Name Fail for Blackwater

What’s in a name change? Sometimes, not enough. Xe Services, the military contractor which recently rebranded from Blackwater, is up for sale.

Former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, the company's reclusive founder and owner, is tired of the constant criticism. In a comment to AP, he said: "Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics." 

His remark was an oblique swipe at Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, who recently wanted the Pentagon to prohibit Xe from winning a $1 billion contract to train Afghan police.

Xe has tried to reinvent itself and salvage some modicum of public and political reputation since the 2007 Baghdad debacle that resulted in seventeen deaths, a livid Iraqi government, and federal charges against those Blackwater guards involved. Those charges were subsequently dismissed due to prosecutorial mishandling of evidence.

But recently, five former Xe executives were indicted on conspiring to violate U.S. federal firearms laws. Included in this indictment was former company president Gary Jackson, who resigned last year.

Xe recently sold its aviation division for $200 million to Wood Dale, Ill.-based AAR Corp in preparation for the larger company sale.

Prince’s statement: "Xe's new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser."

Prince will not continue in any role with Xe after the sale.

It’s harder to reinvent or escape one’s words, especially when they're readily available in video at the click of a mouse.

And while Xe searches for a new owner and Blackwater is no more, its pawprint-branded goods are still available in Xe's pro shop.