from SLATE: >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."
>Read original story in The Nation >[http://www.thenation.com/blog/blackwaters-erik-prince-moving-united-arab-emirates] > | Tuesday, June 15, 2010 < -- Jim Devine "Those who take the most from the table Teach contentment. Those for whom the taxes are destined Demand sacrifice. Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry of wonderful times to come. Those who lead the country into the abyss Call ruling too difficult For ordinary folk." – Bertolt Brecht. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
