WASHINGTON – State Department officials say they have extended a contract with a subsidiary of the security firm formerly known as Blackwater USA to provide air support for U.S. diplomats in Iraq despite the fact the company is not allowed to work there.
Three officials said Wednesday that the contract with Presidential Airways has been temporarily extended because the firm chosen to replace it is not yet ready to take over. The contract was due to expire on Thursday and be taken over by Dyncorp International.
Presidential is the air wing of Xe Services, which used to be known as Blackwater. The Iraqi government refused to grant the company an operating license earlier this year amid continued outrage over a 2007 lethal firefight involving some of its employees in Baghdad.