Blackwater Founder Is Said to Back African Mercenaries

[Liberal_in_LA]

Source: NY times

Blackwater Founder Is Said to Back African Mercenaries

WASHINGTON — Erik Prince, the founder of international security giant Blackwater Worldwide, is secretly backing an effort by a controversial South African mercenary firm to insert itself into Somalia’s bloody civil war by protecting government leaders, training Somali militias, and battling pirates and Islamic militants there, according to Western and African officials.

The disclosure comes as Mr. Prince sells off his interest in the company he built into a behemoth with billions of dollars in American government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, work that mired him in controversy and lawsuits amid reports of reckless behavior by his operatives, including the deaths of civilians in Iraq. His efforts to wade into the chaos of Somalia appears to be Mr. Prince’s latest endeavor to remain at the center of a campaign against Islamic radicalism in some of the world’s most war ravaged corners. Mr. Prince moved to the United Arab Emirates late last year.

According to a report by the African Union, an organization of African states, Mr. Prince provided initial funding for a project by Saracen International to win contracts with Somalia’s embattled government. The Somali government has been cornered into a small patch of Mogadishu by the Shabab, a Somali militant group with ties to Al Qaeda.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/world/africa/21intel.html?_r=1&hp

[blm]

1. Prince is still a major cog for BFEE's global fascist agenda. New World Order

.

[molly77]

3. Eric Prince should be in jail for war crimes. And all the congressmen

and women to continue funding them when it was found out what they are doing in other countries.

[defendandprotect]

13. Agree --

[qb]

2. Not a big surprise. He employs American mercenaries.

[starroute]

4. South African mercenaries have a bad reputation

The name of Saracen International isn't familiar to me, but South African mercenaries have been playing a dubious role for years. Here's something that appeared at Alternet in 2004:

http://www.alternet.org/story/18588/

Hired Guns with War Crimes Past

. . . Due to its "outsourcing" of privatized security services, the CPA has put terrorists, mercenaries and war criminals on the payrolls of companies contracted by the Pentagon.

After the Shaheen Hotel blast, departmental spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa at South Africa's Foreign Ministry confirmed that one of the Westerners killed was South African Frans Strydom. Four of the wounded were also South African nationals, including Deon Gouws, who sustained serious injuries.

News that Strydom and Gouws were in Iraq sent shockwaves throughout South Africa: In front of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, both men were granted amnesty after confessing to killing blacks and terrorizing anti-apartheid activists, acts that can only be called crimes against humanity. . . .

"It is just a horrible thought that such people are working for the Americans," said Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, speaking to European reporters last month.

[blm]

8. Prince has been recruiting from white power 'patriot' groups here in US.

Last year I saw a recruitment ad at one of the sites I was led to while tracking down a dumbass who was desecrating the Gadsden Flag and twisting its meaning to suit the Tea Party agenda. Some guy who called himself a Supreme Commander General of the Sons of Liberty1765. I must say I wasn't too shocked to see the recruitment for Blackwater.

Check this dumbass on youtube...then click to his site.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SonsOfLiberty1765USA

[MrSlayer]

11. I actually watched the whole video.

Putting aside the anti-commie, anti-socialist propaganda of the era the dude had more than one good point. He actually advocates socialism, apparently without realizing it, when he mentions how important Public schools and universities were/are. He does this on several occasions. It's really just a super corny basic civics lesson.

The uploader's site, on the other hand, is completely ridiculous. The guy is either insane or he's a pretty good troll.

[blm]

12. What's absurd is that those fully certain NWO exists don't realize it's BushInc, GOP cronies, and

corps like Blackwater that planned and structured NWO and have been implementing its global fascist agenda for decades.

It can only be WILLFUL ignorance to the facts based on RELIGIOUS beliefs.....exactly what the corporate elite counted on all along....they KNOW they're audiences' gullibility in that arena.

[patrice]

5. K&R

[jwirr]

6. Murder, Inc. sanctions by government.

[Robb]

7. Shades of N4610. nt

[Selena Harris]

9. WalMart is expanding to South Africa

Walmart buys its way into Africa
1 day ago

Walmart, the US retail juggernaut, will set up shop in South Africa, according to media reports. Shareholders of South African retailer, Massmart Holdings ...Mshale African Community Newspaper -

[Solly Mack]

10. K&R

[sarcasmo]

14. This tool fled western Michigan and moved to the UAE and rises again after selling blackwater.

This is Van Andel money. He is the son in law of the Van Andel who ran for governor of Michigan a few years back.

[Roundtree65]

15. And fighting Islamists is not something positive?

A little sad to see the short-sightedness of some of the comments here.

Dirt poor Somalians have been having Sharia shoved down their throats by Islamists arriving from all over the Islamic world. These Islamists have been trying to establish a medieval Islamic theocracy via violence and intimidation.

Few of the Islamists are locals. They are from North Africa, the Middle East, Chechnya, Pakistan, etc. They are backed by big money donations, mostly from the Middle East.

[Alamuti Lotus]

16. Really very little of your statement is actually true..

this sort of dangerous misinformation feeds the coffers of these mercenaries and other somehow "acceptable" terrorists like the detestable Mr Prince. Hell, it's probably cribbed from one of their press releases or recruitment propaganda.

[SpiralHawk]

18. What a crock of RepubliCorp claptrap

Repeating the RepubliCorp propaganda stool will not ever make it true.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blm]

21. BushInc nurtured Islamic terrorism for decades to assure NWO's endless war/fear campaigns that

would keep corporate elite in power militarily and financially. Read the BCCI report, sunshine...and try learning something about the REAL elite...the NWO sure as hell ain't the left OR those duped into fighting for 'Islam'.

[Alamuti Lotus]

17. hopefully his dirty wars in Africa gets Mr Prince killed

this mercenary warlord could be very well taken down by inserting himself into yet another situation where he and his band of thieves and murderers are most unwanted. Perhaps al-Shabaab will visit his new residence to officially welcome him to the party.

[sarcasmo]

20. Makes you wonder if secretly means the CIA is paying him. Which would explain the reason he fled

Last year to the UAE.