Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

[Johnny Asia]

The White House did not return calls or email messages seeking comment
for this story. Capt. John Kirby, the spokesperson for Adm. Michael
Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Nation, "We do
not discuss current operations one way or the other, regardless of
their nature."

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091207/scahill

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

By Jeremy Scahill

November 23, 2009

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special
Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi,
members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a
secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected
Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value
targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an
investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also
assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military
drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA
predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US
military intelligence apparatus.

The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years,
including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of
Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of
anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the
program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama
administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware
of its existence.