Recording of candid speech by Blackwater CEO leaked

Erik Prince

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
A recording of a relatively recent candid speech given by Erik Prince, the media-shy owner of Xe Services (formerly known as Blackwater), has been obtained by The Nation magazine. The extensive recording was made on January 14, during a private talk given by Prince at the University of Michigan before a sympathetic invitation-only audience consisting of military veterans, ROTC commanders and cadets, as well as business entrepreneurs. In his talk, Prince, who last December admitted having worked as a CIA asset, advocated for the employment of private contractors by the US Pentagon to combat insurgents and “Iranian influence” in countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. Writing for The Nation, Jeremy Scahill focuses on Princes views, as he conveyed them in his talk. And for good reason: the CEO of Xe appeared to express disdain for the Geneva Conventions, which set international legal standards for humanitarian treatment of victims of war. He also consistently underestimated Muslim insurgents (calling them “barbarians” who “crawled out of the sewer”), as well as Afghans working for the US (they had to be taught “Intro to Toilet Use”). More importantly, however, Prince appeared to confirm suspicions held by many observers that Blackwater/Xe operatives are active on Pakistani soil, despite official denials of this by both Xe and US government officials. The reclusive CEO also revealed in his talk that he is currently authoring a book, which is scheduled to be published in the fall of 2010.