WHY DO THEY HATE US?
The Prince of Darkness

In Explosive Allegations, Ex-Employees Link Blackwater Founder to Murder, Threats
In sworn statements, two ex-employees claim Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince, murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. One also charged Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.” We speak with investigative journalist and bestselling author Jeremy Scahill, who broke the story for The Nation magazine.
Murder, destruction of evidence, weapons smuggling, corruption–those are just some of the explosive allegations made by two former employees of the private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. The claims were made in sworn statements filed on August 3rd in federal court in Virginia.
The two men claim Blackwater’s owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. One 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.”
The identities of the two men–a former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company–were sealed out of concerns for their safety.
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 allegations, and a series of other charges, are contained in sworn affidavits, given under penalty of perjury, as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. Blackwater now operates under the name Xe–spelled X E.
We contacted the company about the allegations but they did not return our calls. Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill broke the story in The Nation Magazine yesterday. Jeremy is the author of the bestseller, “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.” His writing and reporting is also available at RebelReports.com.
Jeremy Scahill, award-winning investigative journalist and author of the bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His writing and reporting is available at RebelReports.com. His latest article is online at TheNation.com.
- posted by Frank @ 11:52 AM