Blackwater's Black Ops | The Nation
The Nation has previously reported on
Blackwater's work for the CIA and JSOC in Pakistan. New documents reveal
a history of activity relating to Pakistan by Blackwater. Former
Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto worked with the company when
she returned to Pakistan to campaign for the 2008 elections, according
to the documents. In October 2007, when media reports emerged that
Bhutto had hired "American security," senior Blackwater official Robert
Richer wrote to company executives, "We need to watch this carefully
from a number of angles. If our name surfaces, the Pakistani press
reaction will be very important. How that plays through the Muslim world
will also need tracking." Richer wrote that "we should be prepared to
[sic] a communique from an affiliate of Al-Qaida if our name surfaces
(BW). That will impact the security profile." Clearly a word is missing
in the e-mail or there is a typo that leaves unclear what Richer meant
when he mentioned the Al Qaeda communiqué. Bhutto was assassinated two
months later. Blackwater officials subsequently scheduled a meeting with
her family representatives in Washington, in January 2008.
