US News and World Reports has confirmed that Blackwater handled Obama’s security while in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama who has been a critic of the private security firm recently, was overheard as saying that Blackwater is getting a bad rap.

Sen. Barack Obama has not been a fan of private police like Blackwater in war zones, and some news outlets even reported that they were spurned for his trip last week to Afghanistan and Iraq. But Whispers confirms that Blackwater did handle the Democratic presidential candidate’s security in Afghanistan and helped out in Iraq. What’s more, Obama was overheard saying: “Blackwater is getting a bad rap.” Since everything appeared to go swimmingly, maybe he will take firms like Blackwater out of his sights, the company’s supporters hope.

This is what happens when a candidate has first hand knowledge of a subject, rather than only knowing what they read in the New York Times, their opinions may change. It will be interesting to see in the coming days if Obama clarifies this statement publicly, or simply ignores the fact that Blackwater did a terrific job providing security for his campaign.

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Barack Obama, Election 2008, Features, Iraq