(photo by Sam Javanrouh, cc licence)

«The C.I.A. in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater […] to locate and assassinate top operatives of Al Qaeda, […]»

— Mark Mazzetti, New York Times

«[…] Blackwater has followed […] as “spray and pray”—use heavy firepower in an urban setting and pray that some of it actually hits the enemy. […]»

— Scott Horton, Harper’s Magazine

Read the full article at Harper’s Magazine: Cheney’s Snuff Program Involved Blackwater

Why I post this you may ask.

Well, first I stumbled upon this by reading my bird wires William Gibson … and second while following the footprints …

«Now, Cheney sends out his Blackwater assassins from his mobile office in a Maryland Starbuck’s (decaf)»

— C. Nakashima

… I thought the future I read about and played 20 years ago is right here:

«A mercenary, his employers vast corporations warring covertly for the control of entire economies.»

— William Gibson, Count Zero

«[…] The private security industry is rapidly growing, currently being a $100 billion a year industry, with projected growth to $200 billion by 2010. […]»

— wikipedia/U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

… and where that can leads to— imagination assumed — Ravenwood, a private security company in the TV show Jericho

Update – further articles:

• NYT : C.I.A. Sought Blackwater’s Help to Kill Jihadists (by Mark Mazzeti)
• Newsweek : The Rise and Fall of the Mercenary Formerly Known as Blackwater (by Katie Paul)
• SPON : US-Geheimprogramm: CIA heuerte Blackwater-Mitarbeiter für Terroristenjagd (hen/dpa/AP)

[hat tip to James Dempsey]