By Jake Johnson
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 proposal—dated August 2017—that would hand the longest war in American history over to a private “band of experienced sergeants,” who would fight alongside U.S.-trained Afghan forces.
Prince, Manson writes, “proposes a two-year plan for fewer than 5,000 global guns for hire and under 100 aircraft, bringing the total cost of the U.S. effort to turn round a failing war to less than $10 billion a year.
In an op-ed for USA Today published Monday, Prince elaborated on his war plan, which Manson notes would be very similar to his approach in Iraq, where he had significant influence on U.S. policy.
Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, argues that Trump should “restructure” the war—a process he suggests would resemble “bankruptcy reorganization”—by “aligning U.S. efforts under a presidential envoy,” which in a previous op-ed he called a “viceroy.”
Following the publication of his most recent piece, Prince appeared on CNN and noted that Steven Bannon, “some folks” at the National Security Council, and “quite a few” members of Congress have been receptive to his plan to privatize the war. The Financial Times further noted that “Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo visited Afghanistan last week to assess U.S. strategy and in part to consider how Prince’s proposal might fit into it.”
Critics have warned that while Prince’s plan may save money, it will potentially open the door to deadly abuses by unaccountable forces, like those seen in Iraq.
“If contractors are replacing soldiers and they are on the frontline they could kill or be killed, there could be kidnaps or insider attacks—what happens if they commit a crime or bodies have to be sent back; there would be a large number of legal complications,” one official told the Financial Times.
Ronald Neumann, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007, echoed these concerns in an interview with the Navy Times.
“There’s a bad record of contractors and human rights abuses,” Neumann said. “There’s no legal structure to govern this.”
Others have offered a more scathing assessment of Prince’s proposals, likening them to “literal colonialism” and arguing that the plan is primarily driven by his desire to profit from the 16-year conflict.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Trump recently fumed in a meeting with generals and high-ranking national security officials that the U.S. is not “winning” the war. He also complained that businesses are not working quickly enough to secure a share of Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth, which has been valued at around $1 trillion.
Prince appears eager to capitalize on the strategic conflict within the administration, and his recent moves indicate that he sees a significant business opportunity in Afghanistan.
Last week, the Military Times reported that Prince submitted a “business proposal” to the Afghan government, which included a plan to supplement the country’s military capacities with a “private air force.”
“The aircraft offered in the proposal includes fixed-wing planes, attack helicopters, and drones capable of providing close-air support to maneuvering ground forces,” the Military Times reported after viewing a draft of the plan.
Prince’s plan also reportedly includes the use of “an iPhone application called Safe Strike,” which is presented as a “tool for air tactical controllers to safely and accurately call in precision airstrikes or indirect fire.”
A private air force and bombing app! From the people who brought you blackwater; an even more disturbing idea. https://t.co/iotWnoKiYA
— Cal Perry (@CalNBC) August 3, 2017
By Jake Johnson / Creative Commons / Common Dreams / Report a typo
That means that war will go on until the U.S. is “winning”…..
Wonderful !
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Sadly, it’s worse than that, Crocodile. This is the plan for the future, everywhere. Private contractors aka mercenaries with even less accountability and less transparency than nation state militaries.
Chinese now has a huge investment interest in Africa. Financial Times reported last China had more mercenary contractors in Africa (3200) and growing, compared to 2600 military troops primarily in the Sudan fighting ‘terrorists’ under the banner of the UN Blue Helmets.
The Silk Road project (a United Nation UNCTAD program to promote regionalism) also heavily features private security elements and Erik Prince has been training these types of mercenaries in China for a number of years now.
Russia sent 500 mercenary contractors to Syria, approximately the same number that fought in the Ukraine for Russia’s interests. UAE hired mercenaries from S. America to fight in Yemen. In Somalia, Qatar has a bevy of mercenaries protecting projects with Dutch Oil Shell as they extract Somalia’s oil (and Trump sent in US troops in to help). I imagine the situation is more widespread than I’m aware of. I’d like to find info such the image below for western nations and other organizations besides those being overseen by Erik Prince. It all smacks of Smedley Butler’s experience, but on a mammoth scale. It’s overwhelming.
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There is no “war”, just ‘officially’ sanctioned theft and murder orchestrated by the Global Central Banking system totally focused on enriching and empowering themselves. They generate endless propaganda to terrorize the people; make everyone hate and fear each other then call it “war” and reap their profits. It’s actually an old game but so successful it’s played over and over. See: “War is a Racket”.
MI-6 and the CIA are the Lords of the international drug trade. What are “we” doing in Afghanistan? The Global Central Banking system is using the U.S. military to guard the poppy fields for its lucrative drug trade. The banks own world governments and therefore the “laws” and the military might of each country. There is no “war”; it a drug business providing about $1 TRILLION per year in profits for the Globalists and their central banks. Since the People are beginning to grumble, this mercenary minion of the globalists is simply using another smoke screen to keep Americans paying for it. The entire “war on terror” [kicked off by the inside job of 9/11] is smoke and mirrors for the gullible public as the globalist banks launch one plundering, genocidal war of conquest after the other. “We” brought so much “democracy” to Libya, they now have open air slave markets and the country is destroyed. The banks wanted Libya’s gold, oil/mineral wealth, and to prop up the dollar a bit longer. There is a trail of documentation and testimony but the people must be inspired to do some research into reality.
The Shabbos Goi in D.C. will do whatever is “ordered” of them to protect all that “gold” in the poppy fields. Now the Kosher Pharmaceutical companies are awash with cheap Heroin to fuel the opioid epidemic here in Sewer Nation and aren’t going to let THAT be taken away again by the “evil” Taliban who had it down to a fraction of what it was before “our boys” began guard duty over it….with OUR MONEY/BLOOD.
I can’t recall the name of the OSS/CIA snake who helped form MOSSAD after the second Bankers’ war.
William J. (Wild Bill) Donovan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan
I don’t know if the names matter…. it’s the Global Central Banking structure and their “created out of thin air” fake “money” that is the overwhelming problem. Educate the people about what money is; gold and silver, and what it is not; worthless pieces of paper and digits in a computer; i.e. debt. This fake “money” is the biggest CON ever in the history of humanity and the foundation of all the evil and destruction we see. There is no “national debt”. It’s all a hoax. To whom is this debt owed? The private banking corporation we call the Federal Reserve. Where did the Fed get $20TRILLION? Like all banks, from their magic computers; that’s the CON; it isn’t “money”. End fake “money” and it’s game over for the banks. Read “The History of Money” at xat, “Anyone Can Understand the Global Central Banking System” and watch the director’s cut of “Freedom to Fascism” by Aaron Russo…. then tell all your friends. Honest money; no personal income or personal property taxes, ever. That’s the way out.
Great comment and Aaron Russo was right over the target. He sensed what TPTB were creating and in his documentary and interviews he emphasized the tracking, chipping, constant monitoring of a police state that could turn off your chip anytime a person is ‘disobedient’ or a thought criminal. Now we know it to be global Technocracy, a specific plan for totalitarian global governance and ALL nations are implementing it now under the banner of UN Agenda 2030. To include China, Russia, and Iran. The only exception might be N. Korea, the wild card boogeyman.
He didn’t have to sense, David Rockefeller told him everything, as he invited him to join. We need to force out Governments into issuing Sovereign money, interest free, get rid of the Rothschild usury system of the Central Banks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAaPjqdbgQ&feature=youtu.be
Alice, who just commented correctly concerning our present status as a rogue nation seeking to loot and plunder the world on behalf of the elites, needs only to call attention to the part of the article where the fact that Trump, as well as others, are lamenting the fact that, “businesses are not working quickly enough to secure a share of Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth”. The drug money finances the rogue state whose intelligence service and military serve only the interests of the banksters, their corporate cronies, and the New World Order elites that George H. W. Bush spoke so effusively about during and after the so-called first gulf war. The UNITED STATES, INC. is not a republic, nor is it a democracy. The de facto government of this rogue nation is actually a criminal enterprise. It is a criminal enterprise on a scale never before seen in all of recorded history. Nothing, no nation, no empire, in all of the depravity of human history comes close to having been as utterly evil and depraved as are those who really directing the country have now become. Further, there has never been a nation of people so indifferent to, and ignorant of, their situation as are the American people. The German people under Hitler came close, but we now put them to shame. Perhaps fortunately, our fate will ultimately be far worse than that of the German people immediately after World War II.
Not making excuses for apathy, but those who try to wake up the people are typically assassinated once they begin to get traction.
The fate of a free humanity depends on more people understanding what the endgame is.
You are quite correct. Those who dream of one day restoring the constitutional republic that at least partially existed until just before the start of armed hostilities in the War of Secession generally realize now that this will be their lot should it even begin to show signs of success. I use the word dream with regard to such people, or groups of people, because there is now no possibility of reestablishing any form of democratic government; or of arresting the decline of western civilization. (If you could call it “civilized”) Thanks to over 130 years of compulsory public schooling, there are very few among us here who have any idea about what a republic is, or what liberty is about, either.
Sad state of affairs and while I fully agree, I also am cognizant of the effects of learned helplessness. IF we could get people on a massive scale to see how they are being controlled a large grassroots movement could create the type of consciousness shift we need. Alas, our best window of opportunity, in the first five years or so after 9/11, has passed. Never say never, though. There are forces greater than ourselves at work and that may be as simple as entropy working to unwind megalomania hubris.
I completely agree; I believe the Trump landslide against ‘business as usual” was the real first step in the demonstration of growing awareness by the general public…
I sure hope this realization gets enlightened traction, Alice, while we still have access to a fairly open internet.
Perhaps in recent times the first sign a significant consciousness shift was stirring was the rise of the Tea Party which became quickly infiltrated and relentlessly attacked. Next were the folks in Occupy, many of whom were exposed to a Libertarian-minded view on the history of global banking oligarchs. When an awakening began stirring in Occupy the Empire’s storm troopers descended upon them en masse. It’s as though there is an enlightened consciousness desperately wanting to surface.
I agree. I also believe much of the awakening is already accomplished in the US but not fully expressed. There is tremendous frustration bubbling under the surface. The Globalists know immediately whenever anyone; or any group, is working against them and, as you correctly point out, they are quick to infiltrate and/or crush those who actively oppose them. Whatever would succeed against the globalists will need to be huge. btw… they cannot shut down the net and continue to do business. That’s why there is so much “controlled opposition” and alternative “fake news”. They are working overtime to create as much confusion as possible. Many people are “expert” oriented and do not actually process information themselves. When they have conflicting “experts” they throw up their hands and wonder who to believe. This is very distressing to me. I have found that even when I can simplify, condense and hyperlink information, many cannot grasp it or cannot cope with it.
I completely agree. You definitely get it! I also get frustrated when people surrender their critical thinking to ‘experts’, esp. knowing how much they bend to groupthink and top down memes.
Your last comment was excellent and it looks like it went to moderation.
I wanted to tip you off regarding N. Korea and its resources that the new NWO economic paradigm authoritarian Technocracy is designed to emphasize the pooling of ALL resources, globally, though primarily through regional governance structures. These resources are to be “redistributed” as the technocrats serving the global fascists see fit and will do away with currency as we know it, gradually shifting to energy credits. Most of the final push for this paradigm is being done under the banner of UN Agenda 2030 – being implementing FAST in every nation except N. Korea, AFAIK. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if N.Korea’s ruling power isn’t somehow tied to puppet strings. Recall it was B. Clinton who helped NK establish nuclear reactors. You’re absolutely correct about geopolitical Kabuki theater being like the domestic version. That’s what “alt” refuses to flesh out, which may be why your comment isn’t visible.
Interesting… I’ve been blabbering away so much I didn’t notice my comment wasn’t there. Nice catch. Censorship even on Activist Post? Disappointing. I’ll restate: there is a false dichotomy of east vs west which resembles the same mind numbing propaganda of left vs right or lib vs conservative in DC. They are all in it together and simply performing for affect. The bottom line? As always: follow the money.
There is enormous frustration regarding sharing information. I wouldn’t waste time trying to enlighten anyone who is resistant. It has been said people are too “stupid” to understand but more often than not, I find they are scared. They have a defensive reaction; denial, because they cannot begin to imagine how to cope with all this. You are very correct in the point you made however, no “leader” will be allowed to emerge as they are routinely assassinated. The only way these problems can be resolved is person to person… maybe we can start a meme.
I’m a long time 9/11 Truth activist and I’ve come across many people who were presented solid information demonstrating 9/11 was a false flag and they shut down or became angry in full cognitive dissonance. Later when they calmed down, sometimes years later, they realized the official story made no sense and they did a complete 180 degree turn to join the truth movement. This is true for the gentleman who founded the Firefighters for 9/11 Truth organization. He initially reacted with intense anger when a friend explained to him 9/11 was a false flag. We do what we can with kindness, compassion, and sincerity. Sometimes it works. We can’t be afraid to try. Though, I know exactly where you’re coming from, Alice, some people absolutely refuse to open their minds.
Cheers. Miss Blue579
“the point you made however, no “leader” will be allowed to emerge as they are routinely assassinated.”
Correct;
“The truth is, there is no Islamic army or terrorist group called Al-Qaeda, and any informed intelligence officer knows this. But, there is a propaganda campaign to make the public believe in the presence of an intensified entity representing the ‘devil’ only in order to drive TV watchers to accept a unified international leadership for a war against terrorism. The country behind this propaganda is the United States and the lobbyists for the US war on terrorism are only interested in making money.” – Former British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook – 4 weeks after making this statement, he was dead?
Not true.
In ancient times the States, for example the Roman Empire, are said to be more brutal than those today.
Imagine the U.S. using all her potential in military capability !
They clearly are not full throttle mode.
Also not true your point about the German people.
It seems you still believe what comes out of that TV tube….. Then you are mislead.
You have to be an idiot! The Romans only managed to kill about a million or two during the era of their empire. We did that in Vietnam alone; and since then millions more in the middle east in just 24 years. As for our military capability, we have not been able to “win” a war, or whatever we call the unlawful and unconstitutional incursions into other countries that were in fact no threat to this country, and never claimed to have intentions of being a threat, or an adversary, since World War II. And further, even during WW II near its end, we needlessly sacrificed about 12,000 of our troops on Okinawa and killed over 300,000 Japanese after they had already agreed to surrender under the terms that ultimately applied. As for the German people under Hitler, they too believed that everything was great, cheered their troops as they invaded and their leader’s actions; some even after the terrible destruction that resulted. As for TV, only rarely does a word of truth emanate from those idiot boxes, so why would I have made the comment that I did based on something that never appears in the lamestream news?
Your previous comment was very close to comments made by people with VERY mainstream views.
Nobody knows how many people were really killed by the Romans. They were ruthless…. Now, of course, there are no more battles man to man. Now they are pushing buttons, and then…..
I’m not an idiot, sorry to disappoint you.
You should not sink your teeth into this dirt too much, you are not a dog (probably).
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Your comment about us being in Afghanistan to bring democracy there being a joke is on target, other than that while truly a joke it’s not very funny. In fact it’s tragic. But where did you EVER see in the mainstream news anything about the US using the drug money to finance our incursions about the world? Or, about our not being either a republic or a democracy? Or, our military and intelligence services serving only the banksters, corporate cronies, New World Order elites? Or, our government being a criminal enterprise? Or, the FACT that our government is itself a corporation. (owned and controlled for profit by the oligarchs, particularly those of the families who own the stock, and by so doing, the Federal Reserve Bank; a private for profit banking institution unconstitutionally given control of money in the US. Most of what I wrote about are things that the so-called mainstream news tries desperately to not mention.
Okay…..
Yes, and mainstream news is provided via six conglomerates that own 96% of western world media. Take a look at the owners of the six conglomerates. “They” also own the “Federal Reserve Bank”.
….and the Federal Reserve is nothing more than a “branch” of the Bank for International Settlements and the Rothschilds. The BIS is the top of the food chain.
Croco… you want to be sure you are not bogged down by minutiae. The oligarchs, over the hundreds of years they have been organizing and launching “wars” and “revolutions” have killed hundreds of millions of people and destroyed dozens of nations; are you disputing this and, if so, based upon what information? The only difference between Genghis Khan and the neocons is the weaponry…. bottom line, what’s your point? Do you have any comment to make that would enhance this discussion?
It isn’t just us… this is a Global problem. Look what the Globalist Central Banks are doing to Europe. The banks work through the US just as they do all countries where they exist … and that’s almost everywhere now. The Bank for International Settlements; led by the Barons de Rothschild and their minions, is the head of the snake. That is where humanity must focus its defensive attention if people hope to survive.
Even Iran is part of the Globalist Central Banks. Iran has been working closely for years with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the granddaddy bank of all central banks, and are close to being fully compliant with Basel II regulations. BIS and the US have been allowing Iran’s central back back door end runs around the sanctions (confirmed in a Financial Times op ed earlier this year written by an Iranian C.B. spokesperson.
Russia and China also have their umbilicus firmly tied to BIS, thus the BRICS banking “alternative” meme was a ruse!
It’s not just Americans, the British Zionists are no doubt pushing this, hiding behind the American flag! City of London Corporation, Washington DC Corporation and the Vatican City Corporation their flag > https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f3d7ee02a277a8e6034612bee651a13f79d0b883075f8b99ccd43f9276bd5a9e.jpg
And why are we in Afghanistan???
Oh yeah… to get Osama Bin Laden.
…. and to bring Democracy.
That goal is still not accomplished.
LOL
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Democracy = NWO aka majority rule, which can and is always bought.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAaPjqdbgQ&feature=youtu.be Aaron Rousso explains it here.
Next move = http://activistpost.com/2017/08/perfect-robbery-cashless-society.html
I don’t suppose that anyone asked the people of Afghanistan for their opinion ? LOL of course not – hell the people in the US have no say so, so why would someone in bum F Afghanistan have one. Send them in Trump – then all of the Afghanis and Pakistanis will join the Taliban .