According to this article from the Strategy Page:

October 3, 2007: Iraqis are upset with Blackwater International, the security firm that provides protection for American diplomats (and many other VIPs) when they travel about. Blackwater recruits experienced military veterans, especially commandos, to do the job. When Blackwater is attacked, they attack right back. Blackwater’s aggressiveness and competence is well known in Baghdad, and Iraqi police and civilians stay out of the way. As a result, Blackwater has never lost any of the State Department people they have escorted. But 30 Blackwater personnel have been killed, along with hundreds of Iraqis (armed and unarmed, the terrorist attacks often use civilians for cover). American politicians, who are opposed to the Iraq war, are joining in to attack Blackwater, and accuse it of misbehavior. The State Department remains silent, but is unwilling to give up Blackwater. There are enough experienced people inside the State Department who understand that Blackwater is professional and effective, and you can’t beat a perfect record when it comes to security. Considering what high value targets U.S. diplomats are, and the success of Blackwater in defeating hundreds of attacks, the State Department cannot afford to abandon Blackwater. But the diplomats cannot afford to openly defend Blackwater either, lest they anger Democratic politicians who run Congress. So the media circus will play out, and life goes on.

Blackwater is too important to our diplomatic core for America to allow leftist grandstanding to hamper their effectiveness, Kos be damned.

Also on the Blackwater front, after some disastrous showings with light aircraft, Blackwater is inking a deal to buy a Brazilian Super Tucano fighter bomber for counter insurgency operations. These wicked little single props are already in service in Columbia doing counter-insurgency duty and will significantly ad to the flexibility of Blackwater forces, as well as their value to the State Department. Blackwater is buying one reportedly for “training” but a little bird has told me their looking to expand their aviation branch significantly.

Check this out, it’s footage of a Tucano shooting down a drug smuggler:

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For you anti-Blackwater types out there, The Spy Who Billed Me has been covering the private contractor business in Iraq for years. My prediction: Blackwater’s not going anywhere anytime soon.