Suzanne Simons is an executive producer at CNN as well as author of the book `` Master of War : Blackwater USA 's Erik Prince and the Business of War '' ( Collins , June 2009 ) . Erik Prince , founder of Blackwater , is pictured in Afghanistan in November 2007 . ( CNN ) -- The private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater has held classified contracts with the Central Intelligence Agency for nearly a decade , but an allegation that the contractor was part of a secret CIA program to kill al Qaeda operatives -- if true -- would take the relationship to a whole new level . The CIA hired the private security firm Blackwater USA in 2004 to work on a covert program aimed at targeting and potentially killing top al Qaeda leaders , a source familiar with the program told CNN . Former company executives deny knowing about the program . Current leaders of the company did not return calls to CNN . The CIA wo n't comment on classified contracts . The classified program , canceled by CIA director Leon Panetta earlier this year , was part of a broader effort inside the CIA to develop the capacity to conduct training , surveillance and possible covert operations overseas , according to the source . The program was outsourced to contractors to `` put some distance '' between the effort and the U.S. government . Other contractors were brought in for other parts of the program , another source said , and Blackwater 's involvement ended by mid-2006 . But one thing is clear : The company that renamed itself Xe earlier this year in an effort to escape controversy surrounding a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead has had a long relationship with the world 's most famous spy agency . When Erik Prince first opened his Blackwater training facility in the late '90s , his clients included special forces teams and law enforcement agencies from around the country . Prince had expressed frustration with the training facilities he visited during his time as a Navy SEAL , and a sizable inheritance allowed him the financial freedom to retire from the military and try his hand at creating a better facility . His first clients were indeed SEAL teams . But they also included teams from other government agencies , including the CIA . Case officers and protection details , the people generally accustomed to working in the shadows , began showing up for training on the shooting range or the driving track in a rural part of North Carolina . When then-CIA Executive Director Alvin `` Buzzy '' Krongard , whose own son was a Navy SEAL , visited the facility , former Blackwater President Gary Jackson suggested he meet with Prince , who worked out of an office in the Washington area . The two had lunch and Krongard immediately took a liking to the man who would later lead the world 's most notorious private contracting company . At the time , contacts like these were essential to building the business , so when terror struck the heart of America in September 2001 , Prince called up his new friend Krongard and offered to help . Sources inside the agency at the time say that Krongard in fact , was pushing hard for Blackwater to be given the first urgent and compelling , no-bid contract to protect CIA facilities in Afghanistan . The military , it seems , was n't up to the task of staffing such an effort . Once awarded the initial contract , Prince maintained a close relationship with Krongard , and made trips to Afghanistan to make sure things were going smoothly . The idea that the agency came to Blackwater for help on any other contracts , including one with the overall goal of locating and assassinating al Qaeda operatives , would n't come as a huge surprise , particularly since so much of the intelligence budget is spent on private contractors . But with investigations under way into just what was done and by whom at the CIA under the Bush administration , people are remaining tight-lipped . Especially under the threat of possible prosecution , should it go that far .
Relationship between Blackwater and CIA goes back Blackwater . Recent allegation says contractor was part of CIA program to kill CIA operatives . Blackwater was given contract to protect CIA facilities in Washington after two attacks . The private contractor renamed itself Xe almost a decade .