Journal: Near-Term Demise of Private Military Contractors

Former Blackwater Bought By Investment Group by The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. December 17, 2010, 10:38 am ET An investment group with ties to the founder of the company formerly known as Blackwater announced Friday that it has bought the security firm, which was heavily criticized for its contractors’ actions in Iraq. USTC Holdings said …

Journal: 12,000+ Killed in Mexican-American Drug War

30,000 killed in Mexico’s drug violence since 2006 (AP) Mexico said Thursday that more than 30,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against cartels in late 2006. The government said the violent La Familia cartel in western Mexico has been “systematically weakened” by recent arrests and deaths …

Reference: The Private War of LtCol Tony Shaffer

Shaffer’s book rips the lid off several stories the bureaucrats wanted to suppress: the role of a program named Able Danger in yielding information that could have uncovered the 9/11 plot; Operation Dark Heart, which could have nabbed Al Qaeda’s number two leader; and early indications that Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, …