Blackwater Addresses Questions Concerning Inaccurate Media Stories Regarding Weapon Shipments

MOYOCK, N.C. --- Blackwater Worldwide today sought to clarify misinformation stemming from several inaccurate media reports that have surfaced recently. These reports -- which contain plainly false allegations -- cite only anonymous government sources, anonymous former employees, and former employees who were fired by Blackwater for stealing weapons from the company.>> While the company cannot comment on all of the inaccuracies because of its ongoing cooperation with investigators, there are some key factual errors to which it would like to respond.>> The following points address some of the more egregious errors contained in recent reporting:>> -- Blackwater has never shipped an automatic weapon to Iraq. A recent report that Blackwater has "shipped hundreds of automatic weapons to Iraq without the necessary permits" and "some of the weapons are believed to have ended up on the country's black market" is false. Blackwater has never shipped so much as one automatic weapon to Iraq.>> -- Blackwater held approved export licenses to ship more than the 798 total guns it shipped to Iraq. A recent media report claiming that " ... the State Department found that Blackwater shipped 900 weapons to Iraq without the paperwork required by arms export control regulations," could not be true because the total number of firearms Blackwater has shipped to Iraq is less than 900. Blackwater obtained export licenses in excess of the number of weapons actually sent to Iraq - and the U.S. government authorized the export of each of these weapons. The investigations referenced by the media do not allege that the company failed to obtain licenses or failed to ensure the government was aware of its actions; rather, the investigations concern Blackwater's not properly annotating the licenses, not timely submitting required reports, and not retaining required records.