Is there a rationale for having contractors play this role instead of U.S. troops other than "Erik Prince runs a contracting company"? pic.twitter.com/aPyVmw0IpD
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) August 30, 2017
Sean McFate, at Politico:
For the past year, Erik Prince has been peddling an idea that should alarm anyone who has followed his career: We should replace U.S. troops in Afghanistan with mercenaries, preferably his…
The generals laughed at Prince, and thankfully the president went with the non-mercenary option. But Prince refuses to disappear, excoriating the generals in a recent op-ed for The New York Times, and pushing again for mercenaries, suggesting “it is not too late to alter the course.”
As a former military contractor, I cannot imagine a worse outcome for Afghanistan or the U.S. than handing everything over to mercenaries.
Prince’s argument has lots of problems. He insists contractors should not be stigmatized as “mercenaries,” even though he is proposing armed civilians in conflict zones—the classic definition of a mercenary…
Besides being offensive, Prince’s proposal is unworkable. I know because I’ve done these things. For years, I worked as a private military contractor in Africa and elsewhere. I built armies for clients, dealt with warlords, conducted strategic reconnaissance, worked with armed groups in the Sahara, transacted arms deals in Eastern Europe and even helped prevent a genocide in Central Africa…
When I raised an army in West Africa, under worse conditions, it took more than a handful of contractors at the battalion and company levels to create a professional, fully functioning military. A lot more. The U.S. Army War College asked me to write a monograph on how we did this, and—spoiler alert—it’s more complicated than Prince’s breezy plan. Then again, Prince has never raised a legitimate army.
The price is a problem too. Prince promises his plan will save “American taxpayers more than $40 billion a year.” Don’t believe him. Prince has not shared any financial details with the public, a curious omission. Would you buy a house without first asking the price? Of course not.Where will these mercenaries come from? According to Prince, all will be “brave Americans” who are “former Special Operations veterans.” More sales talk. To keep costs down, he will probably have to outsource to the so-called Third World, where military labor is cheap. When I was in the industry, I worked alongside other ex-special forces and ex-paratroopers from places like the Philippines, Colombia and Uganda. We did the same missions, but they got Third World wages. Private warriors are just like T-shirts; they are cheaper in developing countries. Call it the globalization of private force…
Lastly, where has Prince been these last seven years? Why did he show up now? Like many mercenaries, he follows the money. After the Nisour Incident, he left Blackwater and helped raise a mercenary force for the United Arab Emirates. Now, he is working for the U.S.’s main geopolitical competitor, China…
Whether or not you trust Politico, it’s worth reading the whole article.
Now, there’s an argument that the NYTimes could’ve served a useful purpose in exposing the shoddy grift Betsy deVos’s brother is trying to sell Trump’s administration… if the Grey Lady hadn’t shown herself so fatally susceptible to the charms of every third-rate Reicht-wing promoter…
Hey @nytimes if you'll run this Erik Prince advertorial I got a killer "Why Profs Should Be Worshipped Like Gods" op-ed so please DM me. pic.twitter.com/MZIAiQzDf5
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) August 30, 2017
You know how "retweets do not equal endorsements?" That's also how op-eds work in editorial pages. Good god. https://t.co/hrAXdJ0vye
— Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) August 30, 2017
Was one good reason to run this piece. It shines some light on Trump's potential effort to reward Prince surreptitiously at taxpayer expense https://t.co/gL289Ujnok
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) August 30, 2017
Another note: that Prince is choosing to make this argument publicly is actually a reflection of his lost influence in the WH w/ Bannon gone
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 30, 2017
The Times probably wouldn't run an op-ed by Ted Kaczynski or Charles Manson. https://t.co/oX1FZg6IeV
— Mark A.R. Kleiman (@MarkARKleiman) August 30, 2017
That's an absurd comparison. And for the record, the NYT and the WP ran Kaczynski's manifesto! https://t.co/xO2QIAMHwN
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) August 30, 2017
Mike G
Oversimplified breezy plans that sound good to stupid people, while failing in disastrous ways, are the foundation of Repuke rhetoric.
Betty Cracker
Shady, imperious crook Betsy DeVos isn’t even the worst of her litter, which is rather remarkable. The Scamway Crime Family.
prostratedragon
Christ, what an asshole!
mskitty
Interesting to see to whom the Failing New York Times will give that precious space on their op-ed page. This Mr. Nasty you wouldn’t even need to google to understand his blacksouled special pleading.
Arclite
Prince is currently funded by the Chinese. Who owns the mineral rights in Afghanistan? The Chinese. If Prince can convince the US to fund his security team, while his clients extract all the wealth, it’s a win win for Prince and the Chinese. Also Prince gets to do what he loves most: play soldier with big boy toys.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
NYT lied and cheer lead the country into attacking Iraq (a country that did nothing to us).
In a just system they would have been charged with war crimes, just as Nazi propagandists were at Nuremberg.
No surprise to see more of their unchecked blood lust on display.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mike G:
AKA the Trump base, and the dipshits at the Vichy Times.
fuckwit
It’s all falling to shit.
sharl
Betty Cracker
It’s the 1st of September, but still hot and muggy AF. It’s 80 degrees, and I can hear thunder rolling on the Gulf of Mexico.
sharl
From elsewhere on the NYT Opinion page: Heil-O, hitlerinos!
Oatler.
The Trumpenproles like the idea of mercenaries because it gratifies their 1980s nostalgia for brave true Reagan chickenhawk kill fantasies.
sharl
@Betty Cracker: Yech! I can barely remember living without A/C as a kid in Ohio, but can’t imagine being without it now.
Betty Cracker
@sharl: Life would be unbearable in FL without A/C. My ancestors settled here in the 1800s, the crazy bastards — the summers must’ve been hideous for them! It’s nice and cool inside, but I was out with the dogs a while ago and was amazed at how muggy it is at OMFG o’clock in the morning.
jl
Maybe the NYT could get Adam Smith to write an advertorial praising the East India Company.
Adams died before the Company’s mercenary abuses sparked a horrific rebellion in India, so he wouldn’t mention any Debbie-downer crap and piss on such a great idea.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Detroit Tigers just donated Justin Verlander to Houston. (link)
Now that‘s what I call being generous.
Betty Cracker
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Wow!
opiejeanne
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: The Angels got Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips. Some of us fans (we fans?) were hoping to see Verlander in Angels red.
raven
@Betty Cracker: We watched Miss Firecracker the other night and it reminded me to go back and watch Cross Creek since Steenburgen and Alfrie Woodworth are both in it. I’ve read the book a couple of times and even have the cookbook!
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Betty Cracker: There are tricks to make it more bearable. Hawaii summers are a LOT less fun than what I remember as a kid (higher surface/volume ratio + climate change). A/C is just such a cheap and easy fix, especially if you want to keep people working.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: Dodgers have lost 5 straight and were swept by the snakes; the dream is over.
opiejeanne
@raven: I loved Miss Firecracker! What a cast! I love Alfre Woodard, especially after seeing her in that film.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: The Tigers got a top 50 prospect (Franklin Perez), a lottery ticket tearing up A ball (Daz Cameron), and a good defensive catching prospect who could turn into a cheap backup (Jake Rogers). And they don’t have to pay Verlander $56 million for the next two years.
This Tigers fan is plenty happy with the return. It’s more than I expected them to be able to get.
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Wow. That’s shocking. A week ago they were the best in baseball. Angels are chasing the second Wild Card, a game back of the Twins and the Twins Won’t Stop Winning, dammit.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Gonna have a high of 77 today. :-)
opiejeanne
@Betty Cracker: I caved and bought a cheap window AC unit last month when it was over 90 in Seattle and the humidity was nearly 90. I am very tempted to have AC installed for the whole house, because I hate the idea of the window unit and we’ll have to take it down in the winter, and because it’s in the tv room upstairs and won’t do squat for the kitchen temperature.
opiejeanne
@OzarkHillbilly: So is Seattle. That’s ok if you’re sitting in the shade and there’s a little breeze, but the upstairs can become unbearable starting at that temp.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly: I’ll be nice and not tell you to go DIAF. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year, well, until what today is supposed to be.
ETA: Oh, and we had thunderstorms to add to the fun.
raven
@opiejeanne: Have you seen Cross Creek? Rip Torn is incredible and he and Woodward both were Academy Award nominee’s for the film.
OzarkHillbilly
The Cards continue to muddle along, along with the rest of the Central division. Still in contention… for the shortest post season ever.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Hey, my wife and her friend want to go to Bentonville, Arkansas on a road trip?????
chris
@Betty Cracker: 49F here right now, you’re welcome to come visit any time. I can lend you a winter coat.
ETA: You’re all welcome. Dark sky here, Bill.
?BillinGlendaleCA
But for something a bit more pleasant, a pic from the eastern coast of Korea(close to where the Olympics will be next year).
gene108
The FBI wanted the NYT and WaPo to publish Ted Kaczinski’s manifesto because they figured his distinctive writing style might generate leads. And it worked.
I doubt Trump’s FBI is on a manhunt for Erik Prince.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Why? Wanted to see a bigger Walmart?
OzarkHillbilly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Sucks to be you.
@opiejeanne: Our summer time in house temps are about like that, but the difference in humidity is a life saver.
raven
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Funny you would respond. My Astrophotogrpher (sp) cousin went there after the eclipse gig in Carbondale and posted all the pictures of the art museum and local spots. My wife knew nothing about that so I was surprised when she said they were making this plan. It’s really expensive to get there from Atlanta but, hey, she’s a fully autonomous female unit so if she wants to she will.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly:
It does, yes, it does.
Betty Cracker
@raven: Miss Firecracker is one of my favorite movies! Have you ever been to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings homestead at Cross Creek? I used to go occasionally when I lived up in Gainesville. There was a fun fish camp nearby that is probably long gone. My husband and I are on a slow-motion quest to visit every old-timey fish camp in Florida before they all disappear.
@OzarkHillbilly: Get back to me in February. :)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: It just seems to be a rather unusual destination; but whatever floats her boat.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Why? Other than WalMart’s headquarters what’s in Bentonville? Relatives?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker:
Heh.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Touche!
raven
@Betty Cracker: No, I haven’t been in that part of Florida in 20 years and didn’t know about that stuff then.
opiejeanne
@raven: No, I don’t think so. I know the story, though and parts of the movie sound very familiar, but I may be confusing it with a different one that was set in the Deep South and involved women doing things that are outrageous.
I would have sworn Steenburgen was in one whose name escapes me, but I don’t see it on IMDB on her list. It’s 3 or 4 sisters mostly sitting around the kitchen table talking about their no-good husbands or boyfriends, and one of them eventually admits she’s just killed her husband. I would have sworn that character was played by Mary Steenburgen. I seem to remember the other sisters trying to help her get rid of the body, but … he wasn’t dead? Or something. It’s Southern Gothic Dark Comedy.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: BillinGlendaleCA
Beats me, I was not popular when I questioned it last night. Something about “you don’t have to be a dick about it”. We laughed abut it later because she has never said anything like that before!
raven
@opiejeanne: “In 1930’s Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida’s backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editor and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.”
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oooh, no need to be nasty.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: I just couldn’t think of any other reason to go there.
opiejeanne
@raven: But first her editor rejects yet another manuscript about an English governess Gothic Romance. Tells her to write about the people around her. “Jacob’s Ladder” is the first result.
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I thought the Precious Moments Chapel was there, but it seems to be in Carthage, Missouri. I know people who collect those things. Ick.
raven
@opiejeanne: Yea and the film is mashup of those stories. The “Pound Party” is really interesting.
opiejeanne
@raven: I’ll have to hunt it down.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: May I suggest a little time in Mountain View? Beautiful little town with a thriving arts community (when my buddy RC almost killed himself with a cave gate last year they held an auction fundraiser for him, i picked up a few ceramics, got outbidded on a # of other things) From it’s Wiki page:
Pretty country, hotels and eateries, (a friend of mine had a restaurant there last year but I doubt he is still in business- long story) and for a caver Blanchard Springs Caverns is a must see (they did a Nat Geo shoot there a couple decades back and some of my friends were in it) The Ozark Folk Center is really cool and if she likes old time music she can’t miss with the courthouse gatherings. There is a micro brewery just outside of town, damned if I can remember the name or location. It was just starting up when I was there. (RC did a lot of the metal work for the owner) If she asked I’m sure someone would know.
It’s trump country but if you hang out with the artists you wouldn’t know it.
Oh, one more thing, Arkansas is the heart of the Bible belt. If either she or her friend like to imbibe they might want to travel with a small cooler and beer/wine. Mountain View is not dry (unsure about Bentonville) but dry counties abound.
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: My wife says stuff like that to me all the time. It’s how I know she still loves me.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: I’ll let her know. Apparently it’s not dry
ONYX COFFEE LAB
dopey-o
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Chrystal Bridges museum is in Bentonville Arkansas. worth the long road trip.
Bonus: meet actual Ozark Hillbillies in their natural environment. Think Winter’s Bone.
OzarkHillbilly
@opiejeanne: It is every bit as bad as you think it is. In fact, it’s worse.
prufrock
@Betty Cracker: I was going to run this morning. Heat lightning and humidity changed my mind.
raven
@dopey-o: I think that is their focus. The have a Chilluly there now.
dopey-o
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Chrystal Bridges museum is in Bentonville Arkansas. worth the long road trip.
Bonus: meet actual Ozark Hillbillies in their natural environment. Think Winter’s Bone. The darker side of Precious Moments.
OzarkHillbilly
@dopey-o: Just watched that movie again the other night. Sad how accurate some of the characters are portrayed. Of course, it’s about the worst so you never get to see the best of who’s here, who far outnumber the meth heads. Great movie.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@dopey-o:
Been there, done that. My dad was from the Ozarks.
Nelle
@OzarkHillbilly: Quote a few of my friends havegone down to Bentonville for the immense Chohuly exhibit, both inside and outside, this simmer. They report that the museum has an unexpectedly good art collection and to allow two days, rather than one. I have yet to go. I have to overcome an antipathy to nw Arkansaw, where I was sent to Bible camp when young.
lowtechcyclist
@prufrock:
I ran* this morning, but it helped that it was in the 60s outside with lowish humidity. Here in Maryland, it looks like Labor Day weekend will be the beginning of fall rather than the end of summer.
*A whopping mile. That’s about as much as I do these days, a mile once or twice a week. I prefer cycling, as my handle suggests, but I can get in a short run fairly often, while I don’t often have time for a decent ride these days.
lowtechcyclist
I realize that newspapers run op-eds that they don’t necessarily agree with, but the standard for guest op-eds should be something like “this op-ed makes a strong enough case that our readers really need to see it.” But Prince’s piece is little more than self-promotion. What’s a decent newspaper doing, running this crap?
I’ve paid for an online subscription to the WaPo, I make the occasional one-off contribution to the Guardian, and of course I’m a Prime member at TPM. But I can’t convince myself to help support the NYT, and this is indicative of why.
OzarkHillbilly
@Nelle:
Whatever did you do to cause your parents to hate you so?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@lowtechcyclist: As Baud often says(and I as well), The New York Times is garbage.
satby
@chris: it’s also 49 here, though it’s going to warm up to 70 today in S.Bend. The rain from Harvey is now in southern Indiana and Kentucky but looks like it’s going to miss us by miles. We could have used some of what Texas got, because we’ve had a drought.
Betty Cracker
@prufrock: There were some offshore storms in the wee hours. Saw flashes but mostly just heard thunder. I was awake because some inconsiderate ass parked a garbage truck down the road, stood in the street and carried on a loud conversation on his mobile, shouting to be heard over the noise of his truck, I guess. I’m gonna have to build that dog shit trebuchet I’ve been threatening to construct…
OldDave
@Betty Cracker:
You. Are. My. Hero.
Sab
@Betty Cracker: Thought your comment was hilarious but spouse isn’t a medievalist or a GOT fan, so by the time I explained what a trebuchet was I had lost his attention.Sigh.
Sab
@Sab: Also my dog is huge, so that trebuchet would be effective.
Tsukune
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The biggest Walmart is in Albany, NY for some reason.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
The entire gene pool of horrible people ??
chopper
Jesus what a detail-free op-ed. how fitting for the trump administration. may as well hand Afghanistan over to the underpants gnomes.
Citizen_X
Citation required.
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: My mom was from the Ozarks. Many of my cousins live there, all old now. Macks Creek has a population of about 300 and they are all kin, except one and she’s related to Dave in a very round-about way, through Texas Jack Vermillion’s ancestors.
BruceJ
The origins of the Corporate State, replacing the Nation State.