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Politics

Private armies and mercenary groups are more powerful now than ever. But are they really about protecting civilians—or the interests of their corporate masters? Photo credit: US State Dept, International (Green) Zone. Image by Tmaull, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Can the government wrap its arms around so many arms? In the post 9/11 world, America’s military/industrial/intelligence complex (MIC) has grown so large and diverse that even insiders have trouble explaining its many functions and players.

The fact that so much of it is shrouded in secrecy only fuels the public’s misgivings and misunderstandings. Such was the case with Blackwater and its founder, Erik Prince, when Blackwater guards killed 17 civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, in the name of self-defense.

At the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, contractor personnel came to outnumber troops in the theatre of war. Blackwater, though not even the largest contractor, became the symbol of that situation. While some of the reasons for public dismay were justified, others were not. Find out what really happened, as WhoWhatWhy’s Jeff Schechtman discusses the ways of government contractors and the future of outsourced warfare with Blackwater founder, Erik Prince.

 

Author

  • Jeff Schechtman

    Jeff Schechtman's career spans movies, radio stations, and podcasts. After spending twenty-five years in the motion picture industry as a producer and executive, he immersed himself in journalism, radio, and, more recently, the world of podcasts. To date, he has conducted over ten thousand interviews with authors, journalists, and thought leaders. Since March 2015, he has produced almost 500 podcasts for WhoWhatWhy.

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