Unfortunately the information in this volume is but a small fraction of what has been going on in America for too many years. Naturally none of which is ever brought to the light of day by our corporate owned Media.
If the American populace were aware of the wool that has so long been pulled over their eyes this would not be. As it stands dismantling the Power Structure that has taken over our Democracy (dismantling it in the process) has become an almost insurmountable task. I am afraid that in the end it will only come to be by force with the consequence of blood running in our country's streets.

This book is delightful and informative reading.

It is extremely well documented and current. I am very pleased by the author's expertise in informing me with this book about current attempts to privatize the US military.

The reason my progress in this book is not a rapid as with many books is
that it is so jam packed with info and provides information well worth pondering.

In summary, this is a very well written and well documented book and is
well worth reading.

I read the first two chapters and threw this book in the trash. It is riddled with lies and distortions. I don't see how someone can publish such dishonest characterizations and sleep at night.

I received Blackwater and I had started to read it but after 30 pages the book started to separate from the binding in clumps. The binding is substandard, the glue used seems to be grade school quality. I would not purchase from this vendor again if the item was a paperback.

Scahill's work is a ballsy expose on something that the rest of the world either has deliberately or unintentionally chosen to ignore: The shadowy, sometimes seedy world of the mercenary soldier and their employers. These days, there are hardly any serious investigations with as much breadth and gravity as his work. This is true investigative work at its best in that sense. Among the book's merits is the background on Prince, the real origins of Blackwater, the dynamics both in America, the military, in Iraq, and the common mistakes done by politicians and mercs alike.

However, there are also limitations. I was surprised that Scahill barely (if at all) mentioned the use of mercenaries in history - something as old as prostitution itself (note the analogies). Instead, the focus was on the key players at Blackwater, as well as notable incidents aside from the incident at Fallujah. What I expected more of was a history of Blackwater in terms of lucid economics. Instead of doing the top-down approach, as what conventional journalists tend to do, he could also have explored certain asides, like why old war hands will decide to take up arms again. Even a perfunctory explanation as to the whys might enlighten the rest of us. Also something along the lines of why governments generally decide to hire mercs.

Another thing I found quite disturbing was how most, if not all of the reports were definitely skewed to misrepresent anything about Blackwater though I should probably now by now that it's a left-leaning report (duh). It would be something to note that, as not all American troops in Iraq are coldhearted and bloodthirsty, then there must be even a few Blackwater ex-personnel who see things differently. Finally, the fact that most of the chapters and articles did not really have a strong and consistent theme or synthesis, as well as what should be done with it -- brought a whimpering end to what otherwise seemed like a promising book.

However, as far as exposing the particular threat that Blackwater poses as an entity within a free state, the author has achieved his aim in good and exhaustive order. I'm not a liberal in the strictest sense of the word (I was a Marine for eight years; also a martial artist) - but I'm not a fan of *big* private armies, either (or any armed gangs, for that matter). Machiavelli himself warned of the dangers of any mercenary army, for practical reasons. Think of the various Italian condottieri running amok during those turbulent times.

I debated giving four stars to this book and even wondered if there was such a thing as "3 1/2 Stars." 3 was perhaps the fairest I could give. If the author does a revised edition, I hope he explores more of the merc culture and its dynamics with governments throughout history.

Author Scahill points out the overal diabolical plot of right-wing Christians. Using Blackwater as their exclusinve secret army, they can combat Muslims, spread the Christian "faith", and make tons of money off the unknowing American taxpayer.

Blackwater has 100,000 former troops and Christian hard-liners making over $100,000 a year each in Iraq. That's when our own troops get only $26,000 or less and less life-saving equipment. Plus, Blackwater employeees can quit any time. Plus, Blackwater troops can kill with impunity. Plus, Blackwater troops can spread Christian gospel as they kill Muslims. A perfect world?

Scahill's scathing investigative report shows a United States government out of control with secret armies (with off-shore banks hiding the money trail) doing Bush's bidding in endless foreign wars.

Want to avoid the politically-incorrect draft of Americans? Make your own army paid with USA tax dollars. No draft. No pressure. Just all good, no lowest bidding to get Blackwater into New Orleans, Iraq or (soon)into Iran.

Bush/Cheney have their own army that is not governed by the Pentagon. This plan was hatched by Rumfeld/Cheney and the neocons twenty years ago.

Why mess with laws and rules? Cut the Pentagon's budget. Give the money to your own private army, Blackwater.

Don't miss this horrifying expose'.

by Larry Rochelle, author of TEN MILE CREEK

I purchased this book as I was interested in learning about the on-going privatization of military operations. What I got instead was less about the privatization of military operations and the leading company in this space, but one person's hard-left view of republican administrations (GWB's in particular) and distinct disdain for Christianity. Scahill's repeated comments about the Prince family never donating to the democratic party removes any trace of objectivity in his reporting on Blackwater.

This book is a clever piece of propaganda, whose title is designed to lure readers into thinking this is an objective treatise on Blackwater. DO NOT BE FOOLED. This book is written by a man who obviously wants the U.S. to fail in Iraq simply for the vindication he believes it will bring for his hatred of the Bush administration, regardless of the facts that such a failure will bring to the U.S. both home and abroad. I feel terrible that I contributed $26.00 to a person who so obviously despises his own country.

I don't think Mr. Scahill would deny that he writes from a left point of view; most writers have a point of view. If Rumsfield wrote this, it would be a point of view highlighting the pros of mercenary armies. Scahill meticulously cites all his references. You're free to look them up and judge for yourself. He certainly brings to our attention things which the media is basically too lazy to look into.

Putting politics aside, this book provokes important questions. It inspired me to start digging around and learn more about the battles of Fallujah. I found that the US has admitted using white phosphorus and other incendiary devices. They claim it's not used against civilians but the way it was used and images taken of the use indicate it was dropped indiscriminately. Numerous human rights groups have done reports on the US military battles in Najaf and Fallujah.

This book should inspire us to ask what kind of image we want our country to present when fighting wars. Should a US millionaire be able to have a private army? Scahill provides much information about Erik Prince. Should the US military have mercenaries out there whose allegences are to profit and the corp and not what is best for the military strategy? Do we want to encourage war profiteering? The costs Scahill outlines clearly in his book are alarming and indeed have raised questions in our Congress. Unfortunately, Congress doesn't seem to be willing to really confront what this privitazation means for our country, our soldiers, and our image in the world.

Scahill is not the only one to address this. PBS's Frontline did a great program on mercenaries about a year or so ago.

Don't take anything at face value but definitely read this book if you want to get a push into understanding war profiteering and the privatization of the US military. How can we allow mercenaries to get paid 4 times our fighting men and women, men and women who get stuck in Iraq for long periods with no breaks or visits to family? What kind of message does that send to them? It should concern us all.

First I don't understand the negative reviews of this book. A great work of journalism. Scahill goes deep into something with valid facts that the American Public knows little about.

A must read.

Being a contractor for the past three years and a Marine for eight years before that I can honestly say this book isnt worth the paper its printed on.

This is, from beginning to end, a liberal hatchet job... nothing more needs to be said.

Blackwater tells the story of the development of America's powerful mercenary/contractor corporation. This corporation and its many divisions and subsidiaries(often secret and untraceable) lashes its tentacles into all war torn nations in the world, for tremendous profit. Erik Prince, a Christian prince indeed, initiated his corporation into every nook and cranny of our governments and many of the governments in the world. It is organized like a dictatorship and bounces back and forth between calling itself a governmental and private entity so it can take advantage of the legal loopholes of both. They seem to be above the law and threaten democracy to its very core.

This compelling, well researched investigation of the world's largest paramilitary force is as gripping as it is informative. The book details the rise of Blackwater, the notorious mercenary force of 'civilian contractors' operating in Iraq. A must read for those concerned about the global-war-on-terror-gone-amuck.

Alright I don't know what has happened to news agencies and what is considered public information but there is something fundamentally wrong with what we call journalism these days. The author of this so called "authoritative" body of work obviously has a very predefined agenda. Instead of giving a unbiased view of the subject it is littered with his opinions which taint any amount of good information you would get from this book. He crucifies and demonizes people based upon facts that are based mostly in articles written by other people about events he never witnessed.

This is the worst type of secondhand journalism which can't be supported.

As a government employee who HATES the contractor aparatus I cannot honestly say that I found anything worthwhile in this book for the simple reason that all his information is shaky. He quotes whatever he can using quotes that when read in their entirety had NOTHING to do with his point.

Granted this subject would be difficult to write about because of its timing and location but that just means that the author should have taken more time with it.

And I cannot stand the fact that it has all these rave reviews from people saying that it was so well "researched"...I have seen better research from kids in middle school. And plus its easier to get the truth you want to hear then actually look into the subject and see what was happening.

Government situations and actions are the more difficult to research and break down and blackwater is no exception. The author carelessly wanted to make a buck I suppose but really this is not the way to handle a situation like this.

Thank you Mr. Scahill for once again bringing journalism down a notch. We will be taking your application to Fox News now.

now we even out source out private military. chilian Special forces for 1500 a month.

I want one!

If your so turned off by this book and claim it liberal propaganda, then your one of those insaine FAR RIGHT conservatives.

The Book is a good timeline for events reguarding Black Water, And it's opperations. Given that most of Black Waters' finnanciers are in the Far right of the Political spectrum... I can see how this is considered a Liberal Book as it sheds a not so warm light on BW and it's op's.

Companies like BW and Haliburton are tanking our economy right now. What the military funding cost before privatization is far less then the current Contractor bloating that is going on.

True, I will say this problem was caused by Democrat's crien about high cost military, sure right now no war= cheap. But with 2 full scale zones going, this settup is far more expensive than your traditional stand alone military that has very little use of contractor's outside of weapon and equipment building.

So in any case, BW is part of the Problem, There should never be a need for a private army, nor a coorprate funded army. And now our US military is being drained by companies like BW, drained of highly skilled SF, and SEALS. So in a sence they have reduced our military's might as well as caused numerous Political issues and lives. A Private military with no one keeping them accountable is a VERY BIG DEAL. No matter what side of the political spectrum you stand on. I am sure Conservatives would balk at the idea of a Private military founded and funded by Environmentalist's.

Before reading this one should understand Scahill's perspective on all issues is from the left...the very far left. That said, I think this book is a decent introduction to the world of private military contractors. In hindsight, Scahill does diverge greatly from the issue at hand: Blackwater. Furthermore, as many scholars--indeed, every other scholar that I have read--point out, PMCs are not mercenaries according to international law as defined in Article 43 of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. Scahill does not at any point make this clear, but allows his opprobrium and contempt for PMCs to guide his writing. When his rationality kicks in, he writes some very insightful and poignant passages. The biggest problem that I have with the book is that Scahill fails to address three key points: 1) the contractors have ALWAYS been part of U.S. military operations, 2) that this new breed of contractors, what are referred to variously as PMCs or PMFs by others, are here to say for the foreseeable future, and 3) that PMCs do have some utility in the international system, as Kofi Annan recognized but equivocated on, saying "the world is not yet ready to privatize peace" (in response to the proposal of PMCs being integrated into UN Peacekeeping operations).

This book should be a launching point for further reading into PMCs and not , I repeat NOT, the sole source upon which one relies for future reference. But for those with a more serious interest and/or those looking for a more even-handed discussion of PMCs I would recommend "Corporate Warriors" by P.W. Singer or (the most insightful, most even-handed, and most expensive book) "From Mercenaries to Market." Also one former US JAG has written an informative article, "Overcoming Post-Colonial Myopia", that proposes and international convention to specifically address PMCs that would both formally integrate them into international law as well as provide oversight and regulation beyond the current "coordination" with the contracting department (which, the case of Blackwater, is most commonly USAID and the State Dept.).

Wow am I scared! - not for the `Black Helicopters' and the evil Christian mercenaries. I'm scared because more than 70% of the readers of this monstrosity rated it higher than `one-star'. This book is nothing but cover-to-cover radical left-wing propaganda (literally cover-to-cover - check out the accolades on the back from the notoriously `honest' Michael Moore). The thesis of the book is that crazy Christians, assisted by neo-cons and good ol' Big Oil, are trying to take over the world with their new blood-thirsty `guns-for-hire' army (at least I think that's the thesis - book jumps from one ramble to another, throughout). U.S. Troops are disparaged at every opportunity; accused of war-crimes; massacring civilians; blowing up mosques; and so on (all the standard stuff). The author is sneaky: when the "resistance fighters" conduct a "resistance attack" (yes, these are the author's terms), it is phrased in the passive, "A grenade was thrown into the building." No mention of the brutal Iraqi on Iraqi savagery that plagued stability efforts - doesn't fit the message - think children with kites...and then bombs, bombs, and more bombs. The main stream media is too far right for him - the truth comes only from Al Jazeera. Like I said - the most frightening aspect of this book is that a majority of readers seem to be biting on this guy's hook - we're in big big trouble.

Funny that I call this a "must read," then give it three stars.

To explain, first, I listened to the recorded version of the book. I still don't like that medium much. In the case of this book, the subject matter MUST be studied, investigated. In the recorded version there are no "footnotes," so those who purport to dislike the book can say, "There's no footnotes so it has no credibility." Nonsense, to be sure, but you'll see the argument. Next, again, the subject is so terribly important. Indeed, many who're taking part in the mercenary war should be tried for treason. So the "paper" record needs to be availble so that more people know what's really going on in that debacle we call a "war."

So, what is it that makes Iraq an unusual situation in our country's history? Aside from the massive debt we're building to pay for it, we're relying on mercenaries, paid troops, who're making immeasurably more than the troops who're putting their lives on the line.

And what connection does that mercenary war have with, say, religion? Well, the Bush administration has been notorious for cronyism. Even conservatives have noted that, people hardly qualified sliding into UN positions, FEMA positions, Pentagon positions. It's true that "it's not what you know, it's who you know." And Dubya's connections with the "religious" have paid the latter off. That's come up in countless books, now in Scahill's.

I wish I had more detail but, frankly, I finished this about a week ago and, again, it doesn't sink in like it would had I had the time to actually read it.

The only objection I have to the text is that it does tend to be quite repetitive. A few times, I thought that maybe I'd slipped an earlier disk into the player as I'd heard the same lines before. That seems trivial but it can be disconcerting.

In short, this is a book that every legislator should read before conducting a complete investigation into the mercenary industry that is costing us taxpayers dearly. Read it...and act!

We live in a world where 1984 is a silly cartoon in comparison. Wake up America and put a tax end to this nightmare!

The author provides a great deal of information on how Blackwater came into being and some information on their operations and incidents prior to the campaigns of the US military in Iraq. He goes through extraordinary efforts to speak about the Christian religious affiliation of the founder, Mr. Prince as well as discussions of many of the employees of the company from low level to former politicos. I was not at all thrilled with the absolute liberal bias and anti-Christian or Judeo-Christian sentiment of the author. Further, his bias towards what is conservative, i.e. G.W. Bush and his crowd became a distractor for and diverted from what could have been more indepth reporting on Blackwater. I would have preferred him writing about what facilities and training they put teams through, more on criteria for accepting jobs, etc. He did not provide this. I will point out that I am not religious, never attend religious events of any faith and yet this authors attitude toward Christianity left me disgusted with him as an author. He makes Blackwater out to be a Christian Army organization. He speaks of securing the US Border and Blackwater's relationship to that and those who want a secure border as anti-immigrant and not anti-illegal/criminal immigration. He did provide some insight on hurricane Katrina and Blackwater which I did not know and did not like, but the overall information and tenor of his book was not as much on Blackwater as it was a statement against the American Right and "Neo Cons" and Christians. I am a current military officer serving and have my own biases, but this was very much like a NY Times expose' on individuals and not the story of Blackwater. But, if he had not written this way he could have wrote the story for a Time Magazine article of less than 10 pages.
I have read many other books and listened to many audio books pro and con on the War on Terror. Fiasco was well written and although the author had some biases he kept those in check by staying on topic and not dwelling on individuals.
My view is that this book will not provide you much more than you can get on reading articles about the Fallujah incident in the news and off the internet. It is sad to say I will not purchase or read another book by this author due to his underlying bias.

I read everything from far right to far left. I stopped reading this book on page 44, the first book I have not completed in maybe a decade. Mr. Scahill apparently believes that one uses the first 40 pages of a book to destroy the reputations of the people he will be discussing for the rest of the book.

In his preface, the author indicates that the Blackwater team refused to be interviewed for the book and as a reader I could not imagine why. After 40 pages, I knew that the presentation would be so slanted that there would have been no reason for the Blackwater executives to even considered an interview. ------ too bad, I really wanted to know about the company.

Page 12: "As he grew older, Erik became increasingly active in right-wing politics, landing a six-month internship in George H. W. Bush's White House" ---- If you like this and enjoy the terms: right-wing, Christian (with non-flattering adjectives), neo-conservative manefesto etc., this is the book for you.

The concept of creating a private security force, allowed to go anywhere needed to enforce and support American Foriegn Policy, is a frightening one. Not accountable to Foreign Governments within whose territory they operate, not accountable to American Military Forces, not accountable to American Government laws. In fact not accountable to anyone, including the families of those employees killed in the line of duty, this organization and similar groups need to be brought into line. private armies acting at the behest of policy makers and their commercial friends is not the way to maintain security in the world. For those people interested in American Foreign policy, I would suggest that after reading this book, they read the manifesto promolgated by John MccAin in, I think November 2007.

Wow.... why did I buy this garbage? Typical the sky is falling mentality by the author and the left. If you want governmental paranoia, with secret armies that will come in the middle of the night, sponsored by the anti-christ.(also known as President Bush by the left) ...This ones for you!

I greatly looked forward to reading this book, due to the fact that next to nothing has been written on the topic of military contractors in today's contemporary operating environment, especially on Blackwater. Scahill argues that the privatization of the military to private contractors is a growing threat to America's democracy that our generation must address. He makes some very good points on the various "friends helping friends" contracts between Blackwater and the current administration. However, the book while addressing the far right political spectrum seems to drift drastically to the far left in its underlying tone. On more than one chapter, he loses focus of the overall topic at hand, Blackwater, and starts to address other failed policies of this administration to include various military tactics. To finish on a high note, Scahill should be commemorated for his amount of carefully noted research notes that comprise over thirty pages at the end of the book.

My advice for future readers would be to carefully read the first few pages of every chapter and the last few pages and then skim the in-between. And if you only have a short amount of time, the first chapter and the last chapter of the book are a must read for everyone concerned with the political and international climate we find ourselves living in today.

The message you should take from this book is that we need to address the morality of allowing private contractors to conduct military type operations without any ethical oversight, such as the U.S. Code of Military Justice or the various Rules of Engagement that U.S. Armed Forces have to abide by every day. When the government allows a private corporation to conduct a similar type of mission as the Department of Defense while allowing it to influence nations with its own religious and ideological views, what's the message the government trying to send?

I picked up this book hoping it would provide some good basic information about Blackwater, with the understanding from the dust jacket that it likely would reach certain ultimate conclusions I might not agree with. I was willing to read the book anyway, in hopes that it would provide good solid facts and might be able to present some persuasive arguments to support its conclusions.

In reality, the book provides only superficial information, merely regurgitating the reporting of several already-public incidents, then quoting supporters and detractors of Blackwater and similar private military companies. Mr. Scahill almost invariably characterizes statements from supporters as misleading spin or the conspiratorial lies of imperialist, right-wing, neoconservative, Christian fundamentalist Republicans. By contrast, Mr. Scahill quotes the statements of opponents as though they were transparent utterances of unalloyed truth. The real truth, of course, is much more complex, and so Mr. Scahill's book does not provide any analysis of real value. There are serious concerns that should be addressed related to the use of private military forces, but this book cannot contribute meaningfully to any discussion because of its political presumptions, strident tone and lack of content. Instead of a history of Blackwater, it is more akin to "hist-eria".

In addition, Mr. Scahill is, unfortunately, a poor writer. The text is ridiculously repetitive (which might have come from his stringing together a series of articles without sufficient editing?), in several places revealing what he appears to believe are shocking connections between people, events or organizations, but which he seems to have forgotten that he had himself revealed earlier in the book. I especially found silly the great reviews on the back of the book (which, admittedly, Scahill himself might not have had much to do with), which include glowing quotes from people who contributed to the book. Mr. Scahill seems to be so deeply embedded among his The Nation and Democracy Now! colleagues and friends that he cannot understand how a less partisan public might receive his book.

There is a really good book waiting to be written about the rise of firms like Blackwater and the role of private contractors (or mercenaries) in our modern military. Unfortunately, this isn't that book.

Now in fairness, parts of the book are very good. Scahill's chronicle of the speed of Blackwater's rise is remarkable. His chapter on Inspector General Schmitz was also excellent and eye-opening.

But the book is marred by a couple of major problems. First, Scahill's loathing of basically everything conservative undermines any sense of balance in the book. We get page after page of attacks on players both major and minor with little or no rebuttal and what response there is usually is used to make the person look even worse. Certain elements are inserted for no particular reason at all. For example, he notes that Blackwater rented space from a college run by Jimmy Swaggert. But that's all there was, I was turning the page waiting for the punchline, but there wasn't one, merely an opportunity to throw in a parenthetical about Swaggert's scandal. But the clincher was at the end of the book when it's all laid bare "What is particularly disturbing about the 'expanding role' of Blackwater specifically, is the issue of... its deep and longstanding ties to the Republican Party, US military and intelligence agencies." So let me see, a similar firm with longstanding ties to the Democratic Party, labor unions and trial lawyers would be less disturbing?

Second, there is a deeply-ingrained anti-business bias embedded throughout the book. You can almost hear the distaste any time he talks about Blackwater (or any other company for that matter) making money. And we are constantly treated to phrases like "great windfall" and the like. I was half-expecting him to and try and blame 9/11 on Blackwater. Parts of the story also ignore business realities. For example in talking about a Caspian pipeline project dying down in the late 90s and the resurging post-2001, he completely ignores the 1997-1999 collapse in oil prices. Not to downplay the geopolitics, but I suspect the decline of oil to $10 (and the common belief at the time that it was going still lower) had something to do with the path of events.

But perhaps most importantly, what is missing from the book is a real debate or analysis about the increasing use of firms like Blackwater. And there is a strong case that can be made about the dangers of these trends, but Scahill doesn't really make it - he just assumes it. Every legislative decision that is at all beneficial to the industry is assumed to be bad (and the sole result of industry lobbying) without any real consideration of the alternatives. Or we are treated to a whole chapter on Blackwater operating in New Orleans post-Katrina (with the common theme of how horrible it was) and about the best we get is a case of a Blackwater guard keeping someone out of the local library. Huh? You have to do a little better than that.

So in a nutshell, if you already lean to the left, many of the problems I have with this book probably won't bother you very much. But I'll keep waiting for a more evenhanded book that wants to tackle the big questions like they are questions - not already established gospel.

Exacttly the hatchet job that I thought it would be. Written by a veteran writer from the left (look it up, I did), it vilifies anyone who: is a Republican, a capitalist, a Christian. It could just as well been written in the Politburo; it's style of propaganda is exactly the same. He uses his citations from fellow left-wing articles to support that someone made a statement, then HE says the statement is extreme, or neo- this or ultra- that (not the citation). Standard propaganda tactic is to say something true, then tie your propaganda to it to make it seem that both are true.

The only time this guy would be happy is when all companies are nationalized (for the good of the people) and our foreign policy stops at our borders so that the forces of socialism/communism can undermine most of the rest of the world (like South America now). He never once in the book found anything wrong with the Sandinista's of Nicaragua, Cuba or any other far left country. He is obviously anti-American as he falsely describes this country as aggressors, as occupiers. He would have said exactly the same thing about us in Europe after WWII and Korea after that war, yet those people are ruling themselves and prospering due to what we did compared to the folks he supports (Eastern Europe before the fall of the wall and North Korea).

He does admit that the use of contractors goes back decades and only exploded after IRAQ. In what other war were there not companies who saw and used the opportunity to expand? He calls all private contractors mercenaries even though neither his citations nor the companies themselves do. He never cites an instance when Blackwater conducted a military operation that the Army does (search for Al Qaida, sweep operations, combat operations). They are there in support and heavily armed because you don't take a pistol to a rifle fight (you have to be comparably armed). In the author's eyes, the security guards at the gate at a local base are mercenaries, I don't think so. He does admit that Blackwater has offered to conduct operations in place of the Army (which would make them mercenaries), but no one has taken them up on the offer.

He continually draws links to people high up in the administration but not once gives evidence of wrongdoing in awarding of contracts. Just because they know each other, does not prove anything. It's simply a smear tactic. If they weren't public figures, they could sue him for slander and win.

All in all, the worst kind of anti-American hatchet job imaginable. Complimentary reviews are by the "Revolutionary Communist Party, USA" and "The Daily Kos". Vitriol and hate speach like this belongs in the trash can.

Excellent book that is well documented and easy to read. It angers me to see what our nation has become but this book is too informative to put down. A must read.

There is a lot about this book that is good,but there is as much about it that is politics and innuendo.The author writes from a left-wing perspective and doesn't attempt to hide it. For that reason,he must be commended.But for the same reason,much of what he has to say in analyzing the use of contractors,should be taken for what it is,American bashing,and anti Bush bashing.
If the author were unbiased in his pursuit of analyzing the pros and cons of the use of contractors,he would have shown that there are lots of good reasons and lots of good examples where the use of contractors are able to perform better,more economically and more timely than government or the military. This would be the case whether a war is being fought by America ,or any other country,and whether the party in power at the time is Democrat or Republican. The question of contracting out should not be based on politics,and certainly will not change if the Democrats replace the Republicans ,and particularly the Presidency,in the upcoming Election.
The topic of this book deserves serious analysis,but only looking at the negative,as this book does;cannot be construed as helpful.
It is nothing new to find out that the price the government pays for something,can be portrayed as ridiculous;if the analysis concentrates on the shortcomings and ignores the successes. This shows in every audit;regardless of which party is in power.We've all heard where a hammer got charged $600,a pencil sharpner $349,or a wastebaskey $925.
The author also displays his contempt for any company that becomes large and successful. What would he prefer dealing with; companies that stagnate,stay small and are unsuccessful. To the far left,the thought of a cost plus contract is total heresy ;but in large endeavors,it is the only way that projects can get completed with good results for both the organization that wants it done and the organization that can make it happen;at a cost fair to both sides. Again,to the far left and socialists ,this is heresy and only the Government should do it.
As America continues the difficult struggle in is in with Terrorism,the left would be better advised to help the goverment in its efforts,because sooner or later ,the Democrats may receive the ball in their court,just as the Republicans. Whether they want to believe it or not, Islamic Terrorism did't start with the election of President Bush,and it won't end with whoever succeedes him. America will have to defend herself and other countries will no more come to her aid than they have in the past.This will be the case whether a Democrat or Republican sits in the White House. Both Presidents Roosevelt and Bush can attest to that.

You only need to read as far as the second chapter to quickly realize this not much more than an anti-Christian diatribe. The author's opinion that right wing conservative Christians are the embodiment of things evil is not even disquised. The founder of Blackwater being a conservative Christian and his support for President George Bush gives the author his platform to disparage all patriotic Americans.

A well written look at the very frigtening new reality of "war for fun and profit". As the final days of the Bush administration pass, it's hard to deny that our international policy is the best money can buy. Eisenhower's warnings about the unwarranted power of the military-industrial complex are frighteningly realized in the rise of the private military contractor. This is another example of a book that I enjoyed reading but wish that the events were fiction rather than fact.

Well, I've finally completed the book. The best way to summerize it is that the author was working with alot of material and could have produced an informative and useful work on Blackwater but decided to turn it into sophisticated screed against the Bush administration, conservatives, Republicans, and the rest of the groups he's gotten a bee in his bonnet about.
He betrays a certain immaturity, repeatedly attaching appellations to names with no apparent purpose outside of conveying his personal opinion about the person; whatever the feeling of his idealogical allies, "radical fundamentalist Christian" by itself conveys no actual information.
Finally, and most seriously, his book is very weak as far as its source material. The majority of the material is indirect quotations of newspaper articles (cited as information instead of quotes) and for his direct quotations, he relies on sources that are idealologically hostile towards the Bush administration saying things that he doesn't attempt to prove. The few times he cites transcripts of interviews or material compiled by a legitimate source, he makes no attempt to explain the significance of the information.

Essentially, this book proves the observation that you can tell alot about a book by its critics and supporters, much in the way you can tell alot about a person by who their friends and enemies are. The book is heartily endorsed by those who are openly critical of the Bush administration and the military in general and contains no endorsements from anywhere else on the idealogical spectrum. I'm afraid that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book to someone seeking to obtain a sober and informative treatment of the subject matter.

I started reading this in the hope I might actually find some useful information in it. The farther I read the more I realized I was wasting my time. I'm a 30 year veteran of the military and was deeply offended by some of the premises put forward. The first chapters spent more time trying to paint rightwing Christians and our current Administration as the real terrorist threat to the United States than our current enemies. I kept waiting to read that our current Adminisration, Blackwater and the rightwing Christians were responsible for 9/11. It was certainly suggested enough times in it. Also I found the attacks on Chuck Colson and James Dobson two of the finest men I have had the pleasure of meeting reprehensible. If this book had been written without a political agenda I might actually have felt I didn't waste hours of my life reading it. I thought Investigative journalists investigated. Most of this read like a Michael Moore movie with quotes without any real reasons for them other to follow the authors politcal leanings. The last I checked the United States was a christian country. I don't feel bad about passing on my western culture to my children and I don't think forcing multiculturalism on them just so we don't offend anyone like the author seems too is the way I want to live. I swore an oath along time ago to defend to the death his right to says and right any stupid thing he wants and he takes good advantage of that fact in this book. However if he would choose to move to another country instead of crapping all over mine I wouldn't be offended. I'm really glad I checked this book out from my local library. If I had spent the money on it to read it I would be even more deeply offended. I am already offended enough that my local library system spent my tax dollars on it !

I thought the author detailed the origination of Blackwater, from inception, explained how the company operates, and profiled the leadership pretty well.

Well it seems all that we have heard along the way is pretty much true. With all the denial Mr. Chaney surely figures into all the dark and dirty contracts for his old company. In fact all the familiar names we have heard over these years all are envolved. Mr. McCann said the fact is this war could last 10,15,50 or 100 years. I would imagine that would be a reason for all the conspirators to party down. The facts are with this recent president and his cohorts they all figure into a pretty messy bunch of crooks. They like to say " God Bless America" He better with people leading us as we have had in these recent years.

Make no bones about it. Scahill is a real screaming liberal. Although book seems to be well sighted with hundreds of sources, after reading his biased report, I can't help but wonder how he went about choosing what sources to use. I am an agnostic but was amazed by his anti-Christian and anti-Catholic tyrades as if they were the terrorist that attack the west. A couple of glaring examples (among thousands) that show the quality of Scahill's writing:
Pg. 67 "He also made no bones about his religious influences. Taking a page from Gen. Jerry Boykin, Bremmer spoke of his divine guidance......." No where else in this book is Gen. Boykin mentioned nor are we told who Boykin is or what his "page" contained in the way of actions. He used this an an opporunity to take a swipe at the guy.

Pg. 113 "But not everyone working for Blackwater was on the same page. "I think they are dying for no reason, " said Marty Huffstickler, a part time electrician for the company in Moyock........ Now here is a source with true meaning when trying to point out this companies "mercenaries" are not all on the same sheet of music. By the way, Scahill forgot to look up the word mercenary in the dictionary before applying it to these mostly former American Special Operations trained personnel.

Is this the quality of writer our colleges are turning out now?

This book is written as an alarmist view of contract security with good historic perspective on how Blackwater USA was started. This book is in no way supportive of the Blackwater firm.

very dry reading almost like reading a history book in high school. not at all what i expected. half through, have to force myself to read it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is an educational ride relevant to todays highly charged political environment.

I bought this book while waiting for a delayed flight in Birmingham, AL. Had I been a little less frustrated, I probably would have read a few pages and promptly put it back down. When I saw the title, I was sincerely hoping the book would turn out to be a competent investigation into the Blackwater company. In actuality, this book is nothing more than a leftist liberal hatchet piece. The author definitely hates President Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld - there is no question about that. Rather than address the topic of the book, the author spends page after page after page after page railing about the privatization of the US Military, the "dangerous" Christian right, and a number of Republican politicians. If you are actually interested in this topic, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. By the way, about 2 hours after paying $30.00 for this book, I threw it into the garbage in a restroom at Dulles. I believed that was the most appropriate place for it - among the used paper towels and other garbage. I have never said this before, but this book is not worth the paper it is printed on. It is readily apparent that the only reason it was published is the fact that it seeks to vilify the Bush administration in an election year.

This book opened my eyes to the corrupt system in Iraq. Blackwater is just one of the many horrible things going wrong in the middle east. Read this book if you want to know why the Iraqi's hate us. We've been killing people in this country since the first gulf war. We've starved and bombed their children. We deserve their hatred.

This is his first book and proves that he has a notable future in investigating neogovernmental trends. With eighty pages of 'notes,' (bibliography) it would be hard to argue that Scahill made things up without documentation. Are there factual errors? My opinion is that it is impossible to discern the accuracy of a source. The important thing is that all of the presented findings do seem to have a documented source.

I read several charges that this book presents a left wing slant. While I can see where militant right wingers may disagree with various presentations, it is my opinion that Scahill made a very good effort to stick with proven facts. Facts that are always open to personal interpretation of course.

I used to be a reliable Republican until several weeks after our invasion of Iraq. To me, it was clear that one of the intents of the invasion was to kill a very,very substantial number of Iraqis. Also to do it slowly and without clear evidence. The fact that Paul Bremer had no qualms about not supplying Iraqi cities with food, water, or electricity makes it seem that Bremer was less of a humanitarian than the monstrous Saddam Hussein. I also found it intriguing that Scahill completely overlooked the history of Paul Bremer. Scahill noted that Bremer recently became a Catholic. There is absolutely no mention of his tutelage under Kissinger or his very active role in the PNAC/neocons or previous official leadership in Americas efforts to "fight terrorism".

There is also no mention of other motives for crushing Muslim countries. I mention these motives because they are well hidden and very important. It is against the tenets of Islamic banks to charge interest on financial loans. (Source: Devil's Game) Given the overwhelming power of international banking, I think it is safe to say that 'western' banks would find this competition to be 'unattractive'?

There is also no mention (that I recall) of the fact that Iraq's Baath party was considered secular and provided no haven for terrorist activities. Terrorism is the refuge of the radicals esconced in far right wing fundamental Islam. One could argue that Iraq is now a battlefield where fundamental Christians fight with fundamental Islamics.

Saddam had a terrible human rights record, even worse than Bush's. However he despised terrorism. To portray the war in Iraq as a logical result of 9/11 is one of the greatest slight of hands that an administration has ever successfully pulled off. An act that would be impossible if journalists were as truthful and brave as they could be.

The book made me spend a few hours considering local employment with Blackwater. Not as a merc, just as an employee. That being the case, I really don't see any 'axe being ground' in this book. Of course he points out some tragic errors that Blackwater made in Iraq and Afghanistan. Experienced business owner know that mistakes are unavoidable. A fact of war is that mistakes often have a guaranteed outcome. I'd rather have Eric Prince as the CEO than almost anyone else. Its just a dirty business to be in.

Scahill presents a well researched and eye opening account of the current status of how the Bush administration has fundamentally changed the way the US military operates at its core. Scahill occasionally repeats himself making the book about 100 pages longer than it needed to be while leaving out details about the conclusions of some seamingly pivotal lawsuits brought against Blackwater in the past few years. On a side note, a pleasure to read and review on my kindle!

Jeremy Scahill, an American investigative journalist who has covered Iraq and other wars, has written an important study of mercenary militarism. Mercenaries make up private unaccountable `coalitions of the willing', increasing the danger of new wars.

Founded in 1996, the US firm Blackwater runs military and security training facilities in North Carolina. It has grown into a private army, with 21,000 mercenaries on its database, including nearly a thousand Chilean commandos trained under Pinochet. It is now the largest firm in the $100 billion global market for mercenaries.

It is one of the biggest suppliers of mercenaries to Iraq, where there are now 100,000 mercenaries, as many as there are US troops. On 31 March 2004, four of Blackwater's armed mercenaries were killed in Fallujah. (The US press lied that they were civilians.) In revenge, US forces killed 800 Iraqis.

Mercenaries are part of the US-run death squads which are fomenting civil war in Iraq, as they did in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. The US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense admitted that US special operations in Iraq and elsewhere are just like the murderous counter-insurgency Phoenix Program in Vietnam - "We're running that kind of programme."

British mercenary firms have also profited from the Iraq war. Their revenue rose from $320 million before the war to $1.6 billion by early 2004. 21,000 mercenaries are working for British firms in Iraq, replacing regular troops.

The US state spends hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars subsidising mercenary `private enterprise'. It pays these firms to provide protection to corrupt private US `reconstruction' firms which have stolen $9 billion of public funds for rebuilding Iraq, money officially `gone missing'.

Blackwater got $73 million for its illegal and unnecessary security operations in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The firm also operates in the Caspian Sea area, to protect the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey pipeline and support those three regimes.

Blackwater wants to intervene in Sudan, which has the world's 35th-largest oil reserves, 3rd-largest uranium deposits and 4th-largest copper deposits. Blackwater's aviation division, Presidential Airways, is most likely involved in the CIA's illegal `renditions' - kidnapping for torture.

Author of "Road Hunter in the Land between the Rivers". During our last few months in Iraq, many of the guys on the gun trucks would often discuss possible future employment in providing security with the civilian contractors. Thoughts of tripling their income for the same dangerous work they presently performed angered as well as delighted them. They found nothing patriotic about working for the contractors, only a chance to better their families. In the end, none actually pursued it. Patriotism built a better family than money. I enjoyed the read.Road Hunter in the Land between the Rivers: Disillusioned Hearts and Minds

This is a well-researched and well-written piece of muckraking journalism that casts a welcome light on the amazing war profiteering occurring in Iraq. In particular, this book focuses on the recent phenomenon of contracting hired guns to supplement military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not only are these mercenaries subject to even less oversight than the armed forces; the pursuit of profit impels them to take greater, more reckless risks with their own lives and the lives of Iraqis, Afghans and U.S. soldiers.

Read this book to gain a good insight into the evolution of American warfare--and its resulting deadly consequences, human rights abuse and great cost to taxpayers.

I've no idea if Scahill's work and "Blackwater" is biased, or to what degree it may be. Ultra right wingers scream "biased!" whenever anyone writes or says anything that exposes the truth, thereby hoisting themselves with their own petard.

The scariest thing - and by that I mean the entire book is scary - is the total lack of oversight on Blackwater's activity by any government agency or official, military or civilian (read: Congressional). No one is charged with ensuring and maintaining accountability or responsibility for Blackwater's activities, and with a nearly open-ended budget, there is no limit to what Blackwater can get America involved in, short of actually declaring war on our behalf. I view Erik Prince as nearly as dangerous - and deadly - as Himmler and he is as Nazi-like in his autocratic and dictatorial decisions as anyone was in the Nazi party; Prince has seemingly modeled his operation in Gestapo-like methodology, all the while claiming to be a model American. Operating in foreign countries as he does is bad enough, but when one reads of Blackwaters' exploits in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, well, if that doesn't scare your knickers off, nothing will. A truly eye-opening read, particularly for those of us naive enough to believe that we would never allow a company like Blackwater to exist, let alone pay them for their existence with public funds.

This could have been a good book, if the author could have stayed on topic. Far too much of this book strays off on unnecessarily lengthy tangents. Where was the editor who should have helped the author tighten this up and focus ?

I found this to be an excellent expose of a frightening phenomenon that until recently had been growing (or perhaps I should say "metastasizing") under the radar: the rapid growth of right-wing paramilitary organizations like Blackwater, which will do the bidding of Bush and other extremist politicians if, say, the posse comitatus law is repealed (wait a second, it has been) and there are things that even the U.S. military won't do to American citizens.

Ignore the legion of extreme right-wing hacks who are giving one star to this valuable and important book; it's well worth the read.