In shift, Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name

In shift, Blackwater dumps tarnished brand name

news.yahoo.com

RALEIGH, N.C. – Blackwater Worldwide is still protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, but executives at the beleaguered security firm are taking their biggest step yet to put that work and the ugly reputation it earned the company behind them.

Blackwater said Friday it will no longer operate under the name that came to be known worldwide as a caustic moniker for private security, dropping the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter "z."

It's a rare surrender for a company that cherished a brand name inspired by the dark-water swamps of northeastern North Carolina, one that survived another rebranding effort about a year ago, following a deadly shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The decision to give it up underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by that incident and other security work in Iraq.

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Changing the company's name won't do much to make people forget about the reckless nature of it's operators. The private army for hire still continues to protect diplomats in Iraq but it's true nature is clear.Loosing contracts and receiving less then popular public opinion, this company struggles to reinvent itself.How long will the former Blackwater group be able to keep it's ugly head above water? only time will tell as well as a healthy dose of radical policy review and replacement of "loose cannon's" with more responsible operators.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Xe, i'll be on the lookout for that. Making money on the backs of countless innocent people, to be sure we will not forget about these fools. Spreading the word now.

That's a shame... Blackwater sounds evil and fits them well.

reply to post by mpriebe81


The company is clearly struggling to re-invent itself, however once a wolf always a wolf. The company made millions and millions through government contracts in Iraq and elsewhere, only to run amok and kill innocent people.I don't think "xe" will take away the past or replace opinion about the company.

Originally posted by Resinveins
That's a shame... Blackwater sounds evil and fits them well.

Lol, no kidding! Xe just doesn't fit them, it rolls off the tongue far too easily

reply to post by Resinveins


Agreed, the brand name did fit well, did they "outgrow" it? no the name change is a grab at straws to undo miserable failures and shady practices.

They have a bad name do to the operations in Iraq. I don't think negatively about Blackwater.

In most situations a company will get a bad name due to the actions by CEO's and other high up officials. Blackwater got it's bad name due to something the higher up officials had little control over.

reply to post by alyosha1981


As a former Seal, that owner should have known better. Believe or not those guys are actually taught ethics about life in certain NRTC's.

It all boils down to greed for money and in this case Blackwater had hundreds of millions in contracts set up and wanted more.

The newly printed corporate logo came back Xe, they spent 400 million on the jackets and bumper stickers, they decided to just go with it. i mean hell, it sounds much more futuristic, fits in nicely while they attempt masquerading as alien invaders i dunno, the previous was just a ramble. not serious. Or was it.

reply to post by M157yD4wn


Sounds good to me deffinatly makes for imagination provoking thought. Unfortunate for us it's probably closer to fiction, good none the less.

Perhaps this is so they seem to fit in better protecting "diplomats" from Nibiru.
Or perhaps it's an abbreviation for xenophobe.

Blackwater sounds like a Steven Segal flick.

[edit on 13-2-2009 by TravelerintheDark]

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark

......
Or perhaps it's an abbreviation for xenophobe.
......

Nicely put!

reply to post by Maxmars


Thanks for picking up on the serious tidbit in that post

Originally posted by Resinveins
That's a shame... Blackwater sounds evil and fits them well.

ha! and Xe doesnt sound evil at all?
Zeeeeee. ZEEEEEEEEEE

I thought Blackwater was fitting. It always seemed like a code word for oil, which is what they're really protecting in Iraq.

the new brand name for a new theatre of operations - Pakistan

Xe = could also be used like the stereotypical French enunciation of the
American word 'The' = 'zee'

and could double up as shorthand for where the operation is at;


Xe.AF (zee-aff)
Xe.PK (zee-pack)
Xe.US (zee.us) or Zeus

you surely identified those samples, what strange combos can you find?



heres the strangest i can connect->> Xe.RU-O (ZERO)
i.e.: Xe. in Russia, Ossetia
(? what? ) am i hinting i anticipate Russia ceeding Ossetia from Georgia in the near future, even while the USA & NATO are trying to create confrontation between the West & Georgia-v-Russia...

you betcha, the apocalyptic WW3 Ground 'ZERO'

[edit on 14-2-2009 by St Udio]

The idea beind changing the name might be more to do with trying to avoid litigation over it's dealings in the past.
Change the name and if taken to court, just say that was another company.

Just a thought.

Oh no! Now they'll sound like Japanese gangsters instead of the villains in a James Bond movie!