Blackwater-Blackfive Nexus

Now this, from David Axe, is a fascinating story:

Susan Katz Keating posted a photo depicting, among others, “Uncle Jimbo” — one of the men behind the popular, and far-right, Blackfive blog — in front of Blackwater’s North Carolina headquarters last week. It seems Jimbo and others flew to Blackwater from the private air terminal attached to the D.C.-area Dulles airport, apparently on Blackwater’s dime.

In other words, Blackwater’s running junkets for press, paying expenses in return for coverage.

Now, junkets are curious things. Many journalists do them — I’ve done them — and most take pains to disclose the fact that their coverage was, in part, paid for by a source. Embeds with combat forces are, in a sense, a form of junket.

Junkets are risky. As long as there’s full disclosure, they can be a legit facet of the news. But in this case, there are extenuating circumstances that make Blackwater’s junketeering particularly vexing — and that’s Jimbo’s involvement. For Jimbo has plans that go beyond journalism and publishing. Jimbo, whose real name is Jim Hanson, has talked about turning Blackfive into an arm of a private military intelligence network, like a low-rent intel version of Blackwater.

I know this because Jimbo tried to recruit me last summer.

I had just returned from Chad. I had drinks with Jimbo and Blackfive boss Matt Burden. While Matt sat quietly, Jimbo told me how he was frustrated with professional reporters who only report facts, and don’t help use those facts to promote U.S. national security. He said he envisioned building a privately run intelligence network that would use freelance reporters, operating under Blackfive’s auspices and sponsored by corporations, to gather information for transmission to intel analysts in the U.S. He asked if I would be interested in joining up.

I said no, in no uncertain terms. In fact, I recall cursing and yelling.

I told Jimbo that if he really did launch a private intel network, and roped some naive young writers into serving as its operations arm, he was going to get some of them killed. I told him about all the occasions when suspicious and hostile sources in Africa and the Middle East have demanded to know whether I was an American spy. I always could honestly answer no. What happens when a reporter is a sort of spy, and gets confronted by people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill or abduct a spy? Not only is spying a clear violation of journalistic ethics, it’s a huge security risk for the reporter.

Jimbo’s plan is lunacy, but precisely the kind of lunacy represented by firms like Blackwater. And seeing Jimbo in front of a Blackwater facility, on a junket organized by the merc company, gives me chills. I can imagine the wicked synergy that might result.

Knowing David, I can say that it is very, very easy for me to imagine the cursing and the yelling.