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| ![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:  255 reviews
Sales Rank: 4916
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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| Customer Reviews:
 A Possible Threat To Domestic Liberties November 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first heard the idea of developing a private, professional army in 1996. The objective would be to craft the soldiers of the future into highly trained and better armed units with the best possible technology and at the lowest price. None of these expectations came true. Instead crony capitalism and extremist politics gave us expensive and often ineffective mercenaries limited in their ability to engage in combat and restricted from using the best weapons. What seemed like a practical idea turned into a possible threat to domestic liberties and a source of continuing confusion on the battlefield. I can greater appreciate the ethos of my own military training now that I understand how far off the reservation these unchecked gun slingers can go. Jeremy Scahill has provided us all with a badly needed window into a trend that has underminded our vast and necessary armed forces. Unfortunately I believe that his book is only the begining of all the stories soon to come.
 Can you say "Witch Hunt"? November 19, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book doesn't even pretend to be objective. Scahill obviously has a serious hate-on for all private military contractors (Blackwater especially). This is the "in" thing right now. It's cool to hate on these guys, and Scahill's looking to make his mark as the coolest. So what if his research, while thorough, is biased and guided by his own axe to grind? Blackwater employees wouldn't even have given this guy the time of day, and Blackwater's CEO flat-out refused an interview with him. I'm sure it's because they saw through him and knew he was only there for a witch hunt. I'm not saying don't read this book. What I'm saying is look at more than just his viewpoint. I doubt that this guy's ever been in a combat zone, but he wants to critique every move made by those who work in them. I'd recommend you read Robert Young Pelton's book "Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror". He actually rode along with Blackwater employees and got an interview with the CEO. He's as close as you'll come to an objective viewpoint.
Could have been great November 18, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Jeremy Scahill's "Blackwater" reads more like a straightforward history book than the explosive investigation it claims to be. If the book is written as a warning, it fails to convey the significance of Blackwater's role in the military nor does it look at the larger picture of having a for-profit private mercenary company that is shamelessly partisan doing the job of American soldiers.
Scahill's cautious reporting leaves a progressive like me not feeling any more or less strongly about mercenaries and I doubt it will change the opinions of those who support, or have no feelings on, private military contractors.
The book is just a series of facts that really prove nothing. For example, Scahill reveals that Erik Prince, owner of blackwater, is a radical right-wing evangelical, but he fails to show any tangible effect that Prince's personal views have had on Blackwater's actual operations. The sheer number of contractors in Iraq is huge, but again, the book does not show why this is a bad thing.
There is no revelation in the book that really makes you say "wow, these people must be stopped." In fact, I worry that people will have the opposite reaction, especially considering the book's branding as a political bombshell, and say "wow, if that is the worst he could find on Blackwater, they really must not be all that bad."
In the end, the problem with the book is that it assumes that the contracting of government and military operations is bad. The book's premise is that many operations in Iraq have been run by private contractors, but it fails to show why this is a bad thing. By targeting his book towards progressive readers who already share his views (read:the Nation's readership) Scahill missed a great opportunity to reach a broader political audience. If you're looking for a well written account of the Iraq war's mismanagement, this is a solid book (though there are far better ones), but if you are looking for a scathing indictment of the mercenary industry and our current administration's love of all things private and for-profit, I suggest you look elsewhere.*
*Naomi Klein's "Shock doctrine" would be my recommendation.
 NEEDED SOME SUNLIGHT ON THIS PRIVATE ARMY November 18, 2008
Good job by the writer in bringing to our attention the seriousness of a growing private army, and once again, a possible crusade "under the banner of God." No doubt that the members are "tough guys" and trained and proficient, and can just about handle any emergency, but the whole concept of our government is keeping the miitary under civilian control; and once again,Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et.al. let this organization grow beyond any one's imagination or probably it is part of their plan. This fellow Prince is not only a good businessman, but scary in his beliefs and dedication to his form of patriotism. This is a excellent book and a wake-up call that we need to throw some light on this group (what's Congress doing with their budget - money and more money to these groups), and hopefully the next administration in Washington will pay closer attention. Stay alert would be my recommendaiton - make some changes when necessary. Get them back under control!
 pure and unadulterated waste of time... November 15, 2008
3 out of 13 found this review helpful
"I wish to alert the readers to the fact the Blackwater refused to grant me interviews with company executives...." says the author. So, how do you come up with a credible product if all you've got are possible hearsays? Others would do whatever it takes to get hold of something just to prove that what they have written are factual and true. Remember "deepthroat"?
Unfortunately, the author decided to just stick it out with whatever is available out there in the open and eventually settled with nothing but a plain and boring piece of reading material. When I reached Chapter Nine - Najaf, Iraq: 4.04.04, detailing the events that happened on that fateful day, more specifically on the sniping actions taken by Blackwater people on top of the CPA building, I, frustratingly, told myself to better watch the Youtube version of this specific event. Believe me, it's more engrossing and interesting.
Sorry, but this is just a waste of paper, a lot of paper, for me.
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