Least Surprising News of the Day

The New York Times is now reporting that mercenary corporation Blackwater (now Xe) approved over a million dollars in bribes to Iraqi officials in order to continue to operate in Iraq:

Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.

Blackwater approved the cash payments in December 2007, the officials said, as protests over the deadly shootings in Nisour Square stoked long-simmering anger inside Iraq about reckless practices by the security company’s employees. American and Iraqi investigators had already concluded that the shootings were unjustified, top Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country, and company officials feared that Blackwater might be refused an operating license it would need to retain its contracts with the State Department and private clients, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

So they violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and, if you go down further, it looks like they were paying off victims and witnesses in order to secure their silence during the FBI investigation.

Srsly, prosecushuns, now!