I picked this article up on the net on Eric Prince who founded Blackwater. IMHO it's a good read. LINK
Hm. Bring back privateers. From wiki - In the days of fighting sail, a letter of marque and reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person (known as a privateer) to attack and capture enemy vessels and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale. Cruising for prizes with a letter of marque was considered an honorable calling combining patriotism and profit, in contrast to unlicensed piracy, which was universally reviled.[1] In addition to the term lettre de marque, the French sometimes used the term lettre de course for their letters of marque. "Letter of marque" was sometimes used to describe the vessel used: a "letter of marque" generally refers to a lumbering square-rigged cargo carrier that might pick up a prize if the opportunity arose.[2] A "privateer" was a fast and weatherly fore-and-aft-rigged vessel heavily armed and heavily crewed, intended exclusively for fighting. A "letter of marque and reprisal" would involve permission to cross an international border to effect a reprisal (take some action against an attack or injury) authorized by an issuing jurisdiction to conduct reprisal operations outside its borders.
LOL, I was talking with my son about Blackwater. He has a low opinion of these out of control scum private contractors, I mentioned the old school letter of marque and reprisal / privater as above. He didn't see the humor. I guess it's a Marine thing.... I'd hate to think this as "the future", but it may well be. The folks at Executive Outcomes (PMC) were successful, but universally hated as well, despite winning... I suppose Governments want to control who fights wars....because if business ever goes into the business, it going to be a strange world to live (and die) in.
"Letters of Marque and Reprisal" predate the Marines. I dare say that precursors to the Marines served on privateers that were nothing more than state sanctioned piracy.
By the way I wasn't standing up for the man nor condemning him. I like to listen to what people have to say whether I agree or not. Looking at things in perspective so to speak. Putting private contractors in say Dafur with strict rules of engagement could have saved thousands of lives. Other places not so much. YMMV.
I have seen him on two different interviews. I do recall that when Bush was low in the polls the press was having a field day with Blackwater. I do wonder the real truth. I didn't pass judgement because I am not sure. Blackwater has been renamed and relocated, now Mr. Prince is doing a book tour. It shows that most have a very short attention span with little memory. PC's have been around forever and IMO do serve a purpose. They break rules and are more flexible(?) then our soldiers but that can go way beyond what the purpose is. I am having trouble finding the words to describe what i want to say.
Nobody has legitimate authority to sanction theft of one persons property by another. Statists like to think so because they are some day hoping to profit themselves by such an arrangement. Pretty psychologically sick. And thieves like it because it gives them a degree of protection from at least one group (government) likely large enough to extinguish them for their theft. It's a pretty sick world.
I couldn't have said it better myself. In the days of using Privateers, there was no global corporate cartel spider web controlling media, politics, medicine, education, transportation, regulation and public perception. Also, modern private use of tactical units provide a comfortable cushion for plausible deniability, not to mention the size of the coin purse as incentive.
