Posturing Bureaucrats Might Undermine Obama

Is there something to it, or is it just a case of bureaucrats posturing before an incoming new presidential administration? If it's bureaucratic posturing, it might inadvertently undermine President-Elect Barack Obama, whose aides say they won't rule out relying on Blackwater. After seeing Blackwater up-close in Afghanistan, Obama said he thinks the company is getting a "bad rap."

GovernmentExecutive.com is reporting that "the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, which is responsible for export controls on some arms, is moving to hit [Blackwater] with what could be millions of dollars in fines," allegedly for shipping weapons to U.S. government-sanctioned police training facilities in Iraq and Jordan.

Apparently the paperwork wasn't in order. "Sources said the foul-up may have been unintentional but left the company unable to properly account for the weapons."

The State Department isn't talking for the record, though the company "has partly acknowledged" inquiries, according to the report.

"Ongoing reviews by the departments of Justice, State and Commerce have highlighted the need for a significant and systems-wide initiative," Blackwater General Counsel Andrew Howell said in an Oct. 9 statement. Citing problems with "export compliance," the firm that day announced a new export compliance committee and vice president of export compliance job.

Spokeswoman Anne Tyrell said Blackwater has "not been informed of an intent to impose a fine," but noted the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls' "resolution of export matters with other significant defense contractors" usually results in fines. "The potential fine depends on the regulatory scheme at issue and the facts of the case," she said.

The company set up an export control panel last month.

Officials would be wise not to read too deeply into many Democrats' longstanding criticisms of the company. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) say they're OK with Blackwater competing for federal contracts, as long as there's sufficient oversight and accountability. President-Elect Barack Obama has similarly tempered his criticism. Even so, a top Obama aide said earlier this year that the senator would not rule out continuing to retain Blackwater's services. And last July, when he saw Blackwater security professionals up-close during his trip to Afghanistan, Obama admitted that the company was getting unfairly treated.

"Blackwater is getting a bad rap," Obama said. (The photo, on Obama's website, shows the presidential candidate with troops and security during the July trip to Afghanistan.)

Crippling Blackwater with unreasonable fines just might end up hamstringing the new president at a time when he will need everything the company can offer.

Blackwater Announces Advanced Export Compliance Initiative

Given the highly complicated and often contradictory federal laws and regulations concerning the export of military and security-related goods and know-how, Blackwater announces what it calls "a comprehensive initiative to enhance export compliance throughout its global operations."

According to a release distributed by the Earth Times, Blackwater says, "The initiative, under development for several months, includes the creation of an independent committee of experienced outside experts to oversee export compliance and the addition of a Vice President of Export Compliance.

"These efforts are supported by a global training initiative, proposed enhanced business controls and an increased compliance staff.

"'US export controls are a key part of our country's national securityand foreign policy. Blackwater, a partner with the US Government in many important programs, has an obligation to also be a partner in compliance,' said Erik Prince, Blackwater Founder and CEO. 'Our company has experienced remarkable growth in the last few years. This growth, our work for the US Government around the world, and the nature of the services we offer have created compliance challenges. The comprehensive initiative announced today is our direct response to those challenges and our recognition of the importance of these controls.'"

The independent panel, called the Export Compliance Committee, represents a cross section of talent and expertise. Committee members, who have full and independent authority of Blackwater's export control matters, are:

• Robert C. Bonner. Former US Attorney, US District Court Judge, Commissioner of US Customs, the first Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, and Administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);


• Asa Hutchinson (pictured). Former US Attorney, Administrator of the DEA, US Congressman from Arkansas; and the first Under Secretary of Homeland Security;


• Carol R. Marshall. Former Vice President of Ethics and Business Conduct at Lockheed Martin, Senior Vice President for Ethics and Business Conduct at MCI, Chair of the Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program, and Chair and Working Group Liaison to the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics.
  

Blackwater's new Vice President of Export Compliance is Karen Jones, most recently the Director of Import-Export Operations for Raytheon Missile Systems Division. "Ms. Jones is an accomplished trade compliance professional with a deep resume. She is an expert in integrating export licensing, compliance and a culture oftransparency into complex global operations. We look forward to hercontribution in making Blackwater's compliance system the standard of the industry," said Prince.

The company has also strengthened and expanded its existing compliance programs and developed an online compliance training program for employees and independent contractors.