A new report has accused the US private security firm formerly known as Blackwater [now Xe] of operating a covert assassination and kidnapping programme against suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda members in northwest Pakistan…Jeremy Scahill…who broke the story…[said]…the programme was so secretive that senior officials in the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, were likely unaware of it…"What I learned is that…Blackwater operatives are at the centre of not only the drone bombing campaign but also planning snatch-and-grab operations of high value targets."… Xe has denied having any contracts in Pakistan.