Blackwater Spied for Disney, Monsanto, Royal Caribbean, Report Says

(Sept. 16) -- Controversial private security firm Xe (nee Blackwater) has long had a checkered reputation. Now a new article in the leftist magazine The Nation says that in addition to its involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Blackwater operated through a related firm called Total Intelligence Solutions to perform work for a range of American corporations with international dealings, including Monsanto, Chevron, Royal Caribbean cruises and Walt Disney.

The article is by Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater." In it, he reports that Total Intelligence was hired to do a "threat assessment" about a possible filming location in Morocco, which would suggest it was scoping out potential threats to Jerry Bruckheimer's "Prince of Persia." Scahill brings more serious accusations against Total Intelligence's dealings with Monsanto, saying that the seed giant hired the firm to infiltrate activist groups that opposed the company's often controversial international business.

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The New York Times has previously reported that Blackwater used more than 30 shell corporations to continue working for the U.S. government after its image became tarnished in Iraq, lending credence to the idea that the firm could have been working through Total Intelligence.

Facing mounting criticism over questionable actions in Iraq, Blackwater changed its menacing name to the vague Xe in February 2009. But the company remains dogged by questionable dealings, lawsuits and congressional investigations. In August, founder Erik Prince relocated to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, a move that Scahill thought could be related to the fact that the UAE has no extradition treaty with the United States.

Read more at The Nation.