Blackwater USA is a private military company and security firm founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. It is based in the U.S. state of North Carolina where it operates a tactical training facility which it claims is the world's largest. The company trains more than 40,000 people a year, from all the military services and a variety of other agencies. The company markets itself as being "The most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world". At least 90% of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts.[1]
On September 17, 2007, Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked following the deaths of civilians in a crowded area of Baghdad the previous day. Blackwater has denied any wrongdoing in the incident and has stated that its contractors acted "heroically".[2] The Iraqi Interior Ministry, the US State Department, and the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have said they will conduct investigations of the incident. On September 19, 2007, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater as a result of the incident
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