Mercenary Jackpot

How can anybody be proud to be an American now?

Mercenary Jackpot:


While the Bush Administration calls for the immediate disbanding of what it has labeled 'private' and 'illegal' militias in Lebanon and Iraq, it is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its own global private mercenary army tasked with protecting US officials and institutions overseas. The secretive program, which spans at least twenty-seven countries, has been an incredible jackpot for one heavily Republican-connected firm in particular: Blackwater USA. Government records recently obtained by The Nation reveal that the Bush Administration has paid Blackwater more than $320 million since June 2004 to provide 'diplomatic security' services globally. The massive contract is the largest known to have been awarded to Blackwater to date and reveals how the Administration has elevated a once-fledgling security firm into a major profiteer in the 'war on terror.'

Blackwater's highly lucrative 'diplomatic security' contract was officially awarded under the State Department's little-known Worldwide Personal Protective Service (WPPS) program, described in State Department documents as a government initiative to protect US officials as well as 'certain foreign government high level officials whenever the need arises.'