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Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] | ![Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZopVuqGsL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Author: Jeremy Scahill
Publisher: Nation Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  230 reviews
Sales Rank: 4187
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Upd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 452
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 2
ISBN: 156858394X
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.3540973
EAN: 9781568583945
ASIN: 156858394X
Publication Date: May 26, 2008
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Product Description
On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide. This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the "War on Terror." In his gripping bestseller, awardwinning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U.S. war machine. * Winner of the George Polk Book Award
* Alternet Best Book of the Year
* Barnes & Noble one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007
* Amazon one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007
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| Customer Reviews: Read 225 more reviews...
 Badly Written, Badly Reported August 23, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
So what is reporter Jeremy Schahill's problem with the mercenary company Blackwater? Well, it's run by Christian conservatives who are rigorous supporters of the Bush presidency, and it enables the American government to pursue an imperialist agenda, without the support of either the American people or military. And sometimes Blackwater mercenaries kill innocent civilians, and with their lax safety standards Blackwater permits their own soldiers to be killed.
Jeremy Schahill reports for the Nation magazine and Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now!" so he's used to preaching to the choir. Mercenaries? Christian right? George Bush? Imperialism? Well, that's an open and shut case: Blackwater is evil, and must be stopped now.
Now Blackwater is a very interesting topic and a lot of readers who are not knee-jerk liberals -- such as myself -- will want to read up on it, and so Jeremy Schahill needs to articulate his case against Blackwater better -- and unfortunately he doesn't even try.
Blackwater, after all, is merely a company that is meeting market demand. George W. Bush decided to invade and occupy Iraq, and he needed a reliable mercenary company to protect American diplomats -- and Blackwater has maintained a perfect record in the protection of "high value targets." Violence is a brutal, subjective business, and now and then Blackwater mercenaries will over-use force in order to protect American officials and diplomats -- resulting in the wanton killing of civilians. But, again, they're just doing their job, and they're doing it very well.
Another of Jeremy Schahill's concern is the Bush cabal's -- as best represented by Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney -- push to privatize the military. Donald Rumsfeld has consistently argued that privatizing the military would make it more efficient and cost-effective, and permit America to fight the asymmetrical wars of the 21st century. Again here Jeremy Schahill takes it on faith that this is a very bad idea -- but Mr. Rumsfeld could well be right -- there just isn't enough history and evidence to ascertain who is right and wrong.
Now and then Mr. Schahill tries to explain why Blackwater is bad for the American republic. Remember Rome, and its use of mercenaries? Well, eventually these mercenary armies turned against Rome -- but this a point that Mr. Schahill doesn't really articulate.
But besides the trite and over-used example of Rome Mr. Schahill could have also used the example of Britain and the East India Company. In the beginning of the 19th century East India Company officials or "nabobs" were getting filthy rich in India, returning to Great Britain, spending their wealth lavishly to cultivate political connections, and became a strong lobby for Britain's imperialistic drive which ultimately corrupted its republican virtues. America's nascent mercenary lobby is extremely close to the Bush presidency, and there's very good reason to believe that Erik Prince, Blackwater's king, will enter the political arena one day.
If Mr. Schahill were to delve deeper and conduct true investigative journalism he may well discover that his case against Blackwater is a lot stronger than mere speculating and complaining. Mr. Schahill tells us that Blackwater mercenaries are responsible for protecting the top American officials in Iraq and have immunity from prosecution -- and so what's going to happen when you give professional killers a lot of power and nothing to restrain them?
When I was in Afghanistan working for the United Nations I would hear now and then of international soldiers involved in the drug trade and in smuggling cultural relics out of the country. It made perfect sense for these soldiers to engage in these activities because they had the means -- the planes, the weapons, and the time -- and there was little risk of them actually getting caught. By now we know that Blackwater mercenaries stand accused of selling guns and weapons to insurgent groups in Iraq -- and why not? We are talking about extreme risk-takers put in a situation where they can make a lot of money with little risk, and so why wouldn't Blackwater mercenaries sell guns to their enemies? And why wouldn't they sell drugs and smuggle relics?
"Blackwater" runs to almost 500 pages, and if the author spent as much time actually investigating what Blackwater is doing in Iraq as he did in writing the book he would have done his country a great service.
 The Real Disaster in Iraq August 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Liberals love to push and fight over who was first to be against the war in Iraq. This distracts from the far more interesting questions that books like this seek to expose. The triumph of private mercenaries who discredit this great country and are allowed to operate unchecked by the noble traditions of military justice is unpatriotic and criminal. How this terrible "business" arose is well worth investigation and exposure. It is irrelevant whether one supports the war or not. Both sides should agree that turning over our national dignity to Mcmilitary operations is a scandal. Democrats and Republican should decry our loss of civilian and military control. That Democrats against the war are silent on this outrage shows their hypocrisy. This is pure profiteering at its worst, but more outrageous is the shame and national dishonor brought to our nation in the eyes of the world who see these incompetent criminals murdering people in cold blood in the name of the USA.
Blackwater : Right-Wing Conservative America, Whether You Like It Or Not... August 1, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved this book for what it had to say about Blackwater, and it's extremely right-wing leanings.
I post on a "Conspiracy Theory" Forum, and received "Blackwater Expert" rank because of the information I read and conveyed based on this book, as well as my insight into all things military, and the countless other topics I investigate for my own personal interest.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread352934/pg1
I hope everyone who reads this book finds it intriguing and informative, to say the least. It's not that it's right-wing, so much as the current Administration has abused power so much, that it has left a bad taste in anyone who loves Democracy, can see the writing on the wall towards shredding the United States Consitution that is supposed to protect us as citizens from our Government becoming too powerful, and becoming a tyranny.
Blackwater:The Rise of the World's Most Powerful MERCENARY August 1, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
tHE BOOK IS THOUGHT PROVOKING AND FRIGHTENING,IT NEEDS TO BE READ BY AMERICANS AND FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE WORLD!
Emotionally Charged, Shocking! July 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
First and foremost, you should know that this book has a 60 page bibliography. "Blackwater" has to be one of the most well researched books I've read. While theres alot of information being thrown at you, the author does an incredible job making it easy to follow. In terms of vernacular used, the book is perfect for any High Schooler and is generally easy to read.
The author provides alot of background to the history of Blackwater and the places it has influence. This is not only a welcomed necessity, but a horrifying drama. "Blackwater" has taught me more than I imagined regarding the Iraqi war, and even the Iraqi resistance.
If you've ever watched the news and wondered what you weren't being told, then you should read this book. If you prefer to live in blindness and refuse to recognize the crimes of the bush administration, then I advise you to pass this book by.
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