A largely untold facet of the war on terror is the widespread outsourcing of military tasks to private mercenary companies. Accountable neither to the citizenry nor to standard military legal codes, these largely unregulated corporate armies are being entrusted with ever-greater responsibilities on behalf of the nation.
Meet Blackwater USA, the world’s most secretive, powerful, and fastest growing private army on the planet. Founded by fundamentalist Christian megamillionaire Erik Prince, the scion of a conservative dynasty that bankrolls extreme-right-wing causes, this company of soldiers is now being sent “to the front lines of a global battle, waged largely on Muslim lands, that an evangelical President whom Prince helped put in the White House has boldly defined as a ‘crusade’.”
Ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to Washington, D.C., where they are hailed as heroes, this is the dark story of Blackwater’s rise to power.
Reviews
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The dark, largely unknown, story of Blackwater, the world's most secretive, powerful, and fastest growing private army, is chillingly told in Jeremy Scahill's exposé. Fact by fact, Scahill demonstrates the widespread outsourcing of military tasks to private companies bankrolled by right-wing millionaire Eric Prince, the scion of a conservative dynasty (founded, ironically, on the invention of the lighted car visor and the car cup-holder). Tom Weiner has precise diction and a rumbling, authoritative delivery. Listeners might detect a slight jarring note when his masculine voice attempts women's voices, but nothing detracts from the saga of self-regulated profiteering armies being entrusted with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. lives. A.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
New York Times Book Review...
“A crackling expose.”
About the Author
Jeremy Scahill is an unembedded, international journalist. He is a correspondent for the national radio and television show Democracy Now! and a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine. He lives in Brooklyn.
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