24.1.11

For Dummies: Erik Prince, Mercenaries and Somali Pirates


Monday Backgrounder For Dummies is a DoT feature that discusses a new topic every week giving the reader basic knowledge about the subject so that you can pretend to know things without reading a newspaper. With Erik Prince causing buzz around the world over his possible involvement with mercenary fighting Somali Pirates, it seems a good time to talk about Blackwater and Erik Prince.

Note: there is no way to talk about Blackwater without sounding like a rant coming from a ultra-left conspiracy theorist. Unfortunately, the following stuff is true. 

In case you missed it: Last week, it was reported that a mercenary company, Saracen International, is putting together massive operations in Somalia to take on what American and European governments failed to- Somali Piracy. And to complicate the matters, the man behind it all is Erik Prince, the founder of controversial Blackwater, the private security company, infamous for the role of its mercenaries in Afghanistan and Iraq.