Master of War by Suzanne Simons

Master of War- Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War By Suzanne Simons

The name Blackwater, the world’s biggest private military contractor, became scandalous early in the Iraq War, when four of its men were seized by a mob in Fallujah, killed, and hung from a bridge for the world to see. Since then, Blackwater has stretched dramatically; its men have been implicated in major scandals, including a shooting spree in Iraq that has now caused the Iraqi government to blacklist the company. As Suzanne Simons reveals in this first-ever inside look, based on extraordinary access to Blackwater founder Erik Prince, and dozens of his key employees, Blackwater is just the tip of Erik Prince’s empire. He publicly reassures everyone that Blackwater only works for the U.S., and would never become a mercenary organization for other governments, yet he has another entire company dedicated to do just that, employing foreign nationals, working for well over a dozen different governments, and overlapping in crucial ways with Blackwater. In addition, he has a private spying company, run by former top CIA men, employing extraordinarily sensitive methods and technical sophistication, for rent by any interested party, from companies to governments. Finally, he is amassing an air fleet that is large enough to serve as a miniature air force, not just by purchasing planes and helicopters, but also by building his own unmanned drones. In short, the full story of Erik Prince and his now-crumbling empire is a story of one of the modern world’s most influential military figures, and it has never been told. Prince is a man who shuns publicity unless absolutely necessary, to tamp down a scandal; even when he has wanted to tell his story, he has been shut down by his clients in Washington, who won’t stand for it. Instead, he has given Suzanne Simons hours of interviews; access to his staff; invitations to join him on trips to Afghanistan. He is a fascinating figure, part deeply conservative, evangelical patriot; part rebellious, go-it-alone kingpin. He is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and his companies are worth billions. His empire dominates all of its competitors, to such a degree that even if the military wanted to wash its hands of him, they wouldn’t be able to replace him.

Suzanne Simon-  Author of the book “Master of War: Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the business of war” and      Executive Producer at CNN’s global headquarters in Atlanta.

Suzanne Simons about Master of War

Eric Prince interview

• The Marriage-Go-Round by Andrew J.Cherlin American are the only Western nation that actually spends government money to support marriage. The 2005 federal Healthy Marriage Initiative now allocates $100 million a year to publicize marriage. No other Western nation devotes as much cultural energy, public policy or religious attention to matrimony as the U.S. It doesn’t......
• Kurt Vonnegut “I do believe evolution is being controlled by some sort of divine engineer. I can’t help thinking that.. and this engineer knows exactly what he or she is doing and why and where evolution is headed and thats why we’ve got Giraffe’s and Hippopotami and the clap.”- Kurt Vonnegut......
• House of Cards By William D. Cohan A firm that was established on May 1, 1923, and stayed through the 1929 crash and the Great Depression, had been ruined by bad management and the crisis of 2008. In famous March 2008 when the 85-year-old firm Bear Stearns crashed and burned in little over a week, it became......
• Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro Swimsuit is James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's latest book. When a supermodel disappears in Hawaii, her parents travel to the island to investigate. So does Ben Hawkins, a journalist who is hoping to get an idea for his next book. All parties find more difficulty than they bargained for......
• Famous Birthday Today: Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh , March 30, 1853 Zundert, Neth.- July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, France, generally considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. With Cezanne and Gauguin the greatest of Post-Impressionist artists. He powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. His work, all of it produced during a......
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow A fascinating book for readers of any age. A great sample of a "Young Adult" book that adults can comprehensively enjoy. It Furthermore, serves as a great candidate to get teens hooked on science fiction. Adults will like it for the thought-provoking topical issues and the insight into the minds......
• Makers by Cory Doctorow What is Makers by Cory Doctorow? A intelligently humorous and creative novel about the end of the economy from the visionary author of Little Brother. Cory Doctorow is an extraordinarily clever commentator of how technology influences the way we live and a astute prognosticator of where it will take us.......
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F.Scott Fitzgerald I wanted to write an article about Short Stories by F.Scott  Fitzegerald, but yesterday I watched a movie  “The Curous Case of Benjamin Button” and.. It was so awe-inspiring, so greatfull… I don’t like films by classical faction, but this one amazed me. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which......
• The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and Martin Dugard In The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson and Martin Dugard discovered through masses of suggestions- X-rays, Carter's files, and myths related during the ages- to appear at their own account of King Tut's life and death. The result is an amazing true crime tale of intrigue, passion and treason,......
• Geisha: The Life, the Voices by Jodi Cobb Amazing Gift Book! “Geisha: The Life, the Voices” is an icon of Japanese culture and custom- the geisha in her role as human work of art and perfect woman. A hundred years ago geisha numbered eighty thousand; today there is a thousand at most. Luckily, Jodi Cobb can show us-......

• All Sorts of Sports Zach Johnson Local favorite Zach Johnson (or ZeeJay, as I refer to him) stormed into contention on Sunday, shooting a 12 under par in the final day of the John Deere Classic to finish in a three way tie for second place.  This is not quite as impressive  as it......
• Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog directed by Ron Clements and John Musker by Captain Lyaf Yarr Title: The Princess and the Frog Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker Run Time: 95 minutes Rated: G Summary: All Tiana wants is to own a restaurant, but when she's convinced to kiss a frog that claims he is a prince she's in for a......
• Eau de Cologne by Yuri Gutsatz Review Continuing to sample Le Jardin Retrouvé’s scents passed on to me from cpf via LJR.  The flower scents: Citron Poivré (Spicy Lemon), Eau de Tubéreuse (Tuberose), Jasmin (Jasmine), Verveine (Verbena), The Lys (Lily), and Chèvrefeuille (Honeysuckle). I reviewed the roses in a separate category. And the last: Eau de Cologne......
• Prince Harry throws 1st pitch at Mets-Twins game [/caption] NEW YORK – Britain's Prince Harry showed he can shoot. On the second day of his U.S. visit, New Yorkers got to see his arm. After firing an M4 rifle during a training exercise Friday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Harry threw out the first pitch......
• Stop Saying That Iraqis Must Take Care Of Their Problems. Warning, political rant ahead... I am very sorry about this if politics are not your thing...but I have to get something off my chest. And although I do spend most of my time on this site covering environmental issues, I just got finished watching some of the hearings with General......
• Review: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie The cover on this book describes Bet Me to be “wickedly witty, deliciously sexy.” More than that, Jennifer Crusie’s story is tender and full of Elvis (both varieties.) I enjoy this book immensely every time I read it. I think it’s the shoes. Minerva Dobbs will never be described as......
• Stem Cell Treatment Gives Texas Sheriff With Multiple Sclerosis His Job Back Image by ladybugbkt via Flickr Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis- Giving Life Back Multiple Sclerosis had taken many things away from Jason Upshaw- his job at the Sheriff’s department, his ability to play with his kids, as well as his ability to walk. Jason had given up hope......
• NSFW: Free as in “my publisher will disown me after I pirate my book on TechCrunch” “So that’s your advice is it? As my agent? On the week my book comes out in paperback, I should produce my own pirated version and give it away free? Why don’t I just punch my publisher in the face? That would be less work.” My agent rocked back in......
• Visit Turkey: The UN-Official Guide Istanbul is the city on which civilizations and empires have been built. It straddles Europe and Asia and its location on the Bosporus Strait has made it one of the most coveted cities in world history. The Bosporus Strait, after all, links the Black Sea to the Sea of......
• Saying No to Adult Children On a personal finance message board I asked other readers to post stories of success and failure in administering tough love to deal with a money problem.  One reader who called herself Gardening Grandma posted this story: "One of the hardest things I've ever done in my live.  My son, at......