Who IS Blackwater - 2

I wrote on this back in March when the subject was raised by Sen Jim Webb in a Congressional Hearing, and the article in "The Nation" had me running (yep I admit I am a chicken).

WSJ has the best summary I can find in a hurry.

Blackwater USA's controversial private security work in Iraq and Afghanistan quickly came under heavy criticism at a congressional hearing Tuesday morning, with Democratic lawmakers reciting problems with State Department oversight of the firm and calling for broader contractor accountability by the U.S. government.

...

Mr. Waxman made clear that the Moyock, N.C., security company will have to address why Blackwater guards have been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005 and why contractors have not been punished for breaking rules that would land military personnel in jail.

...

Rep. Tom Davis (R., Va.), the ranking Republican on the committee, acknowledged "blind spots" in State Department oversight of its security guards but said there's not enough information to "know if one company's rate of weapons-related incidents is the product of a dangerous 'cowboy' culture or the predictable result of conducting higher-risk missions."

Perhaps my concern was not misplaced after all.

Oh, and an interesting little link led to this article on a quite unrelated topic.