The rise of the world’s most powerful mercenary army.

“Jeremy Scahill actually doesn’t know anything about Blackwater.” So says Martin Strong Vice President Blackwater Worldwide. With the greatest respect to Mr Strong, if he is right, it is a pretty facile comment on 550 pages of detailed research and information. Unless, or until Mr Strong or anyone else from Blackwater elaborates on this blanket rejection, we must conclude that what Jeremy Scahill tells us is correct.

Blackwater is at once a compelling and frightening read. It is a detailed exposé of the private security industry generally and Blackwater in particular. It introduces us to the founders and their associations with the people and policies of the last US administration. It describes in minute detail how this cozy relationship enabled Blackwater to become an adjunct of American foreign policy.

Knowing Scahill’s background, one might have expected a scathing attack -― but no, all his arguments are reasoned and nonjudgmental. Indeed, his portrayal of Eric Prince the company founder is complimentary. He tells us that Mr. Prince came from a very wealthy and successful family, but chose to join the military. While in the military, he excelled as a Navy Seal, and would have remained as such but gave it up to support his ailing wife and their children. The first Mrs. Prince died in tragic circumstances shortly after.

Not content to bask in considerable family wealth, Prince emulated his successful father by starting a business. The business he chose was one of which he had expert knowledge. He identified a need for military and law enforcement training and established a state of the art training facility at North Carolina.

It is then that sinister opportunities presented themselves in the form of the Iraq war. Blackwater were not alone in exploiting this opportunity ― they were just better at it than others were. The Bush administration identified a benefit in employing civilian contractors in a variety of functions previously carried out by the military. From a certain perspective it worked very well and like Topsy it grow’d until the number of civilian contractors almost equaled the military.

Using civilian contractors checks many boxes. There are considerable financial benefits to companies and individuals. There are benefits for government with fewer political problems than there might be with serving military. Activities can be pursued beyond the public glare. However, in all this there is one thing missing ― military discipline and legal restraint. Scahill describes how Blackwater was able to slip between the rock of military discipline and the hard place of the law. In a time of left of center politics, a rightwing mercenary army numbering around 30,000, is ominous indeed.

This is a truly excellent book, and should be read by everyone who wants to really know what is happening on the ground in Iraq, and elsewhere ― including mainland USA. ( )

A look into one of our governments darkest elements - hired hands, mercenary armies, working in Iraq without rules or restrictions - how Blackwater shaped the image of America to the Iraqi people. ( )

The company that is the subject of this book, Blackwater, changed its name to "Xe," (pronounced like the letter "Z"), as part of a "rebranding" effort aimed at helping the company distance itself from negative incidents such as a September 2007 shooting in Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least a dozen civilians. The book is an interesting read about the evolution of mercenary armies in service to the U.S. but it does include a bit more about similar companies and countries that employ private contractors. Since this is the case, the book is a bit broader than the title suggests and it details the rise of related movements worldwide. The organization of the book is problematic as a result and it lacks focus at times although most of the documentation will bear scrutiny. One of the book's limitations is a too firm attachment between Bush conservative fundamentalism and the religiously inclined Blackwater corporation. In the post-Bush era, private contractors will continue to grow and I would not overdraw the fundamentalist impulse as a sufficient causal motive for their rise. The growth of the surveillance state and its attendant security needs are a more direct motivation. Blackwater and its less familiar counterparts flourish not because of a reactionary conspiracy against democracy, as Scahill claims, but because they provide relatively low-cost alternatives in high-budget environments and flexibility at a time when war is increasingly asynchronous.

* Winner of the George Polk Book Award
* Alternet Best Book of the Year
* Barnes & Noble one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007
* Amazon one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007

Scahill reveals the inside workings of the Blackwater organization as well as informative and often disturbing insights into how the privatized military has played such a huge part in our current conflict. ( )

Jeremy Scahill: journalist at Democracy Now!
Pros: many interesting raw materials; good writing style
Cons: not much in-depth analysis; the main reasons for military privatization are not systematically explored; lack of big-picture exploration ( )