Media development and our private army

Proving yet again that there is no threat to investigative journalism, whether it be in print or  online, the January issue of Vanity Fair offers up a dream-come-true story that could only be made in Hollywood. Featured is our government’s most infamous private contractor, Blackwater, along with its founder, Erik Prince. In fact, the author of the article, Adam Ciralsky, refers to Prince as “the screenwriters’ darling” and references Hollywood throughout. So the story goes.

In his attempt at journalism research, little significance is given to a private military or a private army. Instead, Ciralsky uses such clever phrases as “Disneyland for alpha males” and “strikingly boyish.” In those efforts at wooing the reader into a sense of bewilderment, he succeeds at doing just that, and proves he is no Jeremy Scahill.

Not to be outdone by himself, he refers to Blackwater’s central complex as “an REI store on steroids.” Testosterone. Hollywood. The plot thickens. Then there are the numerous references to Prince using his “own dime” to fund certain initiatives. Almost as an afterthought, buried in a photo caption on the last page of the story, is the fact that Blackwater received more than $1 billion in government contracts during the glorious era of the GWB administration. As Ciralsky calls it, finally stepping up to the plate, “a rogue fighting force capable of toppling governments.” Such are the operations of those involved in defense contracts.

While the article suggests that Prince sits in coach on international flights, it does not say what percent of the time he does so. Ciralsky follows that comment up with Prince’s thoughts on being a marked man, flying coach for the relative obscurity and safety it affords. Okaaaaaaay. So now one of the world's largest beneficiaries of government funds, a marked man, flies international coach. Yes, and somewhere in Arizona is oceanfront property. Unlike Prince’s own government-funded operations that have been accused of using deadly force (duh), he believes his enemy, like the internet troll, is hell-bent on sensationalism.

The Blackwater Lodge and Training Center officially opened in May, 1998, in Moyock, North Carolina. Thanks in no small part to the American taxpayer, this facility, while sitting on 7,000 acres, includes 52 firing ranges and a tactical-driving track that is the world’s largest. Talk about those hunting lodges, this one appears to be full of testosterone and tax dollars. One can only imagine the facility as being a highly advanced version of the discreet weapons training facilities situated in obscure Texas hill country locations and other similar places throughout the country.

Also included in this alpha dreamland are any possibilities one could imagine in the way of feeling threatened. Mock town squares filled with blown-up cars, SWAT teams fine tuning their skills, snipers with their associated baggage, and simulated roadside bombings. Are you retired military? Chances are good that you are in Blackwater’s database.

“I had been in the military, and no one under my command had ever died. At Blackwater, we had never even had a firearms training accident. Now all of a sudden four of my guys aren’t just killed, but desecrated.” That comment in reference to the incident in March 2004 where four Blackwater operatives were killed in the town of Fallujah. The attached video shows some of the after-effects when one wishes to desecrate a branch of the U.S. military.

In a poignant yet not-too-rare boo-hoo-woe-is-me moment, Prince states that ““We used to spend money on R&D to develop better capabilities to serve the U.S. government. Now we pay lawyers.” Such is the American way. So too is the American way of taking government handouts at the expense of the taxpayer, and then complaining about the rules of the game.

The article paints Prince as a hands-on guy, flying low altitude sorties into remote forward operating bases (FOB) in Afghanistan, delivering provisions and ammo to Special Forces. No mention was made as to whether he shouted “go army” as the supplies were parachuted in. Again, the Hollywood drama as Prince justifies his under-the-screen activities by asking “Who else has built a fob along the main infiltration route for the Taliban and the last known location for Osama bin Laden?” There it is, folks, the operative keyword. You probably thought I would mention 9/11 instead.

Also brought to light in the article is a fact that elements within our government do operate in the shadows of various foreign governments, including our allies. Presented are snippets about Mamoun Darkazanli, a German resident who was followed for weeks by a U.S. government funded team that “went dark,” that is not notifying its own bosses and certainly without notifying German authorities as to its presence or ambitions while being there. Imagine your tax dollars at work, if you will.

As with most sensationalism in America these days, the story falls far short of anything resembling investigative journalism. Filled with countless loopholes and an impossibly large number of afterthoughts, the article presents sugarcoating in its most pure form. Melodramatic indeed.