Erik Prince, founder and CEO of the Blackwater private security contractor, talked with 60 Minutes' Lara Logan. His reception was hardly a welcome one, with Logan claiming that “a Blackwater convoy opened fire without provocation,” after having just described a “massive car bomb” attack.In spite of this, Logan had to admit that the Iraqi government's criticism of Blackwater may not be well founded. She asked:
When you hear the Iraqi government complete an investigation in record time, I think–a matter of days – and pronounce you 100% guilty, what’s your reaction to that?Prince answered:
I take it all with a grain of salt. Three of our fully-armored State Department trucks had bullet pockmarkets in them and one of them was even disabled from the enemy small-arms fire.
Regarding the Department of Justice' investigation of his company, Prince explained:
I’m glad the FBI’s investigating; I’m glad they can be a neutral party and if there’s further investigation or prosecution even needed – if someone really did wrong and meant badly – I’m all supportive because… we want justice done. We want more oversight. We want more accountability.
Prince said one of the things he's most proud of is the way Blackwater has gone beyond its contracts to help others, as in the case of the rescue of the Polish ambassador earlier this month, a feat of considerable technical skill.
1 comment:
Prince said it best by stating “I am an American, working for America.” Blackwater USA is a security organization that performs tasks conventional forces cannot. It exists for the realization of U.S. interests and those alone.
The media, however, has promulgated their opinion of Blackwater as Logan described, “shooting first and asking questions later.” It was a good PR move for Prince to schedule an interview, especially with CBS, a leading critic against the private military company. It helped to establish a form of credibility the company is seeking.
It might behoove critics to brush-up on their history of American conflicts, nearly all of which have been fought with some form of private security force or another.
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