Blackwater, the contractor with a tainted public image, has been blasted by the chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee for its "lack of credibility." In a blistering letter to Defense Sec. Robert Gates, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) attacked the company, which is now known as Xe Services.

What angered Sen. Levin was a report that the Pentagon was preparing to award $1 billion in new contracts to the firm formerly known as Blackwater.

Sen. Levin slammed the company's history of allegedly abusive behavior by Blackwater employees, misappropriation of government weapons and other misconduct. Levin also wrote that the firm's practices appear to have "undermined our mission in Afghanistan."

CREW has raised concerns about Blackwater too.