Former Iraq Security Contractors Say Firm Bought Black Market Weapons, Swapped Booze for Rockets

[sabra]

Source: Pro Publica

Last spring, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Iraq got a makeover,replacing the scandal-plagued Blackwater private security company with a firm named Triple Canopy.

The new $1 billion contract cemented Triple Canopy's status as the pre-eminent provider of private security services in Iraq, with its heavily armed employees appearing side by side with senior State Department diplomats.

But the company's rise to prominence followed a long, often chaotic route, marked by questionable weapons deals, government bungling and a criminal investigation that was ultimately closed without charges being filed, according to newly released investigative files.

Company employees told federal investigators that Triple Canopy swapped booze for weapons and supplies from the U.S. military. They said the company bought guns and other arms on the black market in Iraq. Some worried that the money was flowing into the hands of insurgents, records show.

The previously undisclosed documents and interviews with current and former Triple Canopy officials raise new questions about the U.S. government's ability to oversee private security contractors in a fluid and uncertain legal environment. And they give a glimpse into the messy business of creating a private army on the fly in the middle of a war zone.

Read more: http://www.propublica.org/feature/former-iraq-security-contractors-say-firm-bought-black-market-weapons-918

[madmom]

1. Congress is ignoring this and going after ACORN. Who'd a thunk it!

[seafan]

2. Connecting another dot here:

I wonder if Triple Canopy is involved in the mystery deal described in this story:


Montana jail deal raises questions: Mysterious buyer, "American Police Force" company, of questionable legitimacy, September 13, 2009

On its elaborate Web site and in interviews with company representatives, American Police Force claims to sell assault rifles and other weapons in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. military while providing security, investigative work and other services to clients "in all 50 states and most countries."

The company also boasts to have "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide" and that it can field a battalion-sized team of special forces soldiers "within 72 hours."
Representatives of American Police Force said the company presently employs at least 16 and as many as 28 people in the United States and 1,600 contractors worldwide.
"APF plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs," the company says on its Web site. "Within the last 5 years the United States has been far and away our" number 1 client.
However, an Associated Press search of two comprehensive federal government contractor databases turned up no record of American Police Force.

Representatives of security trade groups said they had never heard of American Police Force, although they added secrecy was prevalent in the industry and it was possible the company had avoided the public limelight.
"They're really invisible," said Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council. The group's members include major security contractors Triple Canopy, DynCorp and Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide.

From today:


Former Iraq Security Contractors Say (Triple Canopy) Firm Bought Black Market Weapons, Swapped Booze for Rockets, September 18, 2009



How much would we want to bet that *Triple Canopy* is just another renamed, repackaged subsidiary of the reviled Blackwater Worldwide/Xe? That's the way these contractors continue to steal and wreak havoc, by a constant stream of name changes and layers of front company distortions. Hmmmm, resembles certain intel agency activities....



Somehow, there is an awful lot of weapons trafficking going on these days.

[bobthedrummer]

3. K&R + a reposted Corp Watch NYT article by Daniel Bergner about the formation of Triple Canopy

"IRAQ: The Other Army"
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12542

It's my understanding that Triple Canopy has taken control of Xe (Blackwater).

[bobthedrummer]

4. "Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder" by Jeremy Scahill (8-4-09 The Nation)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill