Intelligence officials and former Blackwater employees are confirming that the shadowy military contractor participated in “almost nightly” kidnapping raids in Iraq and Afghanistan, called “snatch and grab” operations by company insiders on behalf of the CIA.
The relationship was so closed that officials say the line between military operations, those by the CIA, and those by the private security forces became completely blurred.
The latest report comes just a week after Blackwater owner Erik Prince confirmed that his company permformed “very risky missions” for the CIA, giving the agency “unattributable capability.” Prince did not, however, confirm any specific operations.
Besides operating a company making billions of dollars contracting for the US military, the State Department, and the CIA, Prince was himself a CIA operative who reportedly helped train CIA assassination teams.
The CIA was involved in a massive kidnapping program across the world for several years, a fact which became even more apparent last month with 23 CIA officers were convicted on kidnapping charges in Italy.
The CIA & Blackwater are the true terrorists that need to be eradicated. It's noteworthy that Obama did not mention these terrorists in his Oslo speech today, even though he went to great pains to portray the illegal occupation of Afghanistan as a 'war of necessity' to combat the scourge of terrorism.
Obama did not mention a lot of things in his Oslo speech, and Blackwater is a ticking time-bomb sitting on the desk of the Republican Party. Clearly, Prince has ordered covert operations at the behest of the ilk of Dick Cheney, possibly Karl Rove – and he feels like he is being betrayed to keep him silent. Obama should order Holder to probe this case as deeply as possible – and immediately.