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IPFS News Link • Trump Administration

Trump Comes Under Fire For His 'Blackwater on the Potomac'

• https://www.lewrockwell.com

President-elect Donald Trump has come under fire for using his 'Blackwater on the Potomac' security detail, as critics compare them to the notorious security contractor, which operated after the Iraq War.

Earlier, this month it was reported that Trump continuously employed a private security and intelligence team at his rallies, and plans to keep those members on after he becomes president, according to Politico.

But undermining the Secret Service seems to be another battle in Trump's apparent war against Washington as he prepares to take office on January 20.

In an article written by UCLA law professor, Jon D Michaels, that was published by CNN, Michaels wrote that with 'Trump's anti-government rhetoric, and his apparent comfort with commingling state and commercial power the last thing we need is a Blackwater on the Potomac'.

'His message is clear: We should not trust the feds,' Michaels added.

Trump's refusal to stop using his own private guards while in office could raise some legal issues.

Michaels notes that the US Secret Service is the 'best of the best' with a 'longstanding relationship of professional excellence'.

And, he writes, 'when it comes to protecting a president, there's just no way private security guards can bring to the table what the Secret Service does'.

'A private security detail paid for by, I suppose, the Trump Organization, the President-Elect himself, or some wealthy donors' is a problem, Michaels wrote, because 'Congress appropriates funds to the Executive branch with the expectation that those will be the only funds spent'.

THE BLACKWATER STORY

Blackwater was founded in 1997 by Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL. The initial mission was to provide training to military and policy units at a massive facility in the Great Dismal Swamp in North Carolina.

In 2002, the company launched Blackwater Security, which provided private soldiers to government clients. Most employees were former Navy SEALs or other special operations soldiers, although as its operations expanded more and more ex-regular Army or Marine Corps troops became the staple of its manpower.

During the Iraq War, the company proved a major force – providing protection for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and for U.S. State Department staff throughout Iraq.

At the height of the war, tens of thousands of private soldiers were scattered across the country. Some estimates indicate up to 100,000 Blackwater contractors were in Iraq at one time.

They guarded American compounds and Iraqi assets, freeing up U.S. soldiers to go on the offensive.

Most estimates are that Blackwater collected $1billion in U.S. government contracts. According to one report, Blackwater charged $445,000 per contractor per year – six times the cost of fielding a U.S. solider.

In September 2007, the Iraqi government revoked the company's license to operate in the country after the killings in Nisour Square in Baghdad.

The government demanded that the Blackwater contractors involved be tried in Iraqi courts. Both the U.S. government and the company said the men were immune from prosecution under Iraqi law – leading to this week's convictions.


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