Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
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24 Jon Lee Anderson, “The Uprising,” The New Yorker, May 3, 2004.
25 Colin Freeman, “Fallujah: Brutal Ambush Might Have Been Avoided,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 2004.
26 Ibid.
27 Michael Duffy, “When Private Armies Take to the Front Lines,” Time, April 12, 2004.
28 Colin Freeman, “Fallujah: Brutal Ambush Might Have Been Avoided,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 2004.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Joseph Neff and Jay Price, “After the Horror, Strong Words Mask Inaction; Little Has Been Done to Determine the Facts of the Ambush in Fallujah That Cost Four Civilian Contractors Their Lives,” News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 1, 2004.
32 Ibid.
33 “U.S. Security Contractor Cites Explosive Growth Amid Iraq War,” Associated Press, October 13, 2004.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36 Interviews 2006.
37 Interviews 2006.
38 Blackwater Tactical Weekly, November 8, 2004.
39 Bill Sizemore and Joanne Kimberlin, “When Things Go Wrong,” Virginian-Pilot, July 26, 2006.
40 Author copy of photo.
41 Blackwater Tactical Weekly, November 22, 2004.
42 Beckman Coulter v. Flextronics (Orange County Superior Court, California). The verdict was the largest in California in 2003 and the largest in Orange County history.
43 Interview 2006.
44 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
45 Ibid.
46 Author copy of contract.
47 Blackwater Motion to Dismiss, filed January 31, 2005.
48 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
49 Ibid.
50 Interview 2006.
51 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
52 Ibid.
53 Joseph Neff and Jay Prince (the News & Observer), “Use of Private Contractors in War Zones Proves Costly,” Associated Press, October 25, 2004.
54 Author copy of contract.
55 Author copy of letter.
56 Author copy of letter.
57 Transcript, Hearing of House Government Reform Committee, September 28, 2006.
58 E-mail to producers of PBS Frontline, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/etc/response.html, posted June 21, 2005.
59 Ibid.
60 “Interim Audit Report on Inappropriate Use of Proprietary Data Markings by the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) Contractor,” Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, October 26, 2006.
61 Ibid.
62 Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr., “Halliburton Contracts in Iraq: The Struggle to Manage Costs,” New York Times, December 29, 2003.
63 Halliburton Statement, December 7, 2006.
64 Letter from Representative Henry Waxman to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, December 7, 2006.
65 Ibid.
66 Transcript, “Hearing on Iraq Private Contractor Oversight,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, February 7, 2007.
67 See Jeremy Scahill and Garrett Ordower, “KBR’s $400 Million Iraq Question,” The Nation online, March 12, 2007.
68 Transcript, “Hearing on Iraq Private Contractor Oversight,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, February 7, 2007.
69 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
70 Ibid.
71 Ibid.
72 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
73 Blackwater report, “Blackwater’s Response to ‘Majority Staff Report,’” October 23, 2007.
74 Author copy of contract.
75 Interview 2006.
76 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
77 See Chapter 5.
78 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
79 Ibid.
80 Ibid.
81 Transcript, “Hearing on Iraq Private Contractor Oversight,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, February 7, 2007.
82 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
83 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
84 Ibid.
85 Ibid.
86 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
87 Interview 2006.
88 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
89 Richard P. Nordan v. Blackwater Security Consulting, LLC et. al., filed January 5, 2005.
90 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Majority Staff Report, “Private Military Contractors in Iraq: An Examination of Blackwater’s Actions in Fallujah,” September 2007.
91 Ibid.
92 Blackwater report, “Blackwater’s Response to ‘Majority Staff Report,’” October 23, 2007.
93 Ibid.
94 Bill Sizemore and Joanne Kimberlin, “When Things Go Wrong,” Virginian-Pilot, July 26, 2006.
95 E-mail to author April 14, 2006.
96 Scott Dodd, “Families of 4 Contractors Killed in Iraq Sue Security Company,” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, January 6, 2005.
97 Interviews 2006.
98 Interviews 2006.
99 Transcript, “Hearing of the National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee,” June 13, 2006.
100 Author copy, “Blackwater Defendants’ Memorandum in Opposition,” December 26, 2006.
101 Author copy, “Reply Brief in Support of Motion,” December 27, 2006.
102 Author copy, “United States’ Limited Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion,” December 26, 2006.
103 Author copy, “Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury of Colonel Richard O. Hatch,” December 26, 2006.
104 Quadrennial Defense Review Report, February 6, 2006.
105 Blackwater appellate brief, filed October 31, 2005.
106 Bernd Debusmann, “In Iraq, Contractor Deaths Near 650, Legal Fog Thickens,” Reuters, October 10, 2006.
107 Interview 2006.
108 Blackwater appellate brief, filed October 31, 2005.
109 Blackwater petition, filed December 19, 2005. Note: Order 17 was signed by Bremer on June 27, 2004, three months after the Fallujah ambush.
110 Blackwater appellate brief, filed October 31, 2005.
111 Ibid.
112 Ibid.
113 Ibid.
114 “Halliburton/KBR the Lex Column,” Financial Times (London), November 16, 2006.
115 KBR amicus curiae, filed September 22, 2006.
116 Ibid.
117 Joseph Neff, “Blackwater Suit Can Go Forward; A Wake Judge Rules in Favor of Families of Four Killed in Iraq,” News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), November 28, 2006.
118 Interviews 2006.
119 Jeremy Scahill and Garrett Ordower, “From Whitewater to Blackwater,” TheNation.com, posted October 26, 2006.
120 Blackwater petition to U.S. Supreme Court, October 18, 2006.
121 Ibid.
122 Joseph Neff, “Blackwater Suit Can Go Forward; A Wake Judge Rules in Favor of Fa
milies of Four Killed in Iraq,” News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), November 28, 2006.
123 Author copy, Blackwater’s “Petition for a Writ of Certiorari,” filed December 20, 2006.
124 Author copy, Blackwater’s “Petition for Order Directing Arbitration,” December 20, 2006; Author copy, Blackwater’s “Demand for Arbitration,” signed December 14, 2006.
125 Bill Sizemore, “Suit Against Blackwater Over Contractor Deaths Moves to Arbitration,” Virginian-Pilot, May 20, 2007.
126 Ibid.
127 Author copy of statement.
128 Attila Berry and Joe Palazzolo, “Blackwater Sues Wiley Rein for Malpractice; Former Client Claims Firm Botched Fallujah Case,” Legal Times, January 28, 2008.
129 Interview 2006.
CHAPTER 15 1 Many of the descriptive details on the crash of Blackwater 61 and its aftermath are drawn from the author’s copy of the National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
2 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
3 Amended Complaint, filed October 4, 2005.
4 Presidential Airways’ Emergency Motion to Quash Subpoena, February 24, 2006.
5 Flight records from flightaware.com accessed in October and November 2006; Federal Aviation Administration airplane registration records.
6 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Blackwater Tactical Weekly, October 18, 2004.
12 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Suzanne Goldenberg, “CIA Accused of Torture at Bagram Base; Some Captives Handed to Brutal Foreign Agencies,” Guardian, December 27, 2002.
25 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
26 Ibid.
27 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket; “Coalition Forces in Afghanistan as of Oct. 4, 2004, www.defenselink.mil/home/ features/1082004d.html.
28 Rafael A. Almeda, “A Soldier Until the End,” Sun-Sentinel, December 3, 2004.
29 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
30 Ibid.
31 All in-flight dialogue from cockpit voice recorder transcript contained in “Specialist’s Factual Report of Investigation,” National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Division, October 18, 2005.
32 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid.
36 Jennifer Feehan, “Plane Crash Kills a Weston Man in Afghanistan,” Toledo Blade, December 2, 2004.
37 Amended Complaint, filed October 4, 2005.
38 Griff Witte, “Blackwater Broke Rules, Report Says,” Washington Post, October 5, 2005.
39 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
40 Ibid.
41 Griff Witte, “Blackwater Broke Rules, Report Says,” Washington Post, October 5, 2005.
42 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident Brief.
43 Ibid.
44 Jay Price and Joseph Neff, “Inquiry Pins Blackwater Crash on Pilot,” News & Observer, December 6, 2006.
45 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident Brief.
46 Presidential Airways’ Emergency Motion to Quash Subpoena, February 24, 2006.
47 Judge John Antoon, Order denying Blackwater motions, September 27, 2006.
48 Presidential Airways’ Emergency Motion to Quash Subpoena, February 24, 2006.
49 Judge John Antoon, Order denying Blackwater motions, September 27, 2006.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 Ibid.
53 Presidential Airways’ Emergency Motion to Quash Subpoena, February 24, 2006.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Judge John Antoon, Order denying Blackwater motions, September 27, 2006.
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Ibid.
60 Ibid.
61 Jane Mayer, “Outsourcing Torture,” The New Yorker, February 14, 2005.
62 Ibid.
63 “United States Policy with Respect to the Involuntary Return of Persons in Danger of Subjection to Torture,” Public Law 105-277.
64 Jane Mayer, “Outsourcing Torture,” The New Yorker, February 14, 2005.
65 Ibid.
66 Jim Landers, “CIA Official Says War on Terrorism Will Be Won With Great Force,” Dallas Morning News, October 19, 2001.
67 William M. Leary, “Supporting the ‘Secret War’: CIA Air Operations in Laos, 1955-1974,” CIA Studies in Intelligence, Winter 1999-2000.
68 Stephen Grey, Ghost Plane: the True Story of The CIA Torture Program, St. Martin’s New York, 1996, p. 108.
69 Press release, “Blackwater USA Completes Acquisition of Aviation Worldwide Services,” PRWEB, May 3, 2003.
70 Ibid.
71 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
72 Ibid.
73 Press release, “Blackwater USA Completes Acquisition of Aviation Worldwide Services,” PRWEB, March 3, 2003.
74 Jeffrey S. Hampton, “Blackwater Aviation Unit to Relocate,” Virginian-Pilot, March 29, 2006.
75 Ibid.
76 Ibid.
77 “Hangar Plaque Honors C.I.A.’s Air Operative,” New York Times, December 30, 1985.
78 David E. Hendrix, “CIA Got Burned on Airplane Deal, Suit Says Hemet City Councilman James Venable Ended Up with Some of the Planes,” Press-Enterprise, January 11, 1996.
79 Press Release, April 12, 2006.
80 Stephen Grey, Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program, St. Martin’s, New York, 1996, pp. 142-143.
81 Ibid., p. 125.
82 Aaron Sarver, “Tracking the CIA Torture Flights,” In These Times, September 27, 2006.
83 All flight records from flightaware.com accessed in October and November 2006.
84 “To Catch a Spy,” Washington Post, March 26, 2006.
85 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
86 Stephen Grey, Ghost Plane, p. 39.
87 Author copy of National Transportation Safety Board accident docket.
88 Ibid.
89 Glen Owen, “The Picture That Proves ‘Torture Flights’ Are STILL Landing in the UK,” Daily Mail, June 10, 2007.
90 Blackwater press release, “British Tabloid Withdraws False Story on Blackwater,” June 14, 2007.
91 Barry Yeoman, “Soldiers of Good Fortune,” Mother Jones, May/June 2003.
92 Interviews, July, August 2006; Ken Silverstein, “Revolving Door to Blackwater Causes Alarm at CIA,” Harper’s, www.harpers.org/sb-revolving-door-blackwater-1158094722.html, September 12, 2006; Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill.
93 Michael Hirsh, John Barry, and Daniel Klaidman, “Interrogation: A Tortured Debate,” Newsweek, June 21, 2006.
CHAPTER 16 1 Bob Woodward, Bush at War, pp. 50-52.
2 Biographical information on Cofer Black is largely drawn from Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, Penguin, New York, 2004.