Israel Matzav

Blackwater coming to Israel

An affiliate of Blackwater, a firm that was involved in scandals in Iraq, is coming to Israel - specifically Judea and Samaria - to provide security for US diplomatic personnel.

The contract was won by International Developments Solutions, a joint venture that includes U.S. Training Center, a company until recently owned by Xe Services, which changed its name from Blackwater following a cascade of legal problems over several years.

The consortium will provide protective security in the Israel-occupied West Bank, “services that are based from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

The initial contract, awarded Jan. 3, is for one year, “with the possibility of four, one-year renewable options” with a total value of roughly $84.3 million, Toner said.

International Development Solutions (IDS) is a joint venture between majority partner Kaseman, a McLean, Va., firm whose board is stocked with top former State Department and CIA officials, and U.S. Training Center (USTC), a onetime Blackwater affiliate that former officials say still employs many of its operatives.

A USTC spokesman said the company would have no comment. A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the firm no longer had a relationship with Xe. But both are headquartered in tiny Moyock, N.C., formerly headquarters of Blackwater and Xe Services.

Hmmm. I wonder why they didn't just ask the Dayton forces. Heh.

Labels: Blackwater, Dayton forces, Judea and Samaria

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:49 AM