[T]he biggest news of the day comes from [The Nation reporter] Jeremy Scahill’s revelations about the relationship between Blackwater (aka Xe) head Eric Prince and the CIA. According to Scahill Prince has been working as a CIA asset for years, and that Blackwater contractors with U.S. backing are effectively engaging in a covert war in Pakistan.
Not only in Pakistan, but in Uzbekistan, too, according to Scahill. Among other things, we're talking about prep work for assassinations. Was there Congressional oversight on this "wet work", at least? Nah. Even if you aren't surprised by this, or think it's old news, I guarantee Scahill's reporting has new details that will (or at least should) unsettle you, if you think about the implications for a few seconds.
If you have 20 minutes or so, watch Scahill's recent interviews before reading the Vanity Fair piece on Prince. (He gives some important insight and context on it, in the Maddow segment.) Or just become a paid subscriber to the Nation to read Scahill's original article in full.
In the Vanity Fair piece, Prince is claiming that he's like Valerie Plame and his CIA cover was blown. At the end, he says he wants to be a high school teacher, sorta like Indiana Jones.
[Not referring to this dog.]
Facing South has some numbers on the privatized war in (and around) Afghanistan.
Still no love for my genius punk rock band name? It's still available, as far as I know.
I detailed some of the Prince family's connections in this post.
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H/T Noladishu for noticing Prince's high school teacher ambitions.
Labels: Afghanistan, spooks, wet work
