An American Lion

Sometimes you have to break some eggs, but don’t break all of them, sir…

As much as I am a fan of what a company like “Blackwater” or “Xe” can do in terms of kicking ass and taking names, I have to say that I am dismayed at the company’s inability to properly bribe people after it has shot most of them:

Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Four former executives described the plan under the condition of anonymity, the newspaper said.

Iraqis had long complained about ground operations by the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe Corp. Then the shooting by Blackwater guardsin Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in September 2007 left 17 civilians dead, further strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led U.S. prosecutors to bring charges against the Blackwater contractors involved.

The State Department has since turned to DynCorp and another private security firm, Triple Canopy, to handle diplomatic protective services in the country. But Xe continues to provide security for diplomats in other nations, most notably in Afghanistan.

The former executives told the Times that the payments were approved by the company’s then-president, Gary Jackson. They did not know if he came up with the idea.

Sounds like a combination of sour grapes and incompetence, never a recipe for a good blog post.

Here’s what you and I should really be outraged about—this company still does business with the United States Government. I think it is long past the day when we should have just moved on.