Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated]

It was the Mogadishu moment of the Iraq war. March 31, 2004: Four American mercenaries are ambushed in the Sunni hotbed of Fallujah, their jeeps set ablaze with the men inside. An angry mob drags their charred corpses through the streets, hanging them from a bridge over the Euphrates River. "Fallujah is the graveyard of the Americans!," the mob declares in front of the cameras. Within hours, the images spread across the world. The ensuing US slaughter in Fallujah would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts US occupation forces to this day. Who were the mercenaries killed in Fallujah and who sent them there to die? Meet Blackwater USA, the powerful private army that the U.S. government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. Founded by billionaire Erik Prince, the company has its own military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, and twenty-thousand troops at the ready, Blackwater is the elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror"-- yet most people have never heard of it. It was the moment the war turned: On March 31, 2004, four Americans were ambushed and burned near their jeeps by an angry mob in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja. Their charred corpses were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. The ensuing slaughter by U.S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day. But these men were neither American military nor civilians. They were highly trained private soldiers sent to Iraq by a secretive mercenary company based in the wilderness of North Carolina. __Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army__ is the unauthorized story of the epic rise of one of the most powerful and secretive forces to emerge from the U.S. military-industrial complex, hailed by the Bush administration as a revolution in military affairs, but considered by others as a dire threat to American democracy. 156858394X......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 8 Author's Note......Page 10 THE FACE OF BLACKWATER......Page 12 INTRODUCTION: BAGHDAD’S BLOODY SUNDAY......Page 14 CHAPTER ONE: MAKING A KILLING......Page 60 CHAPTER TWO: THE LITTLE PRINCE......Page 76 CHAPTER THREE: BLACKWATER BEGINS......Page 100 CHAPTER FOUR: FALLUJAH BEFORE BLACKWATER......Page 124 CHAPTER FIVE: GUARDING BUSH’S MAN IN BAGHDAD......Page 136 CHAPTER SIX: SCOTTY GOES TO WAR......Page 156 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE AMBUSH......Page 166 CHAPTER EIGHT: "WE WILL PACIFY FALLUJAH"......Page 180 CHAPTER NINE: NAJAF, IRAQ: 4.04.04......Page 192 CHAPTER TEN: "THIS IS FOR THE AMERICANS OF BLACKWATER"......Page 208 CHAPTER ELEVEN: MR. PRINCE GOES TO WASHINGTON......Page 220 CHAPTER TWELVE: CASPIAN PIPELINE DREAMS......Page 242 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BLACKWATER’S MAN IN CHILE......Page 256 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: "THE WHORES OF WAR"......Page 286 CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE CRASH OF BLACKWATER 61......Page 316 CHAPTER SIXTEEN: COFER BLACK: THE GLOVES COME OFF......Page 340 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: DEATH SQUADS, MERCENARIES, AND THE "SALVADOR OPTION"......Page 360 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: JOSEPH SCHMITZ: CHRISTIAN SOLDIER......Page 376 CHAPTER NINETEEN: BLACKWATER DOWN: BAGHDAD ON THE BAYOU......Page 400 CHAPTER TWENTY: "THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE"......Page 420 EPILOGUE: BLACKWATER BEYOND BUSH......Page 458 Acknowledgments......Page 476 Notes......Page 480 A......Page 546 B......Page 547 C......Page 548 E......Page 550 G......Page 551 H......Page 552 J......Page 553 L......Page 554 N......Page 555 P......Page 556 S......Page 558 U......Page 560 Z......Page 561

Meet Blackwater USA, the powerful private army that the U.S. government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. With its own military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, and twenty-thousand troops at the ready, Blackwater is the elite Praetorian Guard for the global war on terror- yet most people have never heard of it. It was the moment the war turned: On March 31, 2004, four Americans were ambushed and burned near their jeeps by an angry mob in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja. Their charred corpses were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. The ensuing slaughter by U.S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day. But these men were neither American military nor civilians. They were highly trained private soldiers sent to Iraq by a secretive mercenary company based in the wilderness of North Carolina. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army is the unauthorized story of the epic rise of one of the most powerful and secretive forces to emerge from the U.S. military-industrial complex, hailed by the Bush administration as a revolution in military affairs, but considered by others as a dire threat to American democracy.

In this exposé by radical journalist Scahill, you will meet BLACKWATER USA, the world's most secretive and powerful mercenary firm. Based in the wilderness of North Carolina, it is the fastest-growing private army on the planet, with forces capable of carrying out regime change throughout the world. Blackwater protects the top US officials in Iraq, and yet we know almost nothing about the firm's quasi-military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and inside the US. Blackwater was founded by an extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christian mega-millionaire ex-Navy Seal named Erik Prince, the scion of a wealthy conservative family that bankrolls far-right-wing causes. This book is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to rooftop firefights in Najaf to the hurricane-ravaged US Gulf to Washington DC, where Blackwater executives are hailed as new heroes in the war on terror.--From publisher description On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U. S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide. This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the "War on Terror. " In his gripping bestseller, awardwinning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U. S. war machine. * Winner of the George Polk Book Award * Alternet Best Book of the Year * Barnes & Noble one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007 * Amazon one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007 The groundbreaking bestselling expose of the shadowy mercenary army that perpetrated horrific war crimes in America's name. On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square, leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled'Baghdad's Bloody Sunday,'was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces, subcontractors working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide, led by Erik Prince Award-winning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to reveal the frightening new face of the U.S. military machine, and what happens when you outsource war.'A crackling expose'-- New York Times Book Review'[Scahill] is a one-man truth squad'-- Bill Moyers'[An] utterly gripping and explosive story'-- Naomi Klein, The Guardian Explores the private security company Blackwater USA, including the background of its founder, its relationship with the United States government, and its role in the Iraq War, the cleanup of Hurricane Katrina, and the War on Terror