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Blackwater's Owner Has Spies for Hire Ex-U.S. Operatives Dot Firm's Roster
By Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 3, 2007; Page A01
First it became a brand name in security for its work in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Now it's taking on intelligence.
The Prince Group, the holding company that owns Blackwater Worldwide, has
been building an operation that will sniff out intelligence about natural
disasters, business-friendly governments, overseas regulations and global
political developments for clients in industry and government.
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Two analysts, whose names Total Intelligence Solutions would not release for
security reasons, work at company headquarters in Ballston. A critic says the
firm employs "rent-a-spies," while its chairman says, "We break no laws."
(Photos By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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The operation, Total Intelligence Solutions, has assembled a roster of
former spooks -- high-ranking figures from agencies such as the CIA and defense
intelligence -- that mirrors the slate of former military officials who run
Blackwater. Its chairman is Cofer Black, the former head of counterterrorism at
CIA known for his leading role in many of the agency's more controversial
programs, including the rendition and interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects and
the detention of some of them in secret prisons overseas.
Its chief executive is Robert Richer, a former CIA associate deputy director
of operations who was heavily involved in running the agency's role in the Iraq
war.
Total Intelligence Solutions is one of a growing number of companies that
offer intelligence services such as risk analysis to companies and governments.
Because of its roster and its ties to owner Erik Prince, the multimillionaire
former Navy SEAL, the company's thrust into this world highlights the blurring
of lines between government, industry and activities formerly reserved for
agents operating in the shadows.
Richer, for instance, once served as the chief of the CIA's Near East
division and is said to have ties to King Abdullah of Jordan. The CIA had spent
millions helping train Jordan's intelligence service in exchange for
information. Now Jordan has hired Blackwater to train its special forces.
"Cofer can open doors," said Richer, who served 22 years at the CIA. "I can
open doors. We can generally get in to see who we need to see. We don't help
pay bribes. We do everything within the law, but we can deal with the right
minister or person."
Total Intel, as the company is known, is bringing "the skills traditionally
honed by CIA operatives directly to the board room," Black said. Black had a
28-year career with the CIA.
"They have the skills and background to do anything anyone wants," said RJ
Hillhouse, who writes a national security blog called The Spy Who Billed Me.
"There's no oversight. They're an independent company offering freelance
espionage services. They're rent-a-spies."
The heart of Total Intel operations is a suite on the ninth floor of an
office tower in Ballston, patterned after the CIA counterterrorist center Black
once ran, with analysts sitting at cubicles in the center of the room and glass
offices of senior executives on the perimeter.
A handful of analysts in their 20s and 30s sit hunched over Macintosh
computers, scanning Web sites, databases, newspapers and chat rooms. The lights
are dimmed. Three large-screen TVs play in the background, one tuned to
al-Jazeera.
The room, called the Global Fusion Center, is staffed around the clock, as
analysts search for warnings on everything from terrorist plots on radical
Islamic Web sites to possible political upheavals in Asia, labor strikes in
South America and Europe, and economic upheavals that could affect a company's
business.
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