When you don’t have a phony war to fight, it’s good there are civilians who can hire your mercs for private black ops.
Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to documents obtained by The Nation. Blackwater’s work for corporations and government agencies was contracted using two companies owned by Blackwater’s owner and founder, Erik Prince: Total Intelligence Solutions and the Terrorism Research Center (TRC). Prince is listed as the chairman of both companies in internal company documents, which show how the web of companies functions as a highly coordinated operation.
[…]
Through Total Intelligence and the Terrorism Research Center, Blackwater also did business with a range of multinational corporations. According to internal Total Intelligence communications, biotech giant Monsanto—the world’s largest supplier of genetically modified seeds—hired the firm in 2008–09. The relationship between the two companies appears to have been solidified in January 2008 when Total Intelligence chair Cofer Black traveled to Zurich to meet with Kevin Wilson, Monsanto’s security manager for global issues.
After the meeting in Zurich, Black sent an e-mail to other Blackwater executives, including to Prince and Prado at their Blackwater e-mail addresses. Black wrote that Wilson “understands that we can span collection from internet, to reach out, to boots on the ground on legit basis protecting the Monsanto [brand] name…. Ahead of the curve info and insight/heads up is what he is looking for.” Black added that Total Intelligence “would develop into acting as intel arm of Monsanto.” Black also noted that Monsanto was concerned about animal rights activists and that they discussed how Blackwater “could have our person(s) actually join [activist] group(s) legally.” Black wrote that initial payments to Total Intelligence would be paid out of Monsanto’s “generous protection budget” but would eventually become a line item in the company’s annual budget.
This is over the top disgusting. We could have a law passed against this sort of thing if our elected officials weren’t in the pockets of corporate interests. Remember what they call this kind of government? That’s right America, it’s called Fascism. It’s morning in America … can I see your papers?
I’m sure they could be investigated/prosecuted under laws already enacted.
Jeezus… We have more than enough stupid laws; we need less law and more common sense and some fucking balls!
You wouldn’t think the term “private armies” would even exist in America. Or it wouldn’t be allowed by law, under all this Home Land Security system. Since Blackwater apparently doesn’t have to answer to anyone in the US government, about what they’re doing. Of course the only entities that can afford to hire them are big corporations and multi-millionaires. So I guess they got together and lobbied for the legal (or permitted) existence of such private armies for hire. Cause such wealthy entities are getting more nervous about what the growing starving hordes of America might do to them, some day, in their mansions and castles.
Do you really think the Knights of Olde were all about fighting rival kingdom’s Knights? They probably protected the Kings from their over taxed peasants, more than anything else. And helped collect those taxes, too. We seem to be returning to that feudal system, more each decade.
Is it time to start organizing subversive/patriot “terrorist” cells yet? Good thing we have the Internet, guns and encryption.
America has become a sad parody of itself.
The South…. woops… I mean 1938 Germany will rise again???
This isn’t a private army, this a multinational corporate army. And that let’s me sleep well at night. You can thank me later.
“America has become a sad parody of itself.”
I went to elementary school in the sixty’s. I often see a story and hear a phrase my teachers assured me would only happen in the Soviet Union. The one that is occurring that most now is her assurances that Russians don’t actually believe the lies on the TV, radio, and newspapers.
What are your problems? Blackwater is a prvate security firm contracted to the US government, Walt Disney, Monsanto and who knows who else. Nothin illegal about that. Id on’t like the company and what it does but as long as they remain inside the law, fine. If they cross the line, send them to the hoozgow.
#9 They have murdered dozens, if not hundreds, of people, and even raped their own employees. What lines have they yet to cross?
Oh yeah, they have also stolen money from the US taxpayer, and been involved in gun smuggling to our enemies. This is just off the top of my head.
And who couldn’t see this coming. We are entering a whole new paradigm in this country. This “new industry” that has been created since 9-11, needs more and more reason to exist, and whats being set up, a facist/security state will keep it going for along time. We are all potential criminals and terrorists in the eyes of the government/corporate world these days.
I think I caught it on the news this morning that a few US soldiers and some Afghans were caught inside Iran. These people are in for a very bad time.
Doing bleep like that is what you hire people to do that have no connections with your country. They can also provide muscle to get shipping through pirate infested zones and act as general security in all sorts of places. You just have to be very, very careful about who you hire.
#10 – 11 Li : You make accusations (and, yes, I’ve heard them, too) but where are the prosecutions?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not defending what they do just their right to do it. They didn’t get to be so huge and successful by being bad at what they do. And they wouldn’t exist if there were not a demand (a huge demand, it seems) for their service.
I don’t see a compelling case that Private Military Companies(PMCs) are going away soon. There has always been a market for mercenaries, going back to ancient times. The spendthrift king who is beset by his unpaid mercenaries is a recurring character in the story of empires past.
Today they congregate around resource extraction operations, whether those operations are directly supported by a western military(Iraq) or not(many Atlantic-coast African countries).
This isn’t terribly different from the British or Dutch East India Companies, except the military component has been separated from the mercantile component. Except on an organizational chart it’s the same basic phenomenon.
For those of you who think this is changing consider that international corporations DO have a military of last resort, the US military. I, for one, would rather that the dirt is often done by a deniable and expendable resource.
This is a situation where outsourcing is beneficial. Once the proper military gets involved political face-saving becomes the main issue. That gets really expensive. If multinationals are willing to spend out of their receipts to do their own dirt it’s better on balance.
Not good, but better.
Seed savers anti-g.m. food foodies be warned.
#15 Chris – Thank you. You said it much better than my feeble attempt.
“This is a situation where outsourcing is beneficial. Once the proper military gets involved political face-saving becomes the main issue.”
So the private companies are used by our government to dodge responsibility? When did we become such pitiful, integrity-free pussies?
#15 Chris –
So you think it is OK for private corporations to use military style force to support their private commercial interests on foreign lands. Never mind that in most cases that ends up being nothing but theft (and often elimination) of the local population, to the enrichment of a few corrupt politicians.
#19 & #21
I never said mercenaries are okay or good, but it is a durable business. Ancient empires used mercenaries all the time and modern ones do today.
Many of the marquee human suffering stories(Rwanda, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria’s delta, Iraq, Afghanistan) have a leading or supporting theme of resource extraction. Getting a national military involved in these areas drives up costs exponentially.
Of course, I would rather that resource consumers allowed/encouraged resource suppliers to have proper governance and development priorities.
I don’t think that is likely any time soon, though.
What happens now that the majority of his assurances that the Russians themselves do not believe in is TV, radio and newspapers.
Disney?
Bush outsourced EVERYTHING to private industry. Now our military bases are protected by the finest low pay flatfoots you can buy.
No young, strong well armed highly trained MP’s at the gates, no sirree!
Fat minimum wage lady with a badge protecting our military installations from Al Qaeda!