America won’t get an apology from Prince, because in his view, he did what he had to do and, crucially, what his government asked him to do. Yes, Blackwater has paid off victims of its violence, but only under the direct advice of its client, the U.S. State Department. When Prince had to get equipment in-country to keep his clients and his people safe, he did. When his staff racked up 300 counts of violations while following client orders, he simply ate the fine. It’s like another popular slogan SEALs use during training: Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Now Prince is leaving the pain and taking himself out of range.
Financially, Prince may yet come out ahead. His quick estimates are that his failed self-
financed ventures, like armored trucks and airships, burned about $100 million. Toss in another $50 to $60 million in legal fees (last year alone he spent $24 million) and another $42 million in government fines, and then subtract the net-after-tax income from the billion and a half in estimated government contract revenue: How much did he make? “The rule of thumb is that you plan for 15 percent and are happy if you make 10,” he explains. “I have enough to live comfortably. I’m a multimillionaire, but with way less now. I am almost embarrassed I didn’t make more money.”
Prince won’t provide details on his future other than that he won’t be accepting government customers. “The media tends to screw up my plans,” he says. Still, it’s no secret Blackwater’s up for grabs. As of press time, a letter of intent had been drafted regarding its imminent sale. Reconciled but not pleased with this outcome, he pauses for a moment, searching awkwardly for a way to sum up his payback. He thinks he has it: “Atlas Shrugged.” He means Ayn Rand’s novel in which defiant engineer John Galt protests stifling bureaucracy by convincing other leaders to bring society and government to the brink of collapse. It’s clear that Prince identifies with Galt. It’s also clear that he will not abandon his dreams.
Sitting inside Prince’s toy-cluttered Suburban hours before his flight to Abu Dhabi, I press him once more to define himself against the caricature many have of him — somewhere closer to evil than Iron Man’s Tony Stark. At first he is reluctant, even embarrassed by the question. Then he tells me, “I try to live by the Parable of the Talents” — Matthew’s story in the Bible about the chastising of a timid servant who buries his master’s money out of fear, and the praising of an industrious servant who increases his master’s money tenfold. But he shifts again; Talents isn’t exactly right.
“I don’t plan to meet my maker tanned, fit, and rested,” Prince says, at last. “I intend to be tired, battered, and bruised.”
—
The Golden Age for Contractors & Mercenaries
Blackwater/Xe may have been dropped from the State Department’s Worldwide Personal Protective Services contract, but Xe founder Erik Prince’s vision for his industry is being realized on a scale that even he could not have imagined — with firms such as DynCorp International and Triple Canopy (both now located in Virginia) racing to fill the contracts denied Xe. How big are we talking? Despite being an outspoken critic of private contractors during her 2008 campaign for president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will soon preside over a private army in Iraq that dwarfs that of the Bush era. Here is a look at the current Obama administration’s security plans for Iraq.
7,000 HIRED GUNS
On August 2, 2010, President Obama announced: “Our commitment in Iraq is changing from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats.” To keep those diplomats safe, however, the State Department plans on doubling — to roughly 7,000 — the number of private security guards and low-paid foreign mercenaries assigned to U.S. personnel and locations.
WORLD’s LARGEST EMBASSY
Approximately the size of Vatican City and costing $592 million, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is among the largest and most expensive in the world, even though it was built with cheap, imported labor. A bunkerlike complex of 21 buildings, it spreads over 104 acres and houses 835 employees. Private guards maintain the complex and other facilities in Basra, Erbil, Hillah, Kirkuk, and Tallil.
2,500 ARMORED SUVs and 50 MRAPS
To enable our diplomats and nation-builders to move safely around Iraq, the U.S. Embassy has ordered up a fleet of between 2,500 and 3,200 armored sport utility vehicles at a cost of approximately $150,000 each and has asked the departing U.S. military forces to leave it 50 MRAPs — 28,000- to 42,000-pound trucks built to withstand massive roadside IED explosions.
PRIVATE AIR FORCE
Twenty-five Black Hawk helicopters and a small number of fixed-wing aircraft and air-support crews will also be used to transport embassy staff between locations. Blackwater pioneered the concept of using “Little Birds” with two snipers to protect SUV convoys (and as rescue or escape vehicles). DynCorp International will replace Blackwater in providing this air support.
—
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December 20th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Erik Prince is a WAR CRIMINAL, and you are making him out to be some kind of hero. I can just imagine what you would write about Hitler.
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Al J Reply:
March 4th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
You are worse. Criminally STUPID! Can’t you use anything more than leftwing talking points? Impress us all. Say something orignial.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
It is dinks like you who never do anything that has risk envolved, try harms way before you depart he planet. You libs justify your cowardice by knocking those who have always taken up the sword. 3800 years of history tells me there is always going to be violence. Evil prevails when good men fail to act and in todays world you better be bader than the bad guys or you lose. Losing ones like you can only prolong our nation in my opinion, try someplace else you’ll not be missed.
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Historian Reply:
August 29th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Why does “3800 years of history tells [you] there is always going to be violence”?
If you’re talking about the history of civilization, that goes back over 10,000 years, not 3,000 years, and was certainly full of violence. If you’re talking about the history of anatomically modern human beings, that is thought to go back 100,000 or more years into what is called the paleolithic era… Whether the paleolithic was violent, or generally peaceful, is hotly debated, but there is a notable lack of evidence of warfare among humans prior to the rise of civilization. We just don’t know for sure, and until we do, I think it’s unwise to make proclamations about human beings as being inherently violent.
As for “Evil prevails when good men fail to act and in todays world you better be bader than the bad guys or you lose,” I guess as a brainwashed American it never occurred to you that you ARE the bad guys, and that you ARE evil. How many colonial wars, how many coup d’etats, how much support for terrorist groups, will it take for brainwashed imperialists like yourself to wake up and see America for the monster that it is? So glad I don’t like in the US so I don’t have to hear pawns like you regularly.
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December 20th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
This is the kind of military meshuggana, “kill’em all” asshole that makes America look like a cesspool of spoiled, uneducated children with too many guns and too much free time to do anything constructive. Or is “Men’s Journal” harboring a secret crush on their very own “American Alexander?” Don’t ask, don’t tell! Good riddance to this pasty white knucklehead whose “war is the answer to every question” mentality passes for what conservatives call intelligence.
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December 20th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
He got caught being part of the war machine. Perpetual war is what he lives for. Meanwhile we have no jobs because we spend TRILLIONS on wasted wars. The Military Industrial Complex needs to die. Bring our boys back home and strengthen our country with real jobs in Energy, Housing, Transportation, Education and Farming. Kill the corporations that are destroying America. Do you need reminders? Monsanto, Bank of America and our Corporate Controlled Congress!
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December 20th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
An American patriot!. To bad he had to deal with the incompetant a-holes in D.C. Those idiots dont speak of his kind in dinner parties, but they want his kind on that line. They need his kind on that line. I salute you Prince
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December 20th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
I really appreciate Men’s Journal for publishing this informative article on Erik Prince and Blackwater.
I really am surprised at some of the comments you got from some of your readers.
Note to these readers who hated Blackwater and what it stood for. Hillary Clinton who also hated Blackwater now oversees a PRIVATE security army that is far larger than Blackwater.
Talk about irony, eh?
Maybe they hated Blackwater because it was Republican?
They wanted Democrat version of Blackwater?
Is there partisanship even in security business? I guess there must be.
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Jmark Reply:
January 21st, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Well said!!
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Kimaya Reply:
December 27th, 2011 at 3:44 am
Really Well Said
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JC Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:28 am
Hillary is a war criminal, too.
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December 20th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
This man is a piece of shit and the author is a piece of shit so it is easy to see why this article was written.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
You sure seem to know a lot about shit there Thomas, you are probably PC also, however I have never tried to pick up a turd by the clean end (PC defined).
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December 20th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Goodbye, you thieving A$$hol! I hope someone comes after you for your war crimes. Those of you that think Blackwater did us a favor need to stop watching FOX News and do some basic research. It’s nuts and a violation of our constitution to have a paid mercenary force. Their guys shot “Hadjis” for fun in Iraq! Massacred people in broad daylight and got paid $100K apiece, while the US Army grunts got less than $20K and had to do 3 or 4 tours of duty.
Billions wasted on a private army in a war we should have never been in.
Goodbye Fraudster.. someday you will meet your maker that you claim you serve and have to explain all this to him. I wonder how you’ll do that?
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Bruce Reply:
December 21st, 2010 at 11:55 am
Spencer,
Please identify for me the precise Constitutional language prohibiting the use of privatized security services.
In addition, perhaps you don’t understand the contrast between a “US Army grunt” and Blackwater. Blackwater staffed, in its’ inception, primarily former special operations/special forces operators. There is a stark difference between the salary of a SEAL Platoon commander and the basic US Army enlistee that provides logistical support by way of ensuring food is delivered or the soldier whose job is to peel potatoes. The services rendered by Blackwater required a higher level of defensive and protective training; training not attained by your “US Army grunt.” You can’t make a nose-to-nose comparison between those SpecOps types of work and/or salary and that of a basic GI. The fact that you so ignorantly attempted to do so illuminates your complete lack of understanding of the importance of contractors.
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Shawn Reply:
March 6th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
lol Army grunts making 20K after 3 or 4 tours? They make way more than that in 6 months 1 tour. And tax free. Navy Seals make about 100K to.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
And for what they do it isn’t enough
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Agree with you on the war, but you don’t have a clue and your name calling is very unnecessary.
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josh Reply:
June 18th, 2011 at 3:07 am
how are you gonna be pissed at blackwater for shoting hadjis and call them that dont you know thats a derogatory term for them sorry you cant bitch about them shoting people and call those same people by an name based in hate.
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December 20th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I do so hope Mr. Prince reads his fan mail at the bottom of this column. You’re smart to move to the Middle East. Makes it easier for the Hadjis you murdered to get even with you. Too bad no one in our corrupt government has the guts to put you behind bars where you belong.
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December 20th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Erik Price provided the best product possible for a less then ideal situation. Get over it you cry babies, I bet not a single one of you detractors ever served our armed forces. Go back to your beer drinking and dope smoking and get plugged back into CNN.
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Gary Reply:
March 4th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Only the folks who have never experienced the harsh realities (truths) that existed and still exist in Iraq, who live in some fantasy bubble of a protected life, make statements like we see here.. 11B2V… I agree with you… Sheep will always blah blah..
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Right on, could not have said it better myself.
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Silver Wings Reply:
March 4th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Get some, Ranger!
Was Blackwater perfect? Nope but thats the nature of working in a fluid, threat laden environment. These weak kneed couch monkeys find it easy to try and justify their own monochromatic lives by sitting in judgement over situations they could never fathom nor survive. It makes them feel better about the comfy lives and security provided by those willing to risk and sacrifice to provide it for them. The bozos posting here are precisely the reason that military types have a low regard for so many back home. You benefit and thrive in the safeties provided for you by the same men you denegrate for doing the rough work necessary for you to live those lives. You are hypocritical cowards who try and hide your fears and insecurities behind a facade of moral superiority. Weak hearts leading little lives whose only contribution is bravely posting in anonymity against those who are your betters while you risk nothing more then carpul tunnel.
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JC Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:27 am
Silver Wings, is that your real name? If not, then you’re posting here just as anonymously as anyone else. If you think anyone who disagrees with your views on this board is hiding behind a facade of moral superiority, then what are you when you describe yourself as one of their “betters”?
By the way, which power overseas is threatening those “safeties” that we enjoy and which you’re presumably protecting? If you’re for safeguarding everyone’s right to free speech, then don’t be surprised when some of that speech isn’t music to your ears. I thought sticks and stones can break your bones, but words will never hurt you.
If you have such low regard for so many back home, then find a country that has more of your kind of people and move there.
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21B762 Reply:
June 7th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Amen! Couldnt agree more. All the haters are probably tree hugging hippy liberals.
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December 20th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Shame on those of you bashing Mr. Prince. It is because of him that sissies like you enjoy the freedom so you may sit behind a computer and bash him. None of you bashers have the guts and nuts to go to a place where nearly everyone is trying to kill you. None of you bashers go into a place like that knowing your own country will try and burn you at the stake when their use for you is over. So what if he made money on it. He and his men put their life on the line doing things that all of these crybaby bleeding hearts in this country would never even think of doing. Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to walk through hell to get there. What a bunch of bitches you are.
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December 21st, 2010 at 12:38 am
I’m no fan of hill-billy right-wingers with too many guns, but this man right here? James fucking Bond. It’s always been obvious that Blackwater-bashing is now a political schtick, ever since the Nisour event made that name poison, just like it’s always been obvious that something terrible happened on that day. But that does not make me admire less this man. Why? Because I’m a realist. Shit happen, and sometimes, terribly awfully regrettable shit happen too.
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December 21st, 2010 at 1:07 am
Douche Bag Just like the author. This country is in dire need of new leadership. http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2005/10/hit-them-with-truth.html
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December 21st, 2010 at 1:15 am
This guy is an American Hero. A real-life Tony Stark. Beltway politicos fete a low-level CIA analyst like Valerie Plame like she’s a national treasure but are conspicuously silent when an out-in-the-field asset is outed. The contrast in narrative is striking, and tells you all you need to know about the institutional media.
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December 21st, 2010 at 1:33 am
You knuckleheads who are praising the work of this mercenary should realize that he comitted criminal acts in prosecuting a criminal war on an innocent people. His force was useful to the war mongering government leadership of the Republican Party who needed a secretive force of Black Shirts who could do their bidding clandestinely and without scrutiny of the American public. Well, the jig is up and we`re coming after you. So, run you coward so that you don`t have to face the wrath of the People whose laws you abused. And just in case you haven`t figured it out, there is no place to hide. You won`t find any redneck sanctuaries in the Middle East. You are a dead man walking. It`s just a matter of time. Now we can see you for what you really are. A Big Bitch without a gun. Take your ass back to South Carolina and get a real job, Bitch, until Justice comes for you.
Amen and Amen, I pray!
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bl Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Malcomb—There was no criminal war–Congress approved the invasion–aimed at US’s right to protect itself from Saddam Hussein. SH violated the terms of right to UN inspections, not the US.
Sorry if you don’t feel that the 5,000 Iraqui citizens killed by a chemical missle for retribution of a failed asassination on SH were innocent. SH was a brutal murderer, in control of 22 million innocent people.
You just never stop and think about the facts. Just ramble on with Democrat, Liberal drivel, but dis-regard the facts. Like in Vietnam. Lets pull out, this is not a justified war. Then millions of South Vietnamese were slaughtered….Oh well…..no biggie right??
And you didn’t even comment on Democrat Hillary Clinton, Sec. of State hiring an “private army” of 7,000 private security contractor personnel to maintain security in the 210 acre US Embassy in Baghdad. Oh no, its only Republicans bad, Democrats good. You’re just a young kid right? Keep studying. You will eventually see the world is full of bad dictators, who murder, rape, torture, abuse their citizens, without consequences. Except for Mr. Hussein.
Study up on North Korea, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Pakistan, Taliban in Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan, Zimbawe, Tunisia, Burma, China, almost all of Africa, Egypt, Somalia…..I could go on, but i won’t. Watch the movie “Hotel Rwanda” for a taste of what life is like when you’re waiting for the UN to come in to save you from the bad guys…..
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
What are you a lawyer, he hasn’t been charged with a thing and until you get your cowardly ass off the sofa and try some danger your opinion is just like what you wrote….Shit!!!!
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December 21st, 2010 at 5:10 am
Erik Prince will rot in a hell of his own creation, oh wait he is going to be living in Dubai, that should suffice.
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December 21st, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I love the fanboys here who are valiantly defending this infatilest. This man believes that he has the right to murder civilians an imperil the American war effort. Really this suggests that he suffers from piossible mental problems and should be kept somewhere where he can no longer threaten the lives of others. Also note his calling to John Galt a man who let the world burn and millions die to get what he wanted. Thats not a patriot thats a sociopath.
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December 23rd, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Private Military Contractors can be every bit, or more, professional than any government-sanctioned soldier on earth. However, there is a problem when constantly trained special forces personnel, now off the government leash, suffer from a serious need to ‘get in the show’ just so they can whup ass with real bullets.
And that’s classic Eric Prince. Theoretically he could have forged a professional, efficient mercenary force – and too bad if he hates the term mercenary because that’s exactly what he is – but Prince, like most Christian ‘conservative’ kneejerk thinkers, went cowboy Rambo, winged it on the organization and personnel end, and ended up in a raging civil war we had no business being in, with too many trigger-happy spraydown artists.
He got investigated, and prosecuted, and remains ‘persecuted’ for perfectly good reasons.
So waaaah, he’ll ‘go Galt’ in true Randian retard fashion, taking daddy’s money and sulking in Abu Dhabi. But surprise! No one will miss him except a half handful of incompetent CIA spooks looking for plausible deniabiity. His absence, and Blackwater’s, will make zero difference. So much for self-styled heroes.
Unfortunately, however, I suspect Prince won’t actually retire. He’ll assume he’s needed, when actually his egomania just needs to meddle in world affairs and oil whore colonialism, shooting at little brown targets who just want us to freaking leave their country.
Ironically, America doesn’t need out-of-control jarheads like Blackwater to fight terrorism or protect our free-dumbs; We just need actual border security.
In summary: What a whiny little rich boy buffoon. Good riddance Bubbah.
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March 2nd, 2011 at 10:20 pm
How can any of us know what really happened. There is truly 3 sides to every story. To place this near religion is wrong. To say OIF is illegal is stupid. A lot of people profit from war to include politicians who send soldiers into harms way. Don’t taint the Operators that worked for Blackwater or the other security companies.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
You are to nice to the leftwing, bed wetting, thumb sucking, tofu farters my friend, psychological causes of political madness is how I define them. They will and cannot be covinced by the facts and the truth has no bearing, they truly are a waste of time and effort. I regret to my grave they benefited from my service to this great nation. Like history has shown they are destroyers of great nations not builders.
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March 4th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Wow! Libutards hate this site. Good article. Good site. In my Favorites now! Shows the hipocracy of our politicians who bureaucrats who, like the libutard commenters here, let guys like Prince do their fighting and fu*king for them. It’s a shame these wimps will never know what it is like to live.
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March 4th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Prince is an American Hero. We need more like him and less like this current group running the CIA. Good luck to him.
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March 6th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I have a problem with Prince and Blackwater. First off he painted himself as a big patriot, doing this for the country. He was already loaded financially, he could have accepted $1 for his services like real patriot military contractors did years before him in WWII. Secondly he was sucking talent and personnel out of our special operations community in order to stock his private army. The tax payers were investing millions in these men- Army SF, Ranger, Delta, Navy SEAL, AF PJ, etc… and he was getting a sweet deal when their service was up and they went Blackwater. The lure was strong- the money and increased freedom was great, at tax payers expense. There is the moral situation regarding hiring mercenaries. You can call it whatever you want, security, private operators, whatever, but the fact remains Blackwater and Prince’s vision was a private professional small force of mercenaries. If you think that’s down with everything it means to be American, our spirit, our beliefs, etc you’re flat out fucking wrong. When democracies go to war it requires a special trust and commitment between the government and the citizenry. Blackwater flubbed that relationship. I haven’t even talked about the moral issues between soldiers, marines, etc having to see these guys parading around Iraq knowing they have a lot more freedom, make TONs more money, etc. I spent 5 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and got out an O-3. I served. I earned the right to say whatever I want about Blackwater. Military contractors, sure to an extent, I can live with them. But when military contractors started becoming mercenaries, which is what Blackwater was, I say fuck no.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Have you ever heard of capitaism Derek, if you do it right you get richer. Hopefully you’ll get it right someday, good luck.
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Frank Robbins Reply:
June 23rd, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I would really like to hear more about your vision of morality and warfare. From what I read here it would appear you are the type of officer who leads from behind in fear of a stray shot from your fire support team.
An O-3 after 5 years, wow the wonder of it all. That would be the enlisted equivalent of being a private first class after 5 years, which usually results in discharge for lack of trying. I see that you have quit the military, did you get paid during that time? I think it is time for us to get a refund!
I would bet you were the type of moral officer that would rather see his troops line up in a straight line in front of the enemy to ensure that they get as good of chance to shoot yours as you get to shoot theirs, while standing on the hill in the rear with binoculars with a wry smile on your face.
Morality my ass…I’d bet you joined on the college option, not the patriotic option. Now that you are out of the military, what exactly are you doing to support those on active duty in your current job or life style? Do you greet the wounded when they arive at the airport, do you randomly walk up to an enlisted person to thank him or her for serving? Sure you do buddy, it probably never occured to you to do so!
If you are basing your opinions on the “job” you did for the military in the past, and are currently badmouthing others who serve after discharge by joining another group with the balls to be active after the fact, you are truly Americas worst enemy. The hidden enemy within!!
What you need mister, is a good, old fashioned, bitch slapping to re-adjust the physiological capacities within yourself that provide input for perception of reality.
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Cody Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Maybe if the government actually payed there special force guys anywhere close to what they are worth they wouldnt all be jumping at the chance to go blackwater.
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March 6th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I was with bw in iraq, and never witnessed anything illegal. State dept was up bw ass every second ensuring compliance. Bw has had the reputation that if u screw up, you are out. And I saw it many times, many idiots getting the boot for being dumb asses. I loved my time downrange, I am proud to have served with many great guys, and anyone who believes all that mercenary bs and criminal crap is ignorant and plain stupid. Was there mistakes? Maybe. But the diplomatic mission supported by bw has been nothing less than competent and professional. Don’t believe the hype.
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March 6th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Mr. Prince built a team that did the work that needed doing. Since it was “war work”, any expectation of it being pretty or perfect is naive. My bottom line is that Americans were kept safe and alive by the effort. Way to go Erik Prince.
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March 6th, 2011 at 9:36 pm
As a active duty military person I personally take my hat off to Mr. Prince. It is with great shame that Xe has been put in the lime light. I wish you the best of luck in your new Energy venture and wish the best to your family. You sir are a true American and aa great American at that.
Doc
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March 6th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Many here have no understanding of military history. One need only look to the American Revolutionary, Civil and Spanish American wars to find mercenaries hired by our government. Were you aware that the government hired the NY Mafia to protect our eastern sea ports during WWII? It appears Mr. Prince played loose and fast, but it was George Bush, not Mr. Prince to took us to war in the Middle East. One thing Mr. Prince certainly has correct is that one cannot trust government.
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H. Davis Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
A merc is a person who sells himself to the highest bider of a foriegn nation, they worked for America, they are not mercs. If they are so is our entire military.
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JC Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:06 am
If you get paid at least six figures to fight a war, you’re something other than a patriot.
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CW Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Thats a load of bull, they arent hiring a bunch of joe blow army grunts, the goverment doesnt pay there special forces anything close to what they are worth, blackwater does. Shouldnt be hard to figure out why if you had the choice of doing close to the same thing, in the same countries, only for 3 times the pay, I dont think it makes you unpatriotic to choose the better paying option over the completely underpaid option.
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March 6th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
I just hope that no matter how fed up Mr. Blackwater is of the US that he doesn’t do something in the UAE that he used to take granted in the US. In the UAE, officials will arrest you even if you kiss in public. I guess I’d be fed up with the US too—if I were a sexless virgin! What a loser!!
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March 6th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Mercenary is someone hired and paid by a foreign government to serve said government regardless of political or idealistic views. We are as much mercenaries as the thousands of US Troops in Korea stationed there on a regular basis to prevent the north from invading. Why don’t we call the troops in Korea, Germany, or Japan mercenaries? The US government pays their checks and guess what, they provide the money to pay ours as well. When people call us mercenaries they truly show their stupidity in the matter. People of simple mindedness (most likely liberals) have to use the term mercenary because it’s such a negative connotation even though it doesn’t apply. It’s laughable at this point. I work with former SF, Marines, and Rangers. We are doing things in our field of expertise and getting paid more than what we got in the military. Guess what, that’s just smart. Maybe we should have stayed in the military and got paid less. That would make sense. Think about this, instead of complaining that the PMCs are sapping talent from the military maybe you should complain about the lazy spineless fucks that don’t even join. No you can’t do that because that would encompass most of the useless liberals out there. That is except the ones that join the army for a ride through college only to complain when it finally comes time to fight. Most people who comment on BW have no idea what they are talking about. My father met an army guy that said he had no positive opinions about BW and that they were always bailing them out. First off, he was probably just trying to look cool. Secondly, if BW was in a shitty situation, it was because some stupid Dept of State college kid wanted to visit some ministry in the middle of bad guy land despite the fact that an IED was found 2 blocks away the day before. Contractors don’t go around looking for fights. We are out everywhere because some moron from the embassy needs to have dinner with Ahkmed and talk about the millions of dollars he needs to keep the electricity in the city running.
I was with BW up untill they left Baghdad. It’s a business. It’s not a humanitarian organization. I can honestly say they treated me the best out of all the others I have been with up till they lost the contract. Then we were thrown to the wolves but that’s business. If people are mad that a business is successful then they have been listening to too much Obama crap and should move to Russia.
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March 13th, 2011 at 7:19 am
Mr. Prince, thank you for your service and vision. You served your country and pioneered an industry that will allow the U.S. to continue to be successful into the 21st Century and beyond. The great thing about our country and its people is that in times of crisis we have individuals who are able to rise to the occasion and help the rest of us out through creativity and ingenuity. Unfortunately it also brings haters out of the woodwork. Thanks again for all you’ve done and good luck with your future endeavors. Fair winds and following seas.
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June 1st, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I read this piece, and am amazed you would back a racist like Prince…I guess you would say Hitler, and Stalin were your hero’s as well, I am a Vet of the Military…..Eric prince(Of darkness)is a extremist individual, no different than the KKK or the Aryan Nation. The reason he moved to UAE was due to the fact of The war crimes his group committed…
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November 14th, 2011 at 9:35 am
One thing I noticed is that liberals are ready to pounce on Blackwater but won’t do it for Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration, for doing exactly the same thing: providing PRIVATE security. Except, Mrs. Clinton does it on a larger scale. Typical liberal hypocrisy and the non sense double standards. Where is the liberal complains about using SEALS to kill Bin Laden?….or using the U.S. Military to kill enemy combatants?..Where is CODE PINK protesting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Libya?
If Prince would be tried for war “crimes”, where are the liberals charging Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity? How about the Communist Chinese rolling tanks over peaceful, pro Democracy students in Tiananmen Square?
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JC Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:45 am
Hey, I’m for holding the Dems responsible as well. As for the Chinese Communists, you’ll have to capture them first.
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