As Blackwater's (now Xe) reputation deteriorates, US Government contracts aren't slowing in pace.  It turns out that after the September 2007 incident in which Blackwater mercenaries slaughtered 17 Iraqi civilians, Blackwater executives quickly turned to bribery in order to quell the calls to oust Blackwater from Iraq.   Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy... Full Story

Nation reporter Jeremy Scahill, who has focused much of his attention on Blackwater (now Xe) previously, writes that writes that in sworn statements filed with a Virginia court last night, a former Marine and a former Blackwater employee both claim that the company’s founder and former CEO, Erik Prince, "may have murdered or facilitated the murder" of people who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company.The two are IDed in the court filings only as John Doe #1... Full Story