Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army: Difference between revisions

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Author	Jeremy Scahill
Sprache	Englisch
Series	Politics
Publisher	Nation Books
Publication date	February 15, 2007
Publication place	Vereinigte Staaten
Media type	Print
Pages	464
ISBN	1-56025-979-5
OCLC	84897494
Dewey Decimal	355.3/540973 22
LC Class	DS79.76 .S322 2007

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Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army is a book written by independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, published by Nation Books in 2007, as a history and analysis of Blackwater USA, now called Constellis Holdings. It won one of the 2007 George Polk Awards.^[1]

Synopsis

The book details the rise of Blackwater USA, a private military company, and the growth of security contracting in the Iraq War and the War on Terrorism. In the book, Scahill contends that Blackwater exists as a mercenary force, and argues that Blackwater's rise is a consequence of the demobilization of the US military following the Cold War and its overextension in Iraq and Afghanistan. He argues that the 2004 Fallujah ambush ultimately increased Blackwater's business portfolio. He describes further how Blackwater (at the time of writing) serves in Iraq and Afghanistan like, in his judgement, a Praetorian Guard, protecting top authority figures and enjoying immunity from the usual constraints and regulations on traditional armies. Scahill argues that Blackwater's leadership was motivated by a right-wing Republican ideology, and that its founder, Erik Prince, has provided significant assistance in that venue. Scahill reports that Blackwater forces were also deployed in Sudan and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater is also allegedly present in some parts of India, although no sources confirm this existence. Critiquing the book and Scahill, Bruce Bawer writes that Scahill has an "unsettling propensity to improve on facts", and that "Throughout Blackwater, Scahill inflates statistics. " ^[2]

Editions

2007 U.S. hardcover, Nation Books, ISBN 978-1-56025-979-4
2007 U.K. hardcover, Serpent's Tail, ISBN 978-1-84668-630-6
2008 U.S. paperback, Nation Books, ISBN 978-1-56858-394-5
The book has been translated into Chinese and Arabic.

References

^ McFadden, Robert D. (2008-02-19). "Slain Editor Heads List of Polk Award Winners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
^ https://www.city-journal.org/article/jeremy-scahill-ideologue

External links

CBC interview with Scahill about the book
NPR interview with Scahill about the book
Democracy Now! interview with Scahill about the book
Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder by Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, August 4, 2009
In Explosive Allegations, Ex-Employees Link Blackwater Founder to Murder, Threats - video by Democracy Now!
Human Rights First; Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity (2008)

[1] McFadden, Robert D. (2008-02-19). "Slain Editor Heads List of Polk Award Winners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-16.

[2] ttps://www.city-journal.org/article/jeremy-scahill-ideologue

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Redirect|Blackwater (book)|other books with similar titles|Blackwater (disambiguation)}}
+{{Multiple issues|
+{{one source|date=October 2015}}
+{{more footnotes|date=December 2017}}
+}}
+{{short description|2007 non-fiction book}}
 {{Infobox book
 | name          = Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
@@ Line 23: / Line 28: @@
 }}
-'''''Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army''''' is a book written by independent journalist [[Jeremy Scahill]], published by Nation Books in 2007, as a history and analysis of [[Blackwater Worldwide|Blackwater USA]], now called Academi. It won one of the 2007 [[George Polk Award]]s.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/nyregion/19polk.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0]</ref>
+'''''Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army''''' is a book written by independent journalist [[Jeremy Scahill]], published by Nation Books in 2007, as a history and analysis of [[Blackwater Worldwide|Blackwater USA]], now called Constellis Holdings. It won one of the 2007 [[George Polk Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/nyregion/19polk.html|title=Slain Editor Heads List of Polk Award Winners|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=2008-02-19|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-03-16|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
 == Synopsis ==
-The book details the rise of [[Blackwater Worldwide|Blackwater USA]], a [[private military company]], and the growth of security contracting in the [[Iraq War]] and the [[War on Terrorism]]. In the book, Scahill contends that Blackwater exists as a [[mercenary]] force, and argues that Blackwater's rise is a consequence of the demobilisation of the [[US military]] following the [[Cold War]] and its overextension in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]].  He describes further how Blackwater (at the time of writing) serves in Iraq and Afghanistan like, in his judgement, a [[Praetorian Guard]], protecting top authority figures and enjoying immunity from the usual constraints and regulations on traditional armies. Scahill argues that Blackwater's leadership was motivated by a [[right-wing]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] ideology, and that its founder, [[Erik Prince]], has provided significant assistance in that venue. Blackwater is also present in some parts of Pakistan.
+The book details the rise of [[Blackwater Worldwide|Blackwater USA]], a [[private military company]], and the growth of security contracting in the [[Iraq War]] and the [[War on Terrorism]]. In the book, Scahill contends that Blackwater exists as a [[mercenary]] force, and argues that Blackwater's rise is a consequence of the demobilization of the [[US military]] following the [[Cold War]] and its overextension in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]]. He argues that the [[2004 Fallujah ambush]] ultimately increased Blackwater's business portfolio. He describes further how Blackwater (at the time of writing) serves in Iraq and Afghanistan like, in his judgement, a [[Praetorian Guard]], protecting top authority figures and enjoying immunity from the usual constraints and regulations on traditional armies. Scahill argues that Blackwater's leadership was motivated by a [[right-wing]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] ideology, and that its founder, [[Erik Prince]], has provided significant assistance in that venue. Scahill reports that Blackwater forces were also deployed in [[Sudan]] and in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]]. Blackwater is also allegedly present in some parts of India, although no sources confirm this existence. Critiquing the book and Scahill, [[Bruce Bawer]] writes that Scahill has an "unsettling propensity to improve on facts", and that "Throughout Blackwater, Scahill inflates statistics. " <ref>https://www.city-journal.org/article/jeremy-scahill-ideologue</ref>
 == Editions ==
-* 2007 U.S. hardcover, Nation Books, ISBN 978-1-56025-979-4
+* 2007 U.S. hardcover, Nation Books, {{ISBN|978-1-56025-979-4}}
-* 2007 U.K. hardcover, Serpent's Tail, ISBN 978-1-84668-630-6
+* 2007 U.K. hardcover, Serpent's Tail, {{ISBN|978-1-84668-630-6}}
-* 2008 U.S. paperback, Nation Books, ISBN 978-1-56858-394-5
+* 2008 U.S. paperback, Nation Books, {{ISBN|978-1-56858-394-5}}
 * The book has been translated into Chinese and Arabic.
@@ Line 41: / Line 46: @@
 == External links ==
 *[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2007/200703/20070314.html CBC interview] with Scahill about the book
-*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8992128 NPR interview] with Scahill about the book
+*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8992128 NPR interview] with Scahill about the book
-*[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1337226 Democracy Now! interview] with Scahill about the book
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070411045842/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07%2F03%2F20%2F1337226 Democracy Now! interview] with Scahill about the book
+*[https://www.thenation.com/article/blackwater-founder-implicated-murder/ Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder] by Jeremy Scahill, ''[[The Nation]]'', August 4, 2009
-*[http://www.hcss.nl/en/publication/389/The-Strategic-Contractor---Iraq,-Blackwater-and-Pr.html The Strategic Contractor - op-ed 19 Sept 2007 by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies]
-*[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder] by Jeremy Scahill, ''[[The Nation]]'', August 4, 2009
-*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32291727#32291727 Blackwater's Dark Side Exposed] - video news report by ''MSNBC''
 *[http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/5/in_explosive_allegations_ex_employees_link In Explosive Allegations, Ex-Employees Link Blackwater Founder to Murder, Threats] - video by ''Democracy Now!''
-* Human Rights First; [http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/08115-usls-psc-final.pdf Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity (2008)]
+* Human Rights First; [https://web.archive.org/web/20100508152055/http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/08115-usls-psc-final.pdf Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity (2008)]
 {{BlackwaterUSA}}
-[[Category:Academi]]
+[[Category:Blackwater (company)]]
-[[Category:2007 books]]
+[[Category:2007 non-fiction books]]
 [[Category:Current affairs books]]
 [[Category:Military books]]

v t e Blackwater
Key people	Erik Prince Cofer Black Joseph E. Schmitz Red McCombs
Controversies	Nisour Square massacre Abtan v. Blackwater Andrew J. Moonen Helvenston v. Blackwater Security Scott Helvenston Ayham al-Samarie Davis v. U.S. Training Center, Inc.
Related media	Blackwater Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army Shadow Company