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The
War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings & Torture |
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Interview with Suzanne Simons |
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Author of “Master of War - Blackwater
USA’s Erik Prince & the Business of War” |
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On the occasion of the publication of her book Master
of War: Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War, Suzanne
Simons has granted me a written interview on the subject of Blackwater and
Erik Prince. More information about the book and Ms. Simons can be found at
the end of the interview. Martin Ottmann, Webmaster Blackwater & Erik Prince Since you started
your research on Blackwater, how has your picture of the organization
changed? How did you view Blackwater before, how do you see it now? I was very curious about the company and the people
who ran it at first because of their refusal to let people in, and later
because I wanted to understand why, if they really were as terrible as some
writers and bloggers were portraying them, were they continuing to get
massive government contracts? The biggest change is that now I understand a
lot of the reasons why they were so secretive, as Erik Prince has never
sought public exposure, at least not until things started going terribly
wrong with the company. His personality dictated the culture of the entire
company. How would you characterize
Erik Prince as an individual, as a business owner, as a political person and
as a religious person? Erik Prince is a very driven, very motivated man
who, like his father, is almost obsessed with looking for business
opportunities. I think he realizes now that mistakes were made when it came
to running his business, and I know for a fact that others who were close to
him are convinced that big mistakes were made. Politically and religiously he
has strong beliefs, but I didn't see that those had an impact on the company
in the way that some have alleged. From all of the people I talked with at
all levels of the company, I don't believe that his religious beliefs made a
big difference in how he ran his business, though his political friends
certainly came in handy and certainly allowed him access that others might
not have gotten. Is Blackwater
following a religious doctrine? In which way have Erik Prince's religious
beliefs shaped Blackwater as an organization? I don't believe that Blackwater followed a religious
doctrine. I think that Prince may have had his own ideas about what he thinks
is right/wrong, but it wasn't Prince's religious beliefs that shaped the
company as much as his overall personality. Mercenary troops
have existed for centuries. When you look back in history, can you find an
historic example for the kind of organization that can be compared to
Blackwater? Which group or organization would come close to Blackwater in
your opinion? Please explain you choice. Nothing comes to mind, but yes, you're right, groups
like this have existed for centuries. But this is the first time we've seen
them used this extensively by the U.S. government. And it doesn't appear that
the use of contractors will go away anytime soon. What does the
future hold for Blackwater/Xe in your opinion? What will become of the other
mercenary groups within the next 50 years? I think these groups are here to stay. Blackwater/Xe
has a tough road ahead to be competitive among some of the larger companies
now, mainly because of the loss of their work in Iraq. In general, as an
industry, I hope that the US government is able to offer better oversight and
hold contractors accountable for their actions. There are currently efforts
underway to get us there. I hope they work. The September 16
Killings Does any
estimation or internal statistic (within Blackwater) exist about the number
of incidents, which involved Blackwater shooting and killing Iraqi civilians
- since they came to Iraq? To my understanding, the company is required to
report every incident of the use of force.
Court documents
and press articles have stated that Blackwater operatives confiscated weapons
of insurgents, made them their own and then finally used them in shootings
with civilians or insurgents. Was this a standard practice? What was the
reason for this practice? Do they do this in order to cover their tracks in
advance? I'm familiar with the allegations that the company
was doing this. Prince has denied it. This allegation, like much of the
reporting surrounding this company, comes down to he said/she said. The
difficult part is finding proof. After September
16, Blackwater tried to make disappear the weapons that they had used in the
killings. Operatives also tampered with the trucks used in the killings. Do
you know who ordered the cover-up? How high in the organization was it known
that a cover-up took place? Blackwater admits to repairing damaged vehicles before
the investigation was over. They say they had the permission of the State
Department to do so. The State Department offered no comment. There have
certainly been incidents in the past when Blackwater contractors broke the
rules, I detail them in my book. Do you think that
the US government will prosecute anyone from Blackwater for obstruction of
justice with regards to the September 16-cover-up? Do you know if there is
still an active investigation going on? I don't believe there will be any charges stemming
from September 16th against the company. Prosecutors made that
pretty clear when they announced the charges against the former Blackwater
employees (another guard who was there that day is cooperating with prosecutors
in that investigation). I think if there will be charges against the company
(and prosecutors won't comment on it) they would be more likely to stem from
export violations. Gunrunning According to two
articles in the press, Blackwater operatives were involved in the smuggling
of weapons into Iraq. Was this an widespread activity within Blackwater or
were only a few individuals involved in the gunrunning? Is there a link
between the exportation of insurgents' weapons into the US, as seen in the
case of John Houston & Michael Henson, and the importation of US weapons
into Iraq? Are these two activities interrelated? There were individuals who were conducting illegal
activity with weapons and they were fired from the company and prosecuted. I
don't know of any widespread activity involving gunrunning. Information
on the author by HarperCollins: Suzanne Simons is a veteran CNN producer and writer
who managed to gain the cooperation of Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder and
owner. She has spent many months interviewing Prince and his top lieutenants;
traveling to the Middle East and Afghanistan with him; getting to know many
of the company's contract employees and their families; and interviewing
their government contacts and clients. The result is Master
of War: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War - the first
book written from the inside, showing how the company rose so meteorically
during the Bush era; how it was managed by Prince and one top aide; and how,
despite its dramatic fall from grace in Iraq, the company is still deeply
involved in Afghanistan and many other countries around the world. |
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