The other thing I quite liked about the novel is that it inverts the idea that monsters are secret forces in our history, whether it’s vampires controlling the media and the weather in Ugly Americans or threatening the presidency and the Union in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Jake isn’t really a force—though to extirpate some of his guilt, he uses his vast wealth to fund liberation armies and independence movements. Instead, we get to see politics through someone who truly has a long view: in this case, more than two centuries. “All paradigm shifts answer the amoral craving for novelty,” he tells us early int he novel. “Obama’s election victory did it. So did the Auschwitz footage in its day. Good and evil are irrelevant. Show us the world’s not the way we thought it was and a part of us rejoices.” The human trend in private armies fuels supernatural conflicts, not the other way around. It’s a clever way of playing with these sorts of metaphors. Normally superheroes and monsters are a substitute for the big forces that control our society and our lives, an explanation for why we are the way we are. This way around, suggesting that our trends in history influence the magical community, that even werewolves care about President Obama, is a way of giving our own actions and our own history power—they reverberate further than we can even imagine.

With the Kinect accessory to the Xbox 360, players use their full bodies in front of a motion-detecting camera to control the game. Because the game is Kinect-exclusive, that means that the only way players will be able to take part in the experience is to physically behave as if they are Xe mercenaries — they can’t just hold controllers. CNN interviewed Prince about the game and asked him about how he thinks the game will appeal to gamers. Prince said the “excitement and realism” would be the main draws as well as the “fun“:

CNN: How do you think the Blackwater brand will appeal to the gaming demographic?

Prince: I believe “Blackwater” will have a unique appeal to gamers, particularly on the Kinect platform. The physical, visual and virtual feel of participating in a mission brings a level of excitement and realism to the game that is hard to match. And frankly, it’s fun. I think gamers will really enjoy playing the game.

One of the lead designers of the game uploaded a YouTube video to demonstrate how it is played using the player’s whole body. Watch it:

CNN asked Prince if he plays any video games himself. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to play any games these days,” he replied. “I certainly played a lot when I was a kid and I know it helped develop my hand to eye coordination.”

And as the Wall Street Journal reported today, State is looking to spend that money on private security contractors. Patrick Kennedy, undersecretary of State for management, told the Commission on Wartime Contracting yesterday that the agency

plans to hire a 5,100-strong force to protect diplomatic personnel, guard embassy buildings and operate a fleet of aircraft and armored vehicles.

How good of an idea is that? For Kennedy it’s just a matter of protecting diplomatic lives. The reality is that the 46,000 U.S. troops currently helping to protect State personnel in Iraq are unlikely to get an invitation to stay past the December 31 deadline and the Pentagon is busy shoveling out $100,000 a month to local sheiks to make sure that they don’t get shot at when they leave.

But there are bigger questions that need to be asked. The State Deparment doesn’t exactly have a clean record when it comes to managing private security contractors. Keep in mind this is the same agency that paid Blackwater to guard its diplomats in 2007 when the company’s security shot and killed 17 Iraqis. And State employees allegedly helped “the Blackwater guards avoid punishment.”

State was also widely criticized for its failure to manage police training contractors in both Afghanistan and Iraq. And the security it hired to guard the Kabul embassy was under fire for “drunken brawls, prostitutes, hazing and humiliation, taking vodka shots out of buttcracks.”

But most importantly, State could use the $3 billion to beef up it’s own Bureau of Diplomatic Security (BDS). The Governemnt Accountability Office (GAO) recommended last year that State do a full review of how it handled diplomatic security:

“Diplomatic Security’s ability to fully carry out its mission of providing security worldwide is hindered by staffing shortages in domestic offices — even in light of its workforce growth — and other operational challenges such as inadequate facilities, pervasive language proficiency shortfalls, and host-country constraints, among others.”

It noted that some offices were down to 60 percent of capacity and that “many posts go for years without updating their security training.” In fact, the State Department’s BDS boasts just one professional responsibility investigator for every 2,000 employees, compared to the Drug Enforcement Agency which maintains a 1:288 ratio, and the Department of Justice which maintains a 1:170 ratio.

However, State politely declined the GAO recommendations, saying simply that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s needs are being “adequately considered.” Instead of paying Blackwater-like firms top-dollar to run security, perhaps the Obama administration would be better off spending the $3 billion figuring out how to fix the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and to staff it properly.

The facade of the new store in Fayetteville is very reminiscent of the original Blackwater Lodge in Moyock. Not only is the name in huge letters across the front of the building, you will also be able to purchase clothing and equipment emblazoned with the logo. If that doesn’t get your blood pumping you can also try out your new firearms at their indoor range.

Blackwater founder and owner Erik Prince announced yesterday that he is selling his company, in large part because of the “constant criticism of Xe services.” ThinkProgress contacted Blackwater Pro Shop for comment, but we did not receive a response. (HT: Mother Jones and Danger Room)

ThinkProgress is at the convention and noticed a booth for Blackwater, the contractor that became infamous after one of its convoys in Baghdad opened fire in a crowded square in 2007 and killed 17 Iraqi civilians. Despite this dangerous legacy, ThinkProgress’s Ben Armbruster noticed that the company was proudly displaying assault rifles today:

What’s interesting about this booth is the fact that Blackwater officially changed its name to Xe in 2009, recognizing that it needed to try to rebrand itself and escape from the taint of the Iraq massacre. However, the company still retains the Blackwater name for its “Pro Shop,” which sells gift shop-type products with the Blackwater logo to the public. So when the company is talking to the media or Capitol Hill, it’s presenting its brand new Xe face. But when it’s marketing itself to a certain segment of conservatives, Blackwater still sells. A few of the items on Blackwater’s Pro Shop site, including a Baghdad poster depicting Blackwater’s logo as the bat signal and a beach towel:

There is currently no federal ban on assault rifles. Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration would be seeking to reinstate that ban, although no action has been taken so far. Ironically, “the carrying of firearms, both open and concealed” are banned at the NRA Convention.

Prince has become a scapegoat for some of the Bush administration’s misadventures in Iraq. … Congressmen and lawyers, human-rights groups and pundits, have described Prince as a war profiteer, one who has assembled a rogue fighting force capable of toppling governments. … “I put myself and my company at the C.I.A.’s disposal for some very risky missions. … But when it became politically expedient to do so, someone threw me under the bus. … I’m an easy target.”

Prince said he is instead “going to teach high school.” “History and economics,” he said. “I may even coach wrestling. Hey, Indiana Jones taught school, too.”

Blackwater’s strategy of buying off the government officials, which would have been illegal under American law, created a deep rift inside the company, according to the former executives. [...]

The former Blackwater executives said it was not clear who proposed paying off Iraqi officials. But after Mr. Jackson, the former company president, approved the plan, the cash for the payoffs was taken from Amman and given to Rich Garner, then a top manager in Iraq, the former executives said. One of those executives said that officials in Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which is responsible for operating licenses, were the intended recipients.

Five Blackwater guards involved in the shooting now face federal manslaughter charges.

If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each count of manslaughter, seven years of imprisonment for each count of attempt to commit manslaughter, and a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 30 years for the firearms count.

The charges represent the “first prosecution under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to be filed against non-Defense Department private contractors.” A sixth guard “admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.”

Olbermann reported that one of Suskind’s sources, Ron Richer, has now backed off his allegations. Contradicting the statements he made on tape to Suskind, Richer told MSNBC last night, “I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbush as outlined in Mr. Suskind’s book.”

Asked to respond to the retraction, Suskind suggested that Richer’s business interests pressured him to disavow his previous comments:

You know, I‘m sympathetic in a way to all these guys. They‘re under acute pressure. They‘re individuals. They‘ve got to feed their families. They really survive off the government, both of them, they‘re contractors and whatnot.. [...]

You know, these guys, though, are feeling now great pressure. … [T]hey can be brought into a moment of crisis by the government saying, “You‘ll never work again, you‘ll never earn a living.”

Watch it:

Richer’s business interests seem to have trumped his interest in defending the truth. His livelihood is dependent on maintaining strong but “discreet” relationships with the Bush administration and foreign governments.

After leaving the CIA, Richer “immediately” took a job with Blackwater USA as Vice President of Intelligence. In February 2007, Richer and Vice Chairman of Blackwater, Cofer Black, started a new company, Total Intelligence Solutions (TIS). That company reportedly operates “under the purview of its secretive founder” and Blackwater owner, Erik Prince.

To achieve success in their new venture, Richer and Black have depended heavily on their ties with the Bush administration. The Nation reported last June:

“Cofer can open doors,” Richer told the Washington Post in 2007. “I can open doors. We can generally get in to see who we need to see. … [W]e can deal with the right minister or person.” Black told the paper he and Richer spend a lot of their time traveling. “I am discreet in where I go and who I see. I spend most of my time dealing with senior people in governments, making connections.” But it is clear that the existing connections from the former spooks’ time at the agency have brought business to Total Intelligence.

Suskind said Richer’s change of heart was quite sudden. “He was fine with it this morning. He was fine with it at midday. Now, reporters actually called him. He said to me, ‘I‘ll tell them no comment because it‘s in the book, but Ron Suskind is a fine journalist. That will be my comment.’ He said, ‘It‘s fine, Ron.’”

Given Richer’s business dealings, it seems appropriate to ask whether the Bush administration or one of its key allies (Cofer Black or Erik Prince) compelled Richer into retracting his allegations by threatening him with his job.

State Department officials said Friday that they did not believe they had any alternative to Blackwater, which supplies about 800 guards to the department to provide security for diplomats in Baghdad. Officials say only three companies in the world meet their requirements for protective services in Iraq, and the other two do not have the capability to take on Blackwater’s role in Baghdad. [...]

“We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq,” said Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management. “If the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq.”

Instead, the seven-month-old Justice Department investigation is focused on as few as three or four Blackwater guards who could be indicted in the Sept. 16 shootings, according to interviews with a half-dozen people close to the investigation. The final decision on any charges will not be made until late summer at the earliest, a law enforcement official said.

Nevertheless, families of the shooting victims “are suing Blackwater under a wrongful death claim in civil court.” Furthermore, federal prosecutors in North Carolina are “investigating whether Blackwater played a role in a weapons smuggling case linked to the Kurdish militant group PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.”

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the dog had attacked one of Blackwater’s bomb-sniffer dogs while a security team was sweeping the compound for explosives.

“The K-9 handler made several unsuccessful attempts to get the dog to retreat, including placing himself between the dogs. When those efforts failed, the K-9 handler unfortunately was forced to use a pistol to protect the company’s K-9 and himself,” she said in an e-mail to Reuters.

State Department investigators have made two follow-up visits to the Times compound to investigate the shooting of Hentish.

Digg It!

Cummings: “According to this email, Mr. Prince invited your brother to be at a board meeting to discuss strategic planning. And this meeting is taking place right now, in Williamsburg, Virginia, this week as we speak.Staff contacted the hotel to speak to your brother and the hotel confirmed that he was scheduled to be there. Did you know that?”

Krongard: “No sir, I did not.”

Cummings: “And so, if your brother is a board member, which you said he’s not, but if he is — since I know you’re sensitive to conflict — would you agree that you should recuse yourself of anything dealing with Blackwater investigations?”

Krongard: “Yes, sir. And that was why — first of all, by the nature of my brother’s work, you should understand that we have never discussed his work or my work, so I had no reason to even think that he had any involvement with Blackwater. But, when these things surfaced, I called him and I asked him directly, he has told me he does have any involvement, he does not have any financial interest. If you’re telling me he does absolutely I would recuse myself.”

Cummings: “You will recuse yourself?”

Krongard: “Absolutely.”

Rep. Cummings: “Immediately?”

Krongard: “Absolutely.”