From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s leaders, according to government officials and current and former employeesThe division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.
The role of the company in the Predator program highlights the degree to which the C.I.A. now depends on outside contractors to perform some of the agency’s most important assignments. And it illustrates the resilience of Blackwater, now known as Xe (pronounced Zee) Services, though most people in and outside the company still refer to it as Blackwater. It has grown through government work, even as it attracted criticism and allegations of brutality in Iraq.
My guess is that, since Risen is using such scary codewords as "secret division," "hidden bases," and "Blackwater," we are supposed to be outraged by this scoop. Look, girls, the CIA can't do basic stuff like this. Rather than being a pack of ruff 'n' ready swashbucklers, the modern CIA is made up of bureaucratic time servers who are reluctant to leave Northern Virginia because it might interfere with their kids' soccer schedules. They couldn't even assassinate themselves if they were facing off in front of a mirror. Hiring someone else to do a job better than you can is known as "acknowledging your limits."
Now that yet another secret intelligence program has been exposed, we can expect the outrageously outraged Pelosi press conference to begin promptly at noon, EST.
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