Comrade Prince? This is a revealing article about the Afghan War and Erik Prince of Blackwater infamy. The following quote is noteworthy:"Mr. Prince is positioning his pitch as a cheaper middle option between continuing a largely failed military strategy at an expensive annual tab of tens of billions of dollars, and a complete security withdrawal that some fear would abandon 17 years of costly Western efforts to remake Afghanistan." Prince, whose Blackwater mercenary company has gone through many name changes (it's now called Frontier Services Group) wants to privatize the Afghan War based on 1) the fact that the American military is utterly incompetent despite its bloated budget (its never recovered from its defeat by the Vietnamese peasant army) and faces defeat again in Afghanistan or at best a stalemate with no end in sight and 2. "Blackwater" mercenaries can do a better job and cheaper (allowing the US military to leave with its head held high even if its tail is between its legs). Prince and "Blackwater" have been getting the cold shoulder from the US since the massacre in Iraq (Nisour Square 2007) resulted in poor public relations and necessitated the name changes for "Blackwater." But don't discount Prince's future, as the next quote indicates: "His business has since gone through several reincarnations. His latest venture, the Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group, has contracts in Africa and Asia, and is backed by Citic Group, a large state-owned Chinese investment company." The Chinese government has the controlling interest in "Backwater" now and it's primary mission is protecting Chinese businesses and personal in Africa and elsewhere. The Chinese are pragmatic and efficient and it would be a lesson in understanding the real world if Prince, now effectively an employee of Qi Jinping, were to succeed where the Soviets and Americans have failed. The Afghan business would no doubt be set up as an independent entity.
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