Blackwater's Prince on with Blitzer this morning

[eleny]

And his upper lip is glossy as he blinks his way through the interview.

He said that Blackwater functions under the Uniform Code of Justice. Doesn't want his "guys" to answer to Iraqi law since there's no functioning court system. I wonder how the White House feels about him dropping that nugget?

[CatWoman]

1. he looks like a young Adolph Hitler

sans mustache.

Look at his hair!!

[eleny]

2. He freaks me out

Saying they can do some things "better, faster, cheaper" than the U.S. Army. He couldn't resist bragging but then it made the military look bad and he had to backtrack a couple of times when Blitzer called him on his statements.

[CatWoman]

3. Maj Gen Shepard on now talking about them

:hi:

[eleny]

5. And doing a good job clarifying things about particpating in missions - or not

Blackwater could just choose to not participate and leave the military high and dry on the spot.

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

4. It's remarkable how many people associated with the current regime display obvious

... symptoms of psychological pathologies. Prince's malignant, self-aggrandizing, distorted ego shines through.

[madokie]

7. I'm still blown away that he is a former seal

he's way to squirrelly to be a bona-fide member of the Navy's Special Operations Team

[TahitiNut]

10. Good "followers" don't (imho) often make good "leaders."

In authoritarian cultures, the "kiss up kick down" types are insidious and terribly destructive. At the same time, the arrogant junior officers who regard themselves innately superior to mature leadership are like malignant tumors in the military ... and they tend to gravitate to the 'elite' forces. Sometimes they rise higher and are ultimately catastrophic ... like Custer.

[TacticalPeek]

12. "a Naval Academy dropout who served less time under the colors of the nation, in uniform,

"... Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and a Naval Academy dropout who served less time under the colors of the nation, in uniform, than my most recent pair of boots." LTC Robert Bateman

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=313989&mesg_id=313989

Robert Bateman is a historian and U.S. Army infantry officer. He served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006. His most recent book is "No Gun Ri: A Military History of the Korean War Incident."


And from the comments section after Bateman's article, where he shreds some trolls:

Robert Bateman
Washington, DC

Reply » | Flag | #63

Yesterday

Since the point was raised, I'll ask a supplemental Q. Eric Prince dropped out of USNA and attended a private college, from which he graduated in 1992. We must assume, in the late Spring of '92. He then went to OCS (Navy/USMC version of that is 8 weeks), TBS (The Basic School) which is 6 months, then became a SEAL (11 months) for a total of just over 21 months of training. Assuming just two weeks of leave per year (not excessive) in almost two years, he would have reported to his first unit in the summer/fall of 1994. According to various reports, his dad died in 1995, and he got out at that point, either in 1995 or 1996, so he served in a SEAL unit for, what, 18 months? Anybody who can tell me how somebody gets out of their "Active Duty Service Obligation" (ADSO) which you incur not only on commissioning, but additionally with SEAL training, please post here. In short, how did he get out of the military before his time was, apparently, up? That's something I am curious about.

Bob Bateman

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/chicago-tribune/TT3JMS35DIRP47D4P/p4

His article and especially that comment section tell me that if you want to take on Bateman, bring a box for your effects.

[madokie]

19. that reinforces what I already thought which is, he is a punk, eric prince that is

[samsingh]

6. blackwater has probably murdered innocent Iraqi civilians

[supernova]

8. Really want BW out of my state

but it scares me that they could just go to the ME and essentially disappear (in the US sense), the way Halliburton did. :-(

[kurth]

9. And Bush is giving him BILLIONS of our tax dollars

[Jade Fox]

11. Blinking is a tell......

that he's probably making it up as he goes along, editing and spinning the facts as he speaks.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

13. Why is this disgusting champion of death getting so much air time?

Why does the media regale him?

[EFerrari]

14. At least one Court disagrees with that war profiteer:

Judges Clear Way for Wrongful Death Suit Against Blackwater Unit

October 11, 2007

A three-judge panel in Florida says a lawsuit can proceed against the operator of a plane that crashed in Afghanistan in 2004, killing three Army soldiers.

The contractor operating the plane, Presidential Airways Inc., is the aviation subsidiary of Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater USA. It was based in Melbourne before moving to North Carolina. Three Blackwater USA employees were also killed in the crash.

Presidential had argued in an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that the lawsuit should be thrown out because it was immune from prosecution because it was operating under a government contract. The company also claimed that the lawsuit should not go forward because it would involve one branch of government reviewing another branch's decision making.

The three judges rejected those claims, upholding a lower court's ruling. Presidential could still ask for a full hearing before all the judges on the appeals court.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/10/11/84183.htm

[niyad]

15. the ONLY airtime I want on this guy is in front of a senate committee--under oath.

[dkofos]

16. It functioned enough to hang Saddam!!

[soothsayer]

17. I was thinking the same thing! "Prince says Iraq and GWB wrongfully executed Saddam."

[dkofos]

18. He probably knows his own fate if he is ever tried there!!