The CIA hired private contractors at Blackwater USA in 2004 as part of a secret program to kill top-level members of Al Qaeda, FOX News has confirmed.
At the time, Blackwater was under contract with the CIA to help the agency with training at its North Carolina facility, sources told FOX News. The CIA reached out to Blackwater founder Erik Prince to use the firm’s transportation resources and some of its assets already operating in Afghanistan to help with the goal of hunting Al Qaeda members.
But the program never went operational, the source told FOX News.
The contracts were canceled several years ago, the person told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the program remains classified.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/20/cia-hired-blackwater-al-qaeda-hit-squads/
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