‘ “Mercenary” Is a Slanderous Term’

Do you worry about the lack of transparency of your business?
I think we're very transparent. We have been audited many times by the Defense Contract Management Agency … We invite neighbors onto the property. Members of Congress or staff, if they want to come down, we let them. We invite military officers.

On recent allegations and events, Blackwater [has been accused of] a higher civilian casualty rate than other contractors and a higher per-convoy casualty rate.
We operate … in Baghdad, which is where you also find the vast majority of U.S. military casualties, death, attacks. … There's 170-some security companies operating in Iraq. Many [don't have] the screening, vetting, training, oversight requirements we do.

Where do you go from here?
Like any business, we have tried to diversify … We went and hired smart people to [develop products] and innovate, and we have a lighter-than-air persistent-surveillance platform, which is just about done. There's a big rush in UAVs, unmanned air vehicles—but they have wings. This is a helium-filled blimp that will give us two to three days of persistent surveillance.

Up until now, you've had a reputation for secretiveness. If you had your druthers —Secretiveness?
I disagree with that. I speak at educational forums. I have spoken at various conferences. As much as I don't like doing media appearances now, I love Blackwater more, and I love our team, and I want to [be sure not to] let what we do be completely misrepresented as it has been to the media.

© 2007