A separate cable confirmed that the contractors Triple Canopy and DynCorp had hired large numbers of the Blackwater contractors so they could stay in the nation under their umbrella.

The cable expressed concern that such a vast number of Triple Canopy’s fighters were Blackwater transplants that the company’s ability to continue operating in Iraq would be seriously compromised if it was forced to expel them all.

Iraq’s government announced that former employees of Blackwater were not welcome in the country in January 2010. The Iraqi government banned the company in 2009 as evidence of the massacre came to light.

The deal to bring USTC to bear in the Afghan drug war comes despite probes by both the Defense and State Departments of misconduct by Blackwater officials within Afghanistan, including reports that they misled officials and misappropriated government weaponry.

The new contract would have them providing “intelligence analyst support and material procurement” for NATO in the ongoing Afghan drug war, with Blackwater CEO Ted Wright said underscored their ability to provide “all-source intelligence expertise.”

The company’s constant efforts to “rebrand” seem to be aimed primarily at hiding from the public scorn Blackwater earned in Iraq, but don’t appear to be necessary from administration perspectives, as the US continues to eagerly hire them for multi-million dollar deals.

The UAE confirmed Prince’s hiring, saying he was providing “operational, planning and training support” for them, but offering no additional details. Documents leaked regarding the deal with Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, confirm that he is building up a new mercenary army for the emirates.

The mercenary force is largely composed of Colombians and reportedly also features a number of South African mercs who were involved in the Executive Outcomes corporate army of the 1990’s.

Officially the reason for the new mercenary army is “anti-terrorism” operations, but the force is also confirmed to be created to deal with “internal unrest.” A number of other nations in the region have faced pro-democracy uprisings in recent months, and the United Arab Emirates even provided troops to help Bahrain crush theirs. The UAE itself, however, seems to be taking no chances that its own military won’t be willing to crush similar demonstrations, and is preparing the mercenaries primarily as a force with no local ties which would have no qualms about opening fire on demonstrators to secure the regime’s control.

According to Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mijahid, the attack on Finest Supermarket targeted the chief of Blackwater security forces, whom they believed to be in the supermarket at the time. Blackwater confirmed having personnel in the area, but insisted none were amongst the casualties.

The attack was met with a condemnation by President Hamid Karzai, but also prompted anger from locals, not just for the Taliban launching the attack but for the security forces and 150,000 foreign occupation forces being unable to secure even the diplomatic portion of the capital city.

“You can’t even provide security in Kabul; how can you secure the whole country?” one local was quoted as saying. Officials largely shrugged off the attack, and repeatedly insisted that security in the country is still showing “progress.” The claims seem no more convincing today than they have been recently.

Though the “anti-piracy” effort is done with some nominally support from the self-proclaimed Somali government it has largely operated outside of their purview, and they expressed surprise to learn that Prince was invovled at all.

The UN was already investigating the scheme, particularly as it relates to a blanket embargo on the importation of weapons into the country. The inclusion of Prince in the project will likely add to the concerns about it.

Piracy has been a serious problem around the Horn of Africa, and there are said to be major private donors funding the bulk of the militia efforts. Though some expressed hopes that the group might be able to clean out the pirates in relatively short order, it remains to be seen what the new, largely unaffiliated fighting force would do with its weapons and training after the pirates are dealt with.

At the same time, Morrell downplayed the chances of barring Blackwater from contracts, insisting that “they have a willingness to work in places that very few companies are willing to work” and “provide a much-needed service.”

Blackwater was heavily involved in the Iraq War until the fallout from a 2007 massacre of civilians led the Iraqi government to revoke their license. The group still operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

In addition to the allegations related to their work for the Pentagon, Blackwater is also being probed for fraud related to their work for the State Department in Afghanistan. Ex-employees say the company systematically overbilled the State Department and even kept a prostitute on payroll as a salaried employee, charging her services and travel expenses to the US government as a “recreation” expense.

Perhaps the most sensational of the allegations is that Blackwater kept a salaried Filipina employee on payroll in Afghanistan as a prostitute, billing the US government for her pay and air travel under the “morale, welfare, recreation” category.

The ex-employees say Blackwater’s fraud involved not just its contracts with the State Department in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the DHS and FEMA during Hurricane Katrina.

Blackwater is already under probe by the Justice Department for allegations of attempted bribery in the wake of the 2007 Baghdad massacre. After the massacre, Iraq revoked the organization’s license to operate in the country, and just yesterday expelled 250 former Blackwater employees who work for other contractors.

Malik claimed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency investigated and found no Blackwater personnel in the nation. Blackwater personnel have been repeatedly confirmed to be operating in Peshawar for months, patrolling University Town.

But Malik claims every confirmed sighting and even Gates’ public admission were all made up by the media as “hype” and he has insisted that Gates privately retracted his claims. Malik vowed to resign last year if it was ever proven that Blackwater was in Pakistan, and has faced growing calls to resign since Gates’ speech.

Though the exact size of the Blackwater contingent in Pakistan is unclear, one opposition politician claimed that it numbered into the thousands. At least publicly the Pakistani government has never issued them a license to operate in the nation, and the US insists the Blackwater personnel are not operating on America’s behalf.

The allegations were made in November, when four former executives at the company confirmed that president Gary Jackson approved over $1 million in funding for bribes to Iraqi officials.

The attempted bribes were a response to a September 2007 massacre of Iraqi civilians in the city of Baghdad, an attempt to funnel money to Iraqi officials to prevent losing their license to operate in the nation. The executives confirmed the money was sent, but there was no record if the money was ever actually delivered to officials. Iraqi officials revoked the company’s contract to operate in the nation in January 2009.

Reports also suggested that Blackwater provided around $800,000 in compensation to the families of the civilians they killed, with a former employee saying they hoped the compensation would calm government outrage over the killings.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik today again insisted that there was “no evidence” Blackwater had ever been in the nation, and even claimed that US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who publicly confirmed Blackwater’s presence, privately told Malik the quote was the result of a “conspiracy” by Pakistan’s media.

Malik is perhaps in the most trouble of the Zardari government over the Blackwater revelation, having previously pledged to resign if it turned out Blackwater was operating in the country. Senate officials over the weekend formally demanded that resignation.

Malik’s denial also runs contrary to comments by other Pakistani officials, including Information Minister Qamar Zamar Kaira, who insisted that they had never denied Blackwater’s presence to begin with.

Despite the denials, redenials, and the denials of the denials, it was never really any mystery that Blackwater was operating in the nation, as reporters have confirmed the presence of contractors in Blackwater uniforms patrolling through the streets of Peshawar carrying assault rifles on a number of occasions. The forces were patrolling in front of a Blackwater base in Peshawar’s University Town, with both base and contractors clearly marked as members of the US private security force.