Mercenaries

In case you were wondering where the Blackwater loyalties lie, loyalties beneath the guns for hire agenda, check out this article in the current issue of The Nation. A link is at the bottom.

Blackwater's success in procuring federal contracts could well be explained by major-league contributions and family connections to the GOP. According to election records, Blackwater's CEO and co-founder, billionaire Erik Prince, has given tens of thousands to Republicans, including more than $80,000 to the Republican National Committee the month before Bush's victory in 2000. This past June, he gave $2,100 to Senator Rick Santorum's re-election campaign. He has also given to House majority leader Tom DeLay and a slew of other Republican candidates, including Bush/Cheney in 2004. As a young man, Prince interned with President George H.W. Bush, though he complained at the time that he "saw a lot of things I didn't agree with--homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills. I think the Administration has been indifferent to a lot of conservative concerns."

Link

Mr. Prince is also described as a staunch, right-wing Christian.

The Nation article also introduces us to blacker water mercenary organizations also at work in New Orleans: Instinctive Shooting International (ISI), described as "veterans of Israeli special task forces", Body Guard and Tactical Security (BATS) and others.