More news emerged on Blackwater (currently known as Xe Services) yesterday as new information was revealed regarding their participation in secret raids coordinated by the CIA and carried out against suspected insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq. These revelations have increased the already stringent criticism being directed toward both Blackwater and the CIA and the depth of their relationship. Iraqis have claimed that the behavior of Blackwater security guards has been reckless, and the company lost its contract with the State Department this year in response to a shooting in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians.
