Jeremy Scahill - Blackwater

63 Ibid.

64 Transcript, Coalition Provisional Authority Press Briefing, Department of Defense News Transcript, April 12, 2004.

65 Thanassis Cambanis, “U.N. Envoy Offers Plan for Interim Government,” Boston Globe, April 15, 2004.

66 Transcript, This Week With George Stephanopoulos, ABC, April 25, 2004.

67 Dahr Jamail, “Vigilant Resolve,” DahrJamailIraq.com, February 15, 2005.

68 Patrick Cockburn, “The Failure in Iraq Is Even Deeper Than People Imagine,” The Independent (London), April 17, 2004.

69 Transcript, Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, April 20, 2004.

70 Bill Sizemore and Joanne Kimberlin, “Blackwater: When Things Go Wrong,” Virginian-Pilot, July 26, 2006.

71 Ibid.

72 Author copy of AFP/Getty photo of Fallujah bridge.

73 Dahr Jamail, “Vigilant Resolve,” DahrJamailIraq.com, February 15, 2005.

1 Whitney Gould, “Iraq Casualty Was a Born Leader; Gore, a St. John’s Northwestern Graduate, Died in Helicopter Crash,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 24, 2005.

2 Unless otherwise noted, all quotes attributed to Danica Zovko and information about her experiences are based on interviews conducted by the author in the summer of 2006.

3 Jay Price and Joseph Neff, “The Bridge; The Scene in Fallujah Was Unforgettable: Four Americans Shot, Their Bodies Defiled, Two of Them Hung From a Bridge. They Weren’t Soldiers, But Private Guards Working For a North Carolina Company,” News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), July 25, 2004.

4 Unless otherwise noted, all quotes attributed to Katy Helvenston-Wettengel and information about her experiences are based on interviews conducted by the author throughout 2006.

5 Bill Sizemore and Joanne Kimberlin, “Blackwater: On the Front Lines,” Virginian-Pilot, July 25, 2006.

6 Jonathan E. Kaplan, “Private Army Seeking Political Advice in D.C.,” The Hill , April 14, 2004.

7 Erik Prince’s Prince Manufacturing biography.

8 Federal lobbying records.

9 Bill McAllister, “Guns for Hire,” Washington Post, June 18, 1998; Dena Bunis, “U.S. Representatives Release Net-Worth Figures for ’98,” Orange County Register (California), June 17, 1999.

10 Federal lobbying records.

11 Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, September 17, 2001.

12 Public Citizen report, “Rep. Roy Blunt: Ties to Special Interests Leave Him Unfit to Lead,” January 2006.

13 Jonathan E. Kaplan, “Private Army Seeking Political Advice in D.C.,” The Hill, April 14, 2004.

14 David Barstow, “Security Firm Says Its Workers Were Lured Into Iraqi Ambush,” New York Times, April 9, 2004.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 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.

18 Ibid.

19 Douglas Quenqua, “Security Firms in Iraq Look to Up US Political Support,” PR Week, April 26, 2004.

20 James Rosen, “Contractors Operate in a Legal Gray Area; The Roles of an Interrogator and an Interpreter in the Abuse Scandal Are Murky. Even Less Clear Is Whom They Answer to,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis), May 23, 2004.

21 Ibid.

22 See Jeremy Scahill, “Mercenary Jackpot,” The Nation, August 28, 2006.

23 Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 17, June 27, 2004.

24 Author copy of the letter dated April 8, 2004.

25 Office of Senator Jack Reed, “Statement by Senator Reed Regarding the Private Contractor Allegations,” Press Release, February 16, 2005.

26 David Barstow, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr., and Kate Zernike, “Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq,” New York Times, April 19, 2004.

27 Brenda Kleman, “Blackwater USA Eyes HQ Expansion,” Cox News Service, April 16, 2004.

28 Transcript, “Inside the World of a Security Contractor in Iraq,” CNN, June 18, 2006.

29 Brenda Kleman, “Blackwater USA Eyes HQ Expansion,” Cox News Service, April 16, 2004.

30 Ibid.

31 Press Release, “Blackwater USA to Host 2004 World SWAT Conference and Challenge May 17-22, 2004,” PR Web Newswire, April 14, 2004.

32 Ibid.

33 Kim O’Brien Root, “World Swat Challenge; Top-Ranked Teams Vie for National Tactics Title,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), May 22, 2004.

34 Ibid.

35 The description of David Grossman’s presentation at the conference is drawn from Peter Carlson, “Sultans of SWAT; Competition Has Law Enforcement Assault Teams Gunning to Be the Best,” Washington Post, May 25, 2004.

36 Gary Jackson, Blackwater Tactical Weekly, May 17, 2004.

37 Douglas Quenqua, “Security Firms in Iraq Look to Up US Political Support,” PR Week, April 26, 2004.

38 Ibid.

39 Jonathan E. Kaplan, “British Security Firm in Iraq Seeks K Street Input,” The Hill, April 21, 2004.

40 David Barstow, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr., and Kate Zernike, “Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq,” New York Times, April 19, 2004.

41 Joanne Kimberlin, “Blackwater Sees Increase in Applications,” Virginian-Pilot, April 10, 2004.

42 Ibid.

43 David Barstow, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr., and Kate Zernike, “Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq,” New York Times, April 19, 2004.

44 Robert Fisk and Patrick Cockburn, “Deaths of Scores of Mercenaries Not Reported,” The Star (South Africa), April 13, 2004.

45 Greg Griffin, “Reconstructing a Country: Civilians Face Increased Danger; U.S. Contractors Resolve to Stay in Iraq,” Denver Post, April 22, 2004.

46 Joshua Chaffin, James Drummond, and Nicolas Pelham, “Not Only Are Staff Being Moved to Safer Locations, But the Escalating Cost of Security Is Eating Into the Resources Available to Improve Infrastructure,” Financial Times, May 6, 2004.

47 John F. Burns and Kirk Semple, “U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself,” New York Times, November 26, 2006.

48 Greg Griffin, “Reconstructing a Country: Civilians Face Increased Danger; U.S. Contractors Resolve to Stay In Iraq,” Denver Post, April 22, 2004.

49 Jeremy Kahn and Nelson D. Schwartz, “Private Sector Soldiers: With Violence Escalating in Iraq, Tens of Thousands of U.S. Contractors Are Getting More Than They Bargained For,” Fortune, May 3, 2004.

50 Greg Griffin, “Reconstructing a Country: Civilians Face Increased Danger; U.S. Contractors Resolve to Stay in Iraq,” Denver Post, April 22, 2004.

51 Jeremy Kahn and Nelson D. Schwartz, “Private Sector Soldiers: With Violence Escalating in Iraq, Tens of Thousands of U.S. Contractors Are Getting More Than They Bargained For,” Fortune, May 3, 2004.

52 Sandip Roy, “U.S. to Worldwide Firms: Iraq Safer Than You Think,” Pacific News Service, May 07, 2004.

53 Ibid.

54 Saifur Rahman, “Call to Take Advantage of Opportunities in Iraq,” Gulf News (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), April 21, 2004.

55 Sandip Roy, “U.S. to Worldwide Firms: Iraq Safer Than You Think,” Pacific News Service, May 07, 2004.

56 David Barstow, James Glanz, Richard A. Oppel Jr., and Kate Zernike, “Security Companies: Shadow Soldiers in Iraq,” New York Times, April 19, 2004.

57 Ibid.

58 Ibid.

59 James Hider, “Soldiers of Fortune Rush to Cash In on Unrest,” The Times (London), March 31, 2004.