What is the pay gap between an enlisted person and a grunt in a private mercenary army???
On Fri, Oct 10, 2014 at 11:31 AM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/09/let-contractors-fight-the-islamic-state-blackwater-founder-erik-prince-says/ > > > Let contractors fight the Islamic State, Blackwater founder Erik Prince > says > > > > By Dan Lamothe <http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dan-lamothe> October > 9 > > > Erik Prince testifies in 2007 before the House Committee on Oversight and > Government Reform about the controversial company he founded, Blackwater, > Inc. (Photo by Linda Davidson/ The Washington Post) > > As the fight against the Islamic State unfolds, the take of Erik Prince, > the founder of the former private security firm Blackwater, is > straightforward: If the United States is unwilling to send in ground > troops, “let the private sector finish the job.” > > Prince addressed the subject this week in a little-noticed blog post > <http://www.fsgroup.com/chairmans-column-isis/> on the site of his newest > security and logistics firm, Frontier Services Group. Prince > left Blackwater, with its checkered history in Iraq, including the killing > by contractors of 17 civilians in a 2007 shooting, in 2010. The trial of > four Blackwater guards involved in the shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square, > has been underway for months. > > Prince is currently courting private business in Africa for his new > company. He also is preparing to drum up readers for the paperback version > of his bestselling book, “Civilian Warriors: The Inside story of Blackwater > and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror,” out later this month. > > The former Navy SEAL declined interview requests for this piece through a > spokesperson with his book publisher, the Penguin Group. In his blog post, > published Monday, Prince said President Obama’s strategy to counter the > Islamic State is “half-hearted at best” and will not be able to dig the > militants out of any urban centers where they seek shelter among civilians. > > Prince said military clearing operations fall to foot soldiers, and the > Iraqi military is “demonstrably inept after billions spent on training and > equipping.” He points out that when the Islamic State attacked Iraqi units > earlier this year, they folded and the militants were able to seize tanks, > Howitzers, armored vehicles and ammunition, among other supplies and > equipment. > > “The Kurds, once a lean and strong fighting force that routinely rebuffed > Saddam’s forces, now find themselves outgunned, under-equipped, and > overwhelmed,” Prince wrote. “But they do fight, and they fight bravely. The > Kurds’ biggest problem is the U.S. State Department blocking them from > selling their oil and from buying serious weaponry to protect their > stronghold and act as a stabilizing force in the region.” > > Prince, long a proponent of using private military contractors to backstop > U.S. policy abroad, added that the private sector has “long provided > nations around the world with innovative solutions to national defense > problems,” and he seems to look back fondly on the work Blackwater did. > > “If the old Blackwater team were still together, I have high confidence > that a multi-brigade-size unit of veteran American contractors or a > multi-national force could be rapidly assembled and deployed to be that > necessary ground combat team,” Prince wrote. “The professionals would be > hired for their combat skills in armor, artillery, small unit tactics, > special operations, logistics, and whatever else may be needed. A competent > professional force of volunteers would serve as the pointy end of the spear > and would serve to strengthen friendly but skittish indigenous forces.” > > It’s not the first time Prince has said that Blackwater — later re-branded > as Xe Services, and more recently as Academi — would have changed the > equation in the fight against the Islamic State. At a political event last > month, he said it was “a shame” the Obama administration had “crushed” his > old business because it could have solved the issue of whether to put > American troops on the ground in Iraq this year, according to the Daily > Beast > <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/19/blackwater-founder-wants-to-fight-ebola-isis-and-for-the-gop-to-get-off-their-ass.html> > . > > Contractors could have “gone in there and done it, and be done, and not > have a long, protracted political mess that I predict will ensue,” Prince > added. > > Prince’s comments are likely red meat for those who think the Obama > administration should do more to fight the Islamic State. His contention > that Iraqi military units fell apart when tested by the militants is true. > It’s also true that the State Department government has declined to > sanction the sale of oil from the semi-autonomous Kurds or sell them > weapons, preferring instead to deal with Iraq’s government in Baghdad. > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZW9laGphBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MTI5NTM5MTk-> > > - New Members > > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJnbGlzbTI5BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2bWJycwRzdGltZQMxNDEyOTUzOTE5> > 1 > > [image: Yahoo! 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