Not Blackwater, but Xe, as in Xena Warrior Princess

 Blackwater has gone to ground--sort of.  In a move to apparently distance itself from its image as reckless cowboys that was etched into the world's mind from the September 2007 Baghdad Nisoor Square shoots, Blackwater USA is once again rebranding itself.  It has changed its name (and presumably legal structure) to Xe.  (Pronounced, "Z" as in "Xena, Warrior Princess.")

The world's largest private security company that once boasted on its website, "We are not simply a 'private security company.' We are a turnkey solution provider for 4th generation warfare," has taken yet another step to distance itself from its swashbuckling past.   Due to its aggressive, yet effective tactics, it became the world's poster child for irresponsible guns for hire, an ironic reputation since Blackwater was actually one of the most professional of the hundred plus private military organizations.

Given that the Iraqi government recently kicked Blackwater out of the country and BW subsequently lost that portion of a larger State Department security contract, the move is most likely to distance itself from this past so closely associated with the Bush Administration's questionable Iraq policies and to make contracting with it more palatable for government organizations and private entities.  In a few years, everyone will still remember Blackwater, but few will recall that Xe (again, pronounced "Z" as in "Xena, Warrior Princess.") is indeed its successor.  The cryptic name is unlikely to incite strong public opposition or at the least the fear of it.

It is unclear if the new legal structure will help limit the legal liabilities of Blackwater, containing them within the Blackwater USA, LLC structure and shielding the new entity.

 The shift to Xe (as in "Xena, Warrior Princess") appears to be rather hasty.   Xe (as in Xena) does not yet have its own website and they have not yet begun redirecting internet traffic away from the old Blackwaterusa.com.  Xe has yet to roll out a new logo.

For those who are remain nostalgic for the old Blackwater bravado, the former Blackwater Pro Shop has been rebranded, but it continues to stock a wide variety of Blackwater gifts, including my fave, the Blackwater bear.

Comments

[Erik Rader]

Dr. Hillhouse,

I was just getting ready to e-mail a link to this story to you. Interesting tactic by BW, but you're right, the public does have a short attention span, and it won't be long before people forget where Xe started.

[Retired]

This is either a brilliant move or a dumb one, and it's far too early to tell yet. I doubt that there will ever be a website redirector as the objective is to break the link (no pun intended--really!). In fact, there may not even be a website for some time,
If they are smart, and I think that they are smart in the "cunning" sense, Blackwater will fade while Xe rises and there will be few links between the two except among the professionals that populate such corporations and the clients who contract with them. Among those two communities, the word is already out. From both Xe's and the clients' perspectives, no one else has the need to know.
Unless they screw up big time, Xe can stay under the radar for quite a long time. Short of a major mistake, we can probably expect the press to focus on far more pressing problems, like the economy and the new President's new CIA director stating that the Army Field Manual might not provide enough tools for interrogation after all in "ticking bomb" situations. Since the new administration just reaffirmed that renditions are not going away, it is only a matter of time before a new terrorist hardcase is picked up and "Honest Leon" Panetta is in the Oval Office with the Beach Boys singing "Surfin' USA" and asking for an executive order to waterboard. I guarantee that said executive order will be classified and not released to the public in a press conference for reasons of national security. Perhaps Xe can help, after all, they have a really low profile and a lot of expertise. Congress will be busy going after Blackwater if and when they ever get tired of gorging themselves on the pork chops that they've just ordered up.
Well, we all heard the new President promising change. And sure enough, Blackwater changed its name. Promise kept!

[Billy]

Do they realize xe.com is already taken? The two-letter domains went a long time ago. No just evil, but dumb.

[Tony Foresta]

What saddens me, is thier total disdain for the American public. Evidently Blackwater believes the Amerikan public is too stupid or ignorant to realize tha Xe is actually Blackwater, with all it's bushgov cronyism, all it's wing nut dominionist babel, all it's wanton profiteering, all it's grotesque crimes and inhumantity to Iraqi's and even American soldiers, can somehow majikally be rebranded as Xe.

Only a fool, an idiot, or a complicit parrot would buy into to or tolerate the underhanded lurch to cloak crimes, malfeasance, perfidy, and wanton profiteering. Blackwater, - I mean Xe works for the fascists in the bushgov crimefamilycabals exclusively. The American people, or America are of absolutely no interest to these crony, bandit capitalist mercenaries who are loyal to the bushcrimefamilycabals exclusively, and view Americans, our and uniformed soldiers, as potential threats to the wanton profiteering and fascists machinations of the bushcrimefamilycabals.

Many Americans have a short memory, - but many of us do not!!!

[Erig Fdes]

"Evidently Blackwater believes the Amerikan public is too stupid or ignorant to realize tha Xe is actually Blackwater, with all it's bushgov cronyism, all it's wing nut dominionist babel, all it's wanton profiteering, all it's grotesque crimes and inhumantity to Iraqi's and even American soldiers, can somehow majikally be rebranded as Xe."

It's so hard to take you seriously when you accuse others of being ignorant and yet you do not even know the correct usage of the word it's.

PS You only use "it's" to mean "it is" or "it has"

[Tony Foresta]

Thanks for the well deserved grammer lesson Erig Fdes. Please replace "it's" with 'the'. That said, you can choose to dismiss me, but you cannot ignore the question of why exactly Blackwater USA would change its' name to Xe.

[GSo]

Has the NYT improved or this site fallen behind, when the latest developments are reported in the paper before they are mentioned here?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/world/middleeast/04blackwater.html?hp

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