Erik Prince testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on security contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in Washington October 2, 2007. Larry Downing, Reuters
The Independent: Exclusive: Blackwater founder's plan to privatise America’s $76bn, 17-year war in Afghanistan
In a rare interview, Erik Prince speaks in depth about his pitch to Trump and Pompeo to slash costs by shifting military operations to an international team of 'contractors'
Donald Trump is expected to ask European countries at this week’s Nato summit, one of the most crucial and contentious in the history of the alliance, to step up and contribute more troops for the war in Afghanistan.
Other member states, already facing an onslaught from the US president over their shortfalls in defence spending, and facing the threat of funding cuts, are likely to acquiesce. Britain, for example, is expected to double the size of its force to just over 1,200.
But Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, probably the most well-known private security company in the world, is adamant that increasing troops in Afghanistan is the worst thing the United State’s allies can do.
Read more ....
Update: Could the $76 Billion Per Year U.S. War in Afghanistan Be Privatized? (Jason Lemon, Newsweek)
WNU Editor: There are already 30,000 contractors in Afghanistan .... I just do not see how privatising the conflict can change the course of the war when over 100,000 combat soldiers could not a few years back.
2 comments:
This is -not- about changing the course of war.. this is about making it as easy to manage as possible.. the US has no problem staying there for another decade or two, they just don't want to bother with the mess.. easier with private contractors.. despicable? sure.. but easier
WNU Editor; this is a big step for Humanity, not to say this has not been done, but these guys would run the conflict differently and not have the same ROE as nation states. They would be like a finer knife vs a blunter one. In this fight; I think this would have a positive affect. However, in the end, this still is an intractable situation and the conflict will continue for ever this way.
Post a Comment