges in a US court for killing and injuring Iraqis, is attempting to silence its victims and their lawyers.
In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

These allegations, and a series of other charges, are contained in sworn affidavits, given under penalty of perjury, filed late at night on August 3 in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. Susan Burke, a private attorney working in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, is suing Blackwater in five separate civil cases filed in the Washington, DC, area.

[Jane Austin]

1. This needs to be posted on any blog your frequent, because

it had already fallen off the front page of Memeorandum.

[katty]

2. it is stunning-unfortunately many of us are not surprised,

and this will not just go away.

[Demeter]

3. I Am Wondering If Cheney Pleaded for Secret Service Protection Because Prince Is Out to Get Him

I would think Cheney didn't have a friend in the world, ever. Certainly, no one who would identify a one.

And I'll bet he ticked off the Black(Water) Prince.