View Single Post
  #1   Report Post  
posted to rec.boats
Harry[_5_] Harry[_5_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Jun 2010
Posts: 568
Default What a prince...

Blackwater Chief To Flee the Country?

Three unnamed sources tell The Nation that Blackwater owner Erik Prince
may be planning a permanent vacation to the United Arab Emirates in the
wake of federal indictments against top company executives.

Prince has not yet been hit with any formal accusations, but his closest
deputies are facing conspiracy, weapons, and obstruction of justice
charges, and there's reason to suspect that he'll be targeted next. Last
year, two former employees testified that Prince had transported
"illegal" weapons into Iraq and that "Mr. Prince and his employees
murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided
information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal
authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct."

In 2008, two Blackwater employees were indicted for murder after a
shooting in Afghanistan, and The Nation reports that Prince is currently
facing several new civil lawsuits, including one put forth by the
company's Iraqi victims. The company has spent the past several years
trying to duck bad press—it has renamed itself "Xe Services" and the "US
Training Center"—but the efforts have largely been unsuccessful.

At the moment, Blackwater is the target of multiple federal
investigations, which Prince has likened to a "giant proctological
exam." Because Blackwater is so deeply entangled in classified
government activity, The Nation speculates that Prince may be laying the
groundwork for amnesty by participating in "graymail"—threatening to
leak sensitive data in order to escape prosecution. He's also been
shedding parts of the multimillion dollar company over the past several
months. Earlier this year, Prince sold Blackwater's aviation division
for $200 million, and last week, he put the whole thing up for sale.
With the government closing in, internal sources tell The Nation that
Blackwater's "sale is going to be a fast move within a couple of months"
and that Prince is on his way out. The UAE does not have an extradition
treaty with the United States, which is likely a key factor in Prince's
decision. According to international law expert Scott Horton, the
Emirates are "definitely a jurisdiction where Prince could count on it
not being simple for the US to pursue him legally."

- - -

No need to pursue him legally if he flees to the UAE...just have him shot.