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Blackwater Founder Unapologetic on Company’s Role in Iraq

Print By MaryAlice Parks
Nov 17, 2013

The nation’s most infamous private security firm, Blackwater, Inc., has a new weapon these days: the written word. Three years after selling the controversial company, Blackwater founder Erik Prince is opening up in a new book, “Civilian Warriors.”

In an interview on “This Week,” Prince discussed the civilian armed forces company’s rapid rise and the controversial end to its operations in Iraq.

A former Navy SEAL, Prince is unabashedly unapologetic for Blackwater’s contentious record. He blames the company’s demise on “cold and timid souls” looking for scapegoats, specifically pointing to those already set against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The anti-war left went after the troops during an unpopular Vietnam War. This time they went after the contractors. Blackwater was a very easy whipping boy for them,” Prince told ABC’s Martha Raddatz.

The contracting group’s aggressive tactics gave its critics ammunition. In September 2007, one Blackwater team coming to the aid of another after a car bombing fired on approximately three dozen Iraqi civilians, killing at least 11 people, including a 9-year-old boy. A handful of Blackwater members now face manslaughter charges related to the confrontation. While they deny any wrong-doing, the incident led to Blackwater’s eventual expulsion from Iraq.

But for Prince, the charges are all politics.

“If the amount of scrutiny paid to that event was paid to every other shooting of any U.S. forces or other contractor forces, it would tie up the Justice Department for the next decade,” Prince said.

“War is dangerous. It is difficult, and unfortunately, civilians get killed,” he added.

Prince told Raddatz his biggest regret was working with the State Department in Iraq. When asked about criticisms that Blackwater’s tactics inflamed anti-American sentiment, Prince pointed to State Department rules that he said in his view were misguided.

“You shall use American vehicles. A washed and waxed Chevy suburban between point A and point B with lights and sirens on,” he said. “It’s pretty easy for the enemy to play Whack-a-Mole.”

“If I sound unapologetic, I guess I am. Because the company did exactly what it was asked to do,” Prince added. “It did it well. Every diplomat, bureaucrat and member of Congress that visited Iraq came home alive under our guys’ care.”

Read an excerpt from “Civilian Warriors” and watch the full report Monday on “Nightline.”

Va. Sen. Creigh Deeds' Stabbing, Son's Death Eyed as Attempted Murder-Suicide
Nov. 19, 2013
By ABBY D. PHILLIPAbby D. Phillip More from Abby »Digital Reporter, Politics
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Details of Va. Sen. Creigh Deeds' StabbingNext Video Creigh Deeds Attacked at HomeAuto Start: On | OffPolice are investigating this morning's stabbing of a former Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia as "an attempted murder and suicide," they said this afternoon.

Creigh Deeds is now in fair condition at a Virginia hospital after he was stabbed multiple times in his home. His son, Gus Deeds, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot injury, state police said.

Police did not specifically name Gus Deeds as the perpetrator, but they are not searching for any suspects. Police are still investigating the motive and the sequence of events at the Millboro, Va., home.

Creigh Deeds was stabbed multiple times in the head and upper torso, but was capable of speaking with police and investigators, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

Doctors upgraded his condition to fair from critical this afternoon, meaning he is conscious with stable vital signs within normal limits.

First responders had attempted this morning to treat his son at the scene, but he succumbed to his gunshot wound.

After the stabbing, Deeds, 55, walked down the hill from his rural Bath County home to Route 42, where he was spotted by a cousin who was driving along the road, police said.

A 911 call was placed from the cousin's home.

Deeds was transported by ambulance to a relative's farm where he was flown by helicopter to the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville at 7:25 this morning after sustaining "serious injuries," police said.

Police said they believe the incident occurred shortly before the 911 call was made this morning, but they would not release any information about who made the call.

Gus Deeds attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia, but he withdrew from the university last month, the school said. He had been a student off and on since 2007.

Gus Deeds was the senator's only son. He also has three daughters: Rebecca, Susannah and Amanda.

Creigh Deeds' 20-year marriage to his first wife, Pamela, ended in 2010. Deeds remarried Siobhan Deeds in 2012.

Police declined to say whether anyone else was in the house at the time of the incident or who made the 911 call.

In a statement, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell called the news "utterly heartbreaking."

"In this tough and sad time, our thoughts and prayers are with the Deeds family," McDonnell said. "Creigh Deeds is an exceptional and committed public servant who has always done what he believes is best for Virginia and who gives his all to public service.

"I urge all Virginians today to join me in praying for a full and complete recovery for Creigh and for many more years of his public service to the Commonwealth. At this moment, our state unites in prayer for Creigh Deeds and his family," he added.

Deeds has served in the state Senate since 2001. He ran for state attorney general in 2005 and lost narrowly to McDonnell. And, in 2009, Deeds became the Democratic nominee for governor but lost again to McDonnell.