by Evan Hill
November 22,
2013 7:22PM ET
An unapologetic Erik
Prince, founder of the widely criticized mercenary firm Blackwater, speaks out
PHILADELPHIA – "Erik Prince – the
founder of the private security firm once known as Blackwater – embarked on a
publicity tour here on Friday, defending mercenaries as intrinsic to the birth
of the United States and lashing out at the federal government that he believes
unfairly persecuted him.
In a talk at the Free Library of
Philadelphia to promote his new book, "Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story
of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror," Prince seemed
uninterested in image rehabilitating, preferring instead a dose of bravado and
score-settling."
MORE AT:
What do Eric Prince and Treme have in common?
This:
Rachel Tabachnick
Mon May 16, 2011 at 12:30:25 PM EST
Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy
DeVos, Building Mercenary Army in UAE
"The Prince and DeVos families are
at the intersection of radical free market
privatization and the Religious
Right, and have made an enormous impact on the current political atmosphere.
Erik Prince played a significant role in privatizing military functions while
his older sister Betsy is at the helm of a movement to privatize public
schools. The billionaire brother/sister duo are also vice presidents of their
parents' foundation which is one of the major funders of Focus on Family and
Family Research Council and array of missionary organizations and right-wing
think tanks.
The Sunday New York Times reported
that Erik Prince, founder and former owner of Blackwater (now XE), is building
a "secret desert force" of 800 non-Muslim foreign mercenaries for the
United Arab Emirates. Blackwater "collected billions of dollars in
security contracts from the U.S. government," but Prince sold the company
and moved to Abu Dhabi in wake of legal troubles. Over the last decade, as
Prince has built private armies funded with tax dollars, his older sister Betsy
DeVos has been leading a campaign to privatize education but fund it with tax
dollars. Her organizations have also run into legal troubles, including a $5.2
million fine in Ohio for breaking campaign finance laws. The Prince and DeVos
families are at the intersection of radical free market privatization and the
Religious Right, and have made an enormous impact on the current political
atmosphere."
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By Don Bauder, August 4, 2009
"Erik Prince, head of mercenary firm
Blackwater, views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating
Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," two former employees said
in a sworn statement to a Virginia court filed Monday, according to news
services."
MORE AT::
FOR MORE ABOUT TREME ON HBO:
http://www.hbo.com/#/treme/index.html
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