AP

MOYOCK, N.C. (AP) -- Blackwater Worldwide said Monday that it planned a shift away from the security contracting business that earned it millions of dollars and made it a flash point in the debate over the use of security contractors in war zones.

"The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk," company founder and CEO Erik Prince told The Associated Press during a daylong visit to the company's North Carolina compound.

Blackwater executives say they have unfairly become a symbol for all contractors in Iraq and thus the company is a target for those opposed to the war. It plans to focus on training, aviation and logistics.

"Security was not part of the master plan, ever," company president Gary Jackson said.

The company has made hundreds of millions of dollars defending U.S. diplomats in Iraq, one of several government contracts that earned Blackwater more than $1 billion since 2001.

The company has been under intense scrutiny since September when its security contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection while responding to a car bombing. Seventeen Iraqis were killed, prompting congressional hearings and an FBI investigation.

In 2005 and 2006, security jobs, including protecting diplomats and helping secure New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, represented more than 50 percely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a July 10 memo to Mullen that was released Monday to The Associated Press by the office of Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

"Further, are we comfortable with this practice, and do we fully understand the implications in terms of quality, responsiveness and sustainability?"

Gates' memo came after Webb raised concerns about the role of private contractors and specifically Blackwater Worldwide, which opened a new counterterrorism training center in San Diego last month over the opposition of city officials. Webb had been blocking Senate consideration of four civilian Defense Department nominees while waiting for answers. On Monday, Webb told Gates he was lifting his opposition to the nominees.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)