During the presidential
campaign, then-Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton, now Obama's
secretary of state, backed
legislation to ban Blackwater
and other private security
contractors from Iraq.
Xe eventually lost its license
to operate as guardian of U.S.
diplomats in Iraq and the State
Department, with Clinton at the
helm, elected not to rehire the
company when the contract
expired in 2009. Delays in
getting a new company in place
led to a temporary extension of
the State contract.
A
federal judge on New Year's Eve
dismissed criminal charges
against five of the Blackwater
guards, citing repeated missteps
by federal prosecutors. The
Iraqi government has vowed to
pursue the case, a new strain on
relations between the U.S. and
Iraq.
Xe on Wednesday reached a
settlement in a series of civil
lawsuits in which dozens of
Iraqis accused the company of
cultivating a reckless culture
that allowed innocent civilians
to be killed. On Thursday,
however, two former Blackwater
contractors were arrested on
murder charges in the shootings
of two Afghans after a traffic
accident last year.
Reliance
on Xe
Despite the scrutiny, the U.S.
relies heavily on Xe —
pronounced "zee" — for support
in Afghanistan and the workload
may grow significantly.
Xe spokesman Mark Corallo
declined to comment on whether
the company, based in Moyock,
N.C., is bidding for the Afghan
police training contract. But a
U.S. official knowledgeable of
the deliberations said Xe is
competing. The official
requested anonymity to discuss
sensitive information about the
federal contracting process.
Xe provides security services in
Afghanistan, though on a smaller
scale than it did in Iraq. As of
November, Xe had more than 200
security personnel on the ground
in Afghanistan, according to
documents highlighting Xe's
operations.
Two Xe guards were killed Dec.
30 during a suicide bombing
attack at a CIA base in
southeastern Afghanistan, again
raising questions about services
the company provides for the
CIA.
Late last year, CIA Director
Leon Panetta terminated the use
of Xe personnel in loading and
other logistics for airborne
drones used to hunt militants in
Pakistan.
Prolific
provider of aviation services
Xe is also a prolific provider
of aviation services in
Afghanistan, where travel on
land is complicated by the
country's rugged terrain and
roadside bombs. In airplanes and
helicopters, Xe has ferried
thousands of passengers and
millions of pounds of cargo and
mail under contracts with U.S.
Transportation Command with a
potential value of more than
$750 million, according to the
company documents.
In 2009 alone, Xe projected
total revenues at $669 million,
the documents state, and
three-quarters of the total
stems from federal contracts to
support U.S. troops in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Afghan national police
training contract is expected to
be awarded soon and Xe is among
five companies eligible to
compete.
Obama is ramping up efforts to
expand and improve the Afghan
army and national police into a
force able to handle the
country's security burden so
U.S. troops can begin
withdrawing in July 2011. The
private sector's help is needed
because the U.S. doesn't have a
deep enough pool of trainers and
mentors with law enforcement
experience.
Border
police
training
Under an
existing
defense
contract, Xe
already
trains the
Afghan
border
police — an
arm of the
national
police — and
drug
interdiction
units in
volatile
southern
Afghanistan,
according to
the
documents.
The Defense
Department's
plan is to
fold the
border
police
training
into the
broader
contract.
Charles
Tiefer, a
professor of
government
contracting
at the
University
of Baltimore
Law School,
says Xe's
foothold in
Afghanistan
could give
it an edge
over other
competitors.
And defense
officials
considering
bids for the
police
training
work may pay
more
attention to
Xe's resume
in
Afghanistan
than as a
security
contractor
in Iraq, he
added.
"Blackwater's
current
contract for
the border
police means
it already
has assets —
experience,
a proven
record and
existing
capacity and
personnel in
Afghanistan
— for a
contract to
train the
Afghan
national
police,"
said Tiefer,
a member of
the
independent
Commission
on Wartime
Contracting.
The top
military
commander in
Afghanistan,
Gen. Stanley
McChrystal,
wants to
build the
Afghan
national
police to a
force of
160,000 by
2013 — up
from the
roughly
94,000 now.
The Afghan
army is in
better shape
than the
national
police, an
organization
riddled with
corruption
and
generally
unable to
control
crime or
combat the
Taliban.
Distancing
itself from
Blackwater
brand
At a hearing
in December
held by the
Commission
on Wartime
Contracting,
Fred Roitz,
Xe's
executive
vice
president of
contracts
and sales,
sought to
burnish the
company's
credentials.
He said the
company
trains
Afghan law
enforcement
units to
operate
effectively
"in one of
the most
dangerous
border
regions in
the world."
Roitz added
that Xe has
a new chief
executive
officer,
Joseph Yorio,
who replaced
the
company's
founder,
Erik Prince,
in March.
Prince's
decision to
step aside
underscored
the
company's
efforts to
distance
itself from
the
Blackwater
brand.
Since 2003,
DynCorp
International
of Falls
Church, Va.,
has held a
large State
Department
contract for
training
Afghanistan's
national
police. The
most recent
installment
of the
training
contract was
awarded in
August 2008
and it
generates
about $20
million in
revenue a
month for
DynCorp,
according to
company
spokesman
Douglas
Ebner.
But a
decision by
McChrystal
to give U.S.
military
officials
control over
all police
training
contracts is
ending
DynCorp's
run and
creating a
major
opportunity
for Xe and
the other
companies.
DynCorp has
filed a
protest with
the
Government
Accountability
Office,
alleging
that the
approach is
"procedurally
and legally
flawed,"
according to
company vice
president
Donald
Ryder.
Military
authorities
gave
responsibility
for managing
the expanded
contract to
a Navy
office in
Dahlgren,
Va. The
Counter
NarcoTerrorism
Technology
Program
Office has
five
pre-approved
vendors: Xe,
Lockheed
Martin,
Northrop
Grumman,
Raytheon and
ARINC
Engineering
Services.
