Blackwater Schooling Taiwan's Secret Police

Wired
Posted: 2008-02-16 00:32:46

I know, I know.  You've been worried.  Sure, Blackwater is up to its mercenary neck in Iraq.  They're protecting missile interceptors in Japan, and rescuing blondes in Kenya.   And let's not forget about their fine work in New Orleans.  But how, you're asking, is Blackwater going to get involved what many think is the great struggle of the 21st Century -- the upcoming war against China?

Well, never fear.  Blackwater has got that struggle covered, too.  Defense News reports that "Blackwater is training members of the Taiwanese National Security Bureau’s (NSB’s) special protection service, which guards the president. The NSB is responsible for the overall security of the country and was once an instrument of terrorism during the martial law period. Today, according to its Web site, the NSB is responsible for 'national intelligence work, special protective service and unified cryptography.'"

An NSB source stated that training began in 2007 and was conducted at Blackwater facilities in the United States. The source stated the NSB was satisfied with the training, and further training programs are being considered.

“The key thing would be to have special operations training for Army, Marines and Reserve units in Taiwan,” a former U.S. government official said.