Yesterday afternoon I was interviewing a young Iraqi man for a story when he disclosed that he'd worked for Blackwater, the notorious U.S. private security firm that protects diplomats and senior officials in Iraq and other conflict zones. Blackwater has come under scrutiny for its involvement in a string of high-profile shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians.

I'd never met an Iraqi mercenary who worked for Blackwater, so we veered off-topic and I asked him about what it was like to work for a firm that is so widely despised by Iraqis. He agreed to describe his experiences as long as I didn't use his real name or give the exact dates of his employment. He didn't fear retribution from the company -- he just thought it might hurt his chances if he ever decided to seek employment with Blackwater again.

I have no way of verifying certain details of his account, but here's what he had to say:

"As a person who worked for Blackwater, I can tell you that these teams are different from the last teams. Maybe the new teams are not being told how to deal with the people. After the problems in Nisour Square, managers said this team must be changed. They brought in the new team and the new team ran over at least two people in a car. Or maybe it was four, I can't remember. Yes, I think it was four. They just ran over them on the street. Have you seen how big their vehicles are? They gave the families compensation. No media ever reported on this incident.

"I was on the best team, Mamba Team. Do you know mamba? The snake, black mamba. We had no problems with our team. We were on the cowboys team! (Laughs.) But we never went on special missions. They would never take an Iraqi on special mission, that was for the US embassy team.

"It was not only Americans at Blackwater. There was one Australian, one South African. There were also some from Chile and Colombia, but they weren't allowed on the teams -- they were guards. In Baghdad, there were three teams: the US embassy team, Mamba and the Airport Team. The US embassy team was the biggest. Blackwater was also out of Baghdad, in Basra, Najaf, Erbil and Hillah. In Erbil, they were protecting IRI (International Republican Institute). The IRI manager was named Rich, a very nice guy.

"Sometimes, people from Blackwater were killed. There was a Mexican, he got killed on airport road. His contract had finished and he just wanted to go home to his family. He was a very good man. He was never afraid to clash with terrorists. When the terrorists attacked them on airport road, he remained with the last car to cover for the others. He told them, 'Go, go.' He fought alone and he was killed. He could carry a PKC in one hand! He was so strong. Blackwater had a (memorial service) for him. It was sad. And you know Blackwater, they had to drink. You know, they aren't afraid of anything, of any terrorist. They see themselves as tough guys.

"Another time, two Blackwater vehicles were under siege in Tikrit for maybe two weeks before they could get out. They had huge Lincolns full of ammunition. They were fighting and fighting and when they came back from Tikrit...(starts to laugh)...they had paint on their faces like they were Special Forces!

"Now, the teams have changed, though. You understand? I mean, for better, not worse."