Reddit reviews Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield

Yeah, I read the entire article and seen that interview, along with multiple books on the topic, which go into far more depth than a couple of agenda driven articles/reporters.

And yes, I've read Scahill's Blackwater and Dirty Wars.

http://www.amazon.com/Blackwater-Rise-Worlds-Powerful-Mercenary-ebook/dp/B0097CYTYA

http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Wars-The-World-Battlefield-ebook/dp/B00B3M3TS4/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51dkyNcRAWL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_OU01_AC_UL160_SR105%2C160_&refRID=1H586DVK9BET6N9HYRN7

Seen the documentary too, it doesn't cover everything...

I've also read Prince's book Civilian Warriors.

http://www.amazon.com/Civilian-Warriors-Inside-Blackwater-Unsung-ebook/dp/B00E5UJAG6/ref=pd_sim_351_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=517qP%2BPVBeL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_OU01_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=1H586DVK9BET6N9HYRN7

He's surprisingly open about the companies short comings.

I've also read the The Bremer Detail: Protecting the Most Threatened Man in the World

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bremer-Detail-Protecting-Threatened-ebook/dp/B00LUA02OI/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51xoGU9WypL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_OU01_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=05HMC7F4FAZ3NG51NHDJ

I've also read what the military community says, those who actually served alongside Blackwater in the field, including articles and dialogue with the authors at SOFREP, and an interview with Eric Prince himself with the guys at SOFREP on their podcast, which is worth a listen.

https://sofrep.com/31444/founder-of-blackwater-erik-prince-civilian-warriors/

https://sofrep.com/sofrep-radio/episode-80-exclusive-erik-prince-former-seal-founder-blackwater/

https://sofrep.com/14189/the-next-mercenary-gold-rush-sub-saharan-africa-erik-prince/

You can read the 3 part series on the Rise of Private Military Security Companies here:

https://sofrep.com/44960/the-rise-of-private-military-security-companies/

https://sofrep.com/44961/rise-private-military-security-companies-pt-2/

https://sofrep.com/44963/rise-private-military-security-companies-pt-3/

I've also read Big Boy Rules by Steve Fainaru which is good starter book if are looking for more information. It's pretty even handed about the good and the bad regarding PMC's in Iraq.

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Boy-Rules-Americas-Mercenaries-ebook/dp/B001M5JV98/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1458860678&sr=1-1&keywords=big+boy+rules

Like everything, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I'm not defending everything the BW has done, and there are more reputable companies like Triple Canopy, but this idea that ALL Blackwater employees are blood thirsty lions devouring sheep everywhere they go is just laughable.

Unbelievably, Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, implying that the killing was both willful and premeditated. In order to believe this, one must believe that this was somehow all planned by Slatten, which is ridiculous.

Look, I’m not going to pretend that I know all of the details about this case, because I wasn’t there. But to throw these guys in the middle of a combat zone, and then expect perfection, is absurd. Because that’s what this is: Our government is asking them to be perfect, which is impossible in war.

So the U.S. State Department abandoned their contractors to be prosecuted. What about their supervisors at the state department? What about the Regional Security Officers? What about the people responsible for putting them in that situation to begin with? Where are the consequences for them? As usual, the shit sandwich rolls downhill and the guys at the bottom are the only ones who get to take a big bite.

Ironically, the same people, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton included, who were so critical of Blackwater, continued to push contracts to the company under a different name. This proves how much we’ve come to rely on the private and flexible services offered by modern-day PMCs and how effective they were at keeping US HVT's safe (including ambassadors, CIA agents, heads of state, etc).

One mistake in Baghdad in 2007 meant that you, your client, and everyone else in the car was dead. Say what you will about Blackwater: Under their watch, they never lost an American diplomat, which is more than we can say for the rest of the State Department.

Edit: You'll notice nothing ever came from this 2009 report by Scahill, or the Times or the Post. 7 years later and nothing. All were grasping at some very thin straws. Furthermore, the CIA has designated authorized teams that do this type of work, that receive complete top cover, including the Ground Branch teams in the Special Activities Division and the guys at JSOC. They have no need for Blackwater to do this kind of work. Or they can "rent" Delta or ST6, so the entire idea that they needed Blackwater to run kill missions is kind of ridiculous.

You can get a lot more info on these 2 killings and many other horrific operations the US government is carrying out around the world by reading "Dirty Wars" by Jeremy Scahill. I am almost finished with it and it has been an eye-opening read.

http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Wars-world-battlefield-ebook/dp/B00B3M3TS4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374162524&sr=1-1&keywords=dirty+wars