Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (63 page)
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Authors: Jeremy Scahill
BOOK: Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
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Alabama Republican Mike Rogers, who chaired the Congressional hearing, blasted the costs of government training programs for border agents, saying, “It’s going to cost more to train a border patrol officer in a ten-month program than it is to get a four-year degree at Harvard University.” Rogers asked: if Blackwater was given $100,000 per agent, did Jackson believe the company “would give them equal or better training than they’re receiving” from the federal government’s training program? “I could assure you of that,” Jackson shot back. He told the lawmakers that Blackwater could train all two thousand new border patrol agents in one year. “Blackwater successfully conducts a similar public-private partnership with the Department of State to recruit, train, deploy, and manage diplomatic security specialists in Iraq and other areas of interest. Securing our borders will continue to be a challenge for our nation,” Jackson said. “The urgency is clear. History repeatedly demonstrates that innovation and efficiency are what alter the strategic balance, and Blackwater offers both in support of training new border patrol agents. Just as the private sector has responded in moving mail and packages around the world in a more efficient manner, so too can Blackwater respond to the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) emerging and compelling training needs.”
A few days later, Blackwater’s
Tactical Weekly
newsletter carried the news headline “Border Patrol Should Consider Outsourcing Its Training, Lawmaker Says.”
55
The article, from the
Federal Times,
reported that “[Congressman] Rogers said the government may need to turn to Blackwater USA or other contractor if they can do the job cheaper. ‘We have a fiduciary obligation to taxpayers to look at other options,’ Rogers said. ‘It’s irresponsible to go forward with that in the absence of supporting documentation.’”
56
Tactical Weekly
newsletter carried the news headline “Border Patrol Should Consider Outsourcing Its Training, Lawmaker Says.”
55
The article, from the
Federal Times,
reported that “[Congressman] Rogers said the government may need to turn to Blackwater USA or other contractor if they can do the job cheaper. ‘We have a fiduciary obligation to taxpayers to look at other options,’ Rogers said. ‘It’s irresponsible to go forward with that in the absence of supporting documentation.’”
56
In November 2005, Blackwater and the American Red Cross held a joint “Gulf Region Relief” fundraiser that symbolically brought Blackwater’s diverse federal contracts full circle. The keynote speaker, welcomed with a standing ovation, was Blackwater’s once-prized client, L. Paul Bremer, whose book on Iraq had just been published. Blackwater claimed to have raised $138,000 that night
57
—about $100,000 shy of the company’s estimated daily take from the Katrina contracting jackpot. “Tonight was a success because it was about Americans helping Americans,” said Gary Jackson, repeating what had become Blackwater’s new mantra. “Our great employees and our special relationship with Ambassador Bremer and the Red Cross made it possible to pull off this event.”
58
It was reminiscent of the tobacco industry cheering its own meager contributions to antismoking campaigns, while at the same time aggressively marketing cigarettes with exponentially more resources. In reality, Blackwater gained far more from the hurricane than New Orleans’s victims did from Blackwater’s services.
57
—about $100,000 shy of the company’s estimated daily take from the Katrina contracting jackpot. “Tonight was a success because it was about Americans helping Americans,” said Gary Jackson, repeating what had become Blackwater’s new mantra. “Our great employees and our special relationship with Ambassador Bremer and the Red Cross made it possible to pull off this event.”
58
It was reminiscent of the tobacco industry cheering its own meager contributions to antismoking campaigns, while at the same time aggressively marketing cigarettes with exponentially more resources. In reality, Blackwater gained far more from the hurricane than New Orleans’s victims did from Blackwater’s services.
President Bush used the Katrina disaster to try to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act (the ban on using U.S. troops in domestic law enforcement), and Blackwater and other security firms initiated a push to install their paramilitaries on U.S. soil, bringing the war home in yet another ominous way. “This is a trend,” said one Blackwater mercenary in New Orleans. “You’re going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations.” Blackwater had now solidified its position not only as one of the great beneficiaries of the “war on terror” but as a major player in several of the key arenas of the neoconservative agenda. On the one-year anniversary of Katrina, Gary Jackson used the opportunity to showcase Blackwater’s services. “When the Department of Homeland Security called with an emergent and compelling requirement for a turnkey security solution for multiple federal assets, we responded,” he wrote. “Our Rapid Response Enterprise has global reach and can make a positive difference in the lives of those who are affected by natural disasters and terrorist events.”
59
59
Shortly after Blackwater’s Katrina profits started rolling in, Erik Prince sent out a memo on Prince Group letterhead to “all Blackwater USA officers, employees, and independent contractors.” Its subject: “Blackwater USA National Security Oath and Leadership Standards.” It required Blackwater workers to swear the same oath to the Constitution as Blackwater’s “National Security-related clients” to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. . . . So help me God.”
60
60
In January 2006, as Blackwater continued to enjoy the great windfall from Hurricane Katrina, its powerful lobbying firm, the Alexander Strategy Group, was brought down in the flames of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Abramoff was a member of President Bush’s 2001 Transition Team, a powerful Republican lobbyist, and a close associate of many of the most powerful political players in the United States. In March 2006, after months of sustained revelations about Abramoff’s influence-peddling activities, he ended up pleading guilty to five felony counts in one of the greatest corruption scandals in Washington in recent history. ASG was one of several Abramoff-related casualties. The well-connected Republican lobbying firm, founded and run by former senior staffers of ex-House majority leader Tom DeLay, was also deeply entangled in several other scandals rocking Washington at the time. As Abramoff was going down, ASG’s lobbyists feverishly scrambled to dissociate themselves from the sinking ship.
A few months earlier, it would have been difficult to predict ASG’s downfall. The firm enjoyed a prosperous 2005, ranked as a Top 25 lobbying outfit by
National Journal,
with revenues on a steady rise—up 34 percent in one year, to $8 million from what the
Washington Post
termed “an A-list of about 70 companies and organizations.”
61
In addition to powerhouses like PhRMA, Enron, TimeWarner, Microsoft, and Eli Lilly, ASG counted among its clients over the years several evangelical Christian causes and organizations—among them right-wing media operations like Salem Communications, the National Religious Broadcasters, and Grace News.
62
ASG was also a quiet workhorse in procuring lucrative military contracts for some of its clients. At the time of its downfall, ASG was on the cutting edge of one of the fastest-growing industries within the military world—private security. That was thanks in large part to the long-term relationship between ASG partner Paul Behrends and Blackwater owner Erik Prince.
National Journal,
with revenues on a steady rise—up 34 percent in one year, to $8 million from what the
Washington Post
termed “an A-list of about 70 companies and organizations.”
61
In addition to powerhouses like PhRMA, Enron, TimeWarner, Microsoft, and Eli Lilly, ASG counted among its clients over the years several evangelical Christian causes and organizations—among them right-wing media operations like Salem Communications, the National Religious Broadcasters, and Grace News.
62
ASG was also a quiet workhorse in procuring lucrative military contracts for some of its clients. At the time of its downfall, ASG was on the cutting edge of one of the fastest-growing industries within the military world—private security. That was thanks in large part to the long-term relationship between ASG partner Paul Behrends and Blackwater owner Erik Prince.
While Behrends had been lobbying for Prince and Blackwater almost from the moment the business began, the key assistance Behrends provided came in the immediate aftermath of the Fallujah ambush in 2004. In November 2005, when Blackwater and other private security firms began a push to recast their mercenary image under the banner of the International Peace Operations Association, the mercenary trade association, it was Behrends and ASG they enlisted to help them do it.
63
Among those registered by ASG as lobbyists for IPOA were several former DeLay staffers, including Ed Buckham and Karl Gallant, former head of DeLay’s ARMPAC, and Tony Rudy, DeLay’s former counsel, who pleaded guilty in March 2006 to conspiracy to corrupt public officials and defraud clients.
64
Interestingly, Rudy had also worked alongside Behrends in Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s office in the early 1990s—the same time Erik Prince claimed to have worked there as a defense analyst.
65
According to Rohrabacher’s office, Prince was actually an unpaid intern. Rohrabacher remained an ardent defender of Jack Abramoff, whom he first met when Abramoff was a leading College Republican and Rohrabacher was an aide to President Reagan. When Abramoff was sentenced in 2006, Rohrabacher was the only sitting Congress member to write the sentencing judge asking for leniency. “Jack was a selfless patriot most of the time I knew him. His first and foremost consideration was protecting America from its enemies,” Rohrabacher wrote. “Only later did he cash in on the contacts he made from his idealistic endeavors.”
66
63
Among those registered by ASG as lobbyists for IPOA were several former DeLay staffers, including Ed Buckham and Karl Gallant, former head of DeLay’s ARMPAC, and Tony Rudy, DeLay’s former counsel, who pleaded guilty in March 2006 to conspiracy to corrupt public officials and defraud clients.
64
Interestingly, Rudy had also worked alongside Behrends in Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s office in the early 1990s—the same time Erik Prince claimed to have worked there as a defense analyst.
65
According to Rohrabacher’s office, Prince was actually an unpaid intern. Rohrabacher remained an ardent defender of Jack Abramoff, whom he first met when Abramoff was a leading College Republican and Rohrabacher was an aide to President Reagan. When Abramoff was sentenced in 2006, Rohrabacher was the only sitting Congress member to write the sentencing judge asking for leniency. “Jack was a selfless patriot most of the time I knew him. His first and foremost consideration was protecting America from its enemies,” Rohrabacher wrote. “Only later did he cash in on the contacts he made from his idealistic endeavors.”
66
Prince himself managed to escape scrutiny, despite his ties to Rudy and his connection to Abramoff. The Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation, of which Erik Prince is a vice president and his mother is president, gave at least $130,000 to Toward Tradition,
67
an organization that described itself as a “national coalition of Jews and Christians devoted to fighting the secular institutions that foster anti-religious bigotry, harm families, and jeopardize the future of America.”
68
Abramoff served as chairman of the organization, run by his longtime friend Rabbi Daniel Lapin, until 2000, and remained on the board until 2004.
69
Toward Tradition surfaced in Abramoff’s plea agreement as a “non-profit entity” through which “Abramoff provided things of value . . . [w]ith the intent to influence . . . official acts.”
70
Abramoff clients eLottery, an Internet gambling company, and the Magazine Publishers of America each donated $25,000 to Toward Tradition.
71
The $50,000 was then paid to Tony Rudy’s wife, Lisa, in ten $5,000 installments for consulting services.
72
At the time, Rudy was DeLay’s deputy chief of staff and was helping eLottery to fight a bill that would outlaw Internet gambling and helping the MPA to fight a postal rate increase.
73
67
an organization that described itself as a “national coalition of Jews and Christians devoted to fighting the secular institutions that foster anti-religious bigotry, harm families, and jeopardize the future of America.”
68
Abramoff served as chairman of the organization, run by his longtime friend Rabbi Daniel Lapin, until 2000, and remained on the board until 2004.
69
Toward Tradition surfaced in Abramoff’s plea agreement as a “non-profit entity” through which “Abramoff provided things of value . . . [w]ith the intent to influence . . . official acts.”
70
Abramoff clients eLottery, an Internet gambling company, and the Magazine Publishers of America each donated $25,000 to Toward Tradition.
71
The $50,000 was then paid to Tony Rudy’s wife, Lisa, in ten $5,000 installments for consulting services.
72
At the time, Rudy was DeLay’s deputy chief of staff and was helping eLottery to fight a bill that would outlaw Internet gambling and helping the MPA to fight a postal rate increase.
73
Despite the ASG scandal in early 2006, the head of the IPOA, Doug Brooks, told
Roll Call
that the association with Behrends would continue, saying IPOA found him “helpful in terms of what we were working on.”
74
While the ASG lobbyists scrambled to set up new shops with different names and clients tried to distance themselves from the scandal, Behrends began working for powerhouse law firm Crowell & Moring’s lobbying arm, C&M Capitol Link—a company he had previously worked with on behalf of Blackwater in 2004.
75
Still, some questioned the hiring of a DeLay-linked lobbyist. “We did our homework. We did all the right due diligence, as you might guess,” said John Thorne, head of C&M Capitol Link. “[Behrends’s] reputation is solid. Everyone we talked to said he was completely out of that other business.”
76
But Behrends was not out of the mercenary business in general nor Blackwater’s stake in it specifically. The bond between the influential lobbyist and Erik Prince was far too strong not to weather a mere political scandal. Besides, major projects were on the horizon.
Roll Call
that the association with Behrends would continue, saying IPOA found him “helpful in terms of what we were working on.”
74
While the ASG lobbyists scrambled to set up new shops with different names and clients tried to distance themselves from the scandal, Behrends began working for powerhouse law firm Crowell & Moring’s lobbying arm, C&M Capitol Link—a company he had previously worked with on behalf of Blackwater in 2004.
75
Still, some questioned the hiring of a DeLay-linked lobbyist. “We did our homework. We did all the right due diligence, as you might guess,” said John Thorne, head of C&M Capitol Link. “[Behrends’s] reputation is solid. Everyone we talked to said he was completely out of that other business.”
76
But Behrends was not out of the mercenary business in general nor Blackwater’s stake in it specifically. The bond between the influential lobbyist and Erik Prince was far too strong not to weather a mere political scandal. Besides, major projects were on the horizon.
The company would soon begin expanding its global reach and its appetite for international contracts, putting its forces forward as possible peacekeepers in places like Darfur—a crisis zone located in Cofer Black’s old stomping ground, Sudan. Eight years after Blackwater’s quiet beginnings, the company had become a major player in the neoconservative revolution and would enthusiastically act as the Pied Piper of the neo-mercenary rebranding movement.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE”
BY THE
time Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned in late 2006, he had indeed, as President Bush declared, overseen the “most sweeping transformation of America’s global force posture since the end of World War II.”
1
By Rumsfeld’s last day in office, the ratio of active-duty U.S. soldiers to private contractors deployed in Iraq had almost reached one to one,
2
a statistic unprecedented in modern warfare. Vice President Dick Cheney called Rumsfeld “the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had.”
3
The praise was understandable coming from Cheney. The dramatic military privatization scheme launched during Cheney’s time as Secretary of Defense during the 1991 Gulf War had grown beyond his wildest expectations under Rumsfeld and has forever altered the way the United States wages its wars. And yet despite the unprecedented level of private sector involvement on the battlefield, the U.S. military has seldom been stretched more thinly or faced more perilous times. The Bush administration’s occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan taxed U.S. forces to the point where former Secretary of State Colin Powell declared in late 2006 that “the active Army is about broken.”
4
In the midst of such striking commentary from one of the country’s most celebrated military figures, President Bush announced his intent to increase the size of the American armed forces to “position our military so that it is ready and able to stay engaged in a long war.”
5
In his 2007 State of the Union address, Bush called for an increase of ninety-two thousand active duty troops within five years and proposed a Civilian Reserve Corps to supplement official U.S. forces.
6
time Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned in late 2006, he had indeed, as President Bush declared, overseen the “most sweeping transformation of America’s global force posture since the end of World War II.”
1
By Rumsfeld’s last day in office, the ratio of active-duty U.S. soldiers to private contractors deployed in Iraq had almost reached one to one,
2
a statistic unprecedented in modern warfare. Vice President Dick Cheney called Rumsfeld “the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had.”
3
The praise was understandable coming from Cheney. The dramatic military privatization scheme launched during Cheney’s time as Secretary of Defense during the 1991 Gulf War had grown beyond his wildest expectations under Rumsfeld and has forever altered the way the United States wages its wars. And yet despite the unprecedented level of private sector involvement on the battlefield, the U.S. military has seldom been stretched more thinly or faced more perilous times. The Bush administration’s occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan taxed U.S. forces to the point where former Secretary of State Colin Powell declared in late 2006 that “the active Army is about broken.”
4
In the midst of such striking commentary from one of the country’s most celebrated military figures, President Bush announced his intent to increase the size of the American armed forces to “position our military so that it is ready and able to stay engaged in a long war.”
5
In his 2007 State of the Union address, Bush called for an increase of ninety-two thousand active duty troops within five years and proposed a Civilian Reserve Corps to supplement official U.S. forces.
6
While the “bleeding” of the U.S. military was without question the result of the administration’s aggressive policies and unpopular occupations, the new Democratic Congressional leadership, which swept to power in November 2006, seemed more than willing to go along with Bush’s aspirations for an even larger military, rather than questioning the insatiable appetite for conquest that made it a necessity. Among the few forces that could take comfort in this situation are those that have benefited the most from the war on terror—the companies of the war industry. Few have gained as much in the Bush years and few stand to benefit more from the projected U.S. course in the future than Blackwater USA. Erik Prince knows this. In fact, he has offered up a remedy of his own for the numbers crisis in the military—the creation of a “contractor brigade.” As for the official Army plan to increase its size by thirty thousand troops, Prince asserted, “We could certainly do it cheaper.”
7
Those are the words of a man empowered by success and confident in his future. They are the words of a man with his own army, hailed by the neoconservative
Weekly Standard
as “the alpha and omega of military outsourcing.”
8
7
Those are the words of a man empowered by success and confident in his future. They are the words of a man with his own army, hailed by the neoconservative
Weekly Standard
as “the alpha and omega of military outsourcing.”
8
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