Blackwater Founder’s ‘Disturbing’ Plan To Privatize Afghan War Gains Ground

Erik Prince appears eager to capitalize on conflict within the Trump administration, and his recent moves indicate that he sees a significant business opportunity in Afghanistan.

Jake Johnson
By Jake Johnson
Blackwater founder Erik Prince testifies before a House committee examining the mission and performance of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Oct. 2, 2007. (Susan Walsh/AP)

As President Donald Trump vents his frustration with the United States' "losing" strategy in Afghanistan, the "notorious mercenary" and Blackwater founder Erik Prince has seized the moment to offer his favored alternative: privatize the war. According to a report by Katrina Manson of the Financial Times on Monday, Prince has drafted a

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White House Hires Billionaire War Profiteers To Aid In War Planning

Blackwater founder Erik Prince and billionaire Stephen Feinberg reportedly “recruited” for war planning.

Jake Johnson
By Jake Johnson
Blackwater founder Erik Prince testifies before a House committee examining the mission and performance of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Oct. 2, 2007. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Two of President Donald Trump's closest aides have reportedly solicited advice from two wealthy private military contractors — Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, and Stephen Feinberg, the billionaire owner of DynCorp International—on how to proceed with the sixteen-year-long war in Afghanistan. According to the New York Times, White House Chief

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Blackwater Guards Face Long Prison Sentences For Iraq Shootings

The men were charged in the deaths of 14 Iraqis at Nisoor Square, a crowded traffic circle in downtown Baghdad. The killings caused an international uproar, and the men were convicted in October after a legal fight that spanned years.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
Blackwater guards, from left, Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Nicholas Slatten. A years-long legal fight over a deadly mass shooting of civilians in an Iraq war zone reaches its reckoning point, when four former Blackwater security guards are sentenced for the rampage. Three of the guards, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough, face mandatory decades-long sentences because of firearms convictions. A fourth, Nicholas Slatten, faces a penalty of life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder.

Blackwater guards, from left, Dustin Heard, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Nicholas Slatten. A years-long legal fight over a deadly mass shooting of civilians in an Iraq war zone reaches its reckoning point, when four former Blackwater security guards are sentenced for the rampage. Three of the guards, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough,

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Profits Soar As Pentagon Leans On Private Corporations For Special Ops

New research shows how US Special Operations Command is outsourcing many of its most sensitive information activities, including interrogation, drone and psychological operations

Jon Queally
By Jon Queally

Private military contractors are reaping billions of dollars in profitable rewards from the U.S. government's global network of clandestine counter-terrorism and other overseas operations, according to a new report that examines the high-levels of integration between for-profit corporations and the Pentagon's global military and surveillance

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US Contractors Will Replace ‘Boots On The Ground’ In Iraq

Pentagon Notice Asks for Contractors Willing to Work Long-Term in Iraq.

Jason Ditz
By Jason Ditz

Keeping the size of the official military deployment into Iraq to a relative minimum appears to be a goal that the Pentagon has in mind, with the Obama Administration adding troops in small numbers but continuing to insist there isn’t going to be a ground war, or that at the very least US troops won’t be fighting in it. Still, that doesn’t mean

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