By News Desk
Dr Shahid Masood expressed these views in his analysis during the Geo News programme, “Meray Mutabiq”. He said the Blackwater was the biggest private army in the world and provided training out of the American borders. It also owned light aircrafts that completed 11,000 missions in Afghanistan.
Besides, the Blackwater also has pilot-less aircraft that is used for espionage purposes for the US. Jerry Eskahl of the Blackwater, in a US TV talk show, said the US, after realising the power and strength of this private army, was developing a new war system in which it would not depend on sending its own forces for wars and get services of this private security agency as well as army.
Dr Shahid Masood said the US weekly, Time, had described this security agency as the second US army. Erik Prince, former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Blackwater, resigned from his post in March this year. He, after serving in the White House during the period of George Bush in 1990, joined the US Navy. During this period, his father and owner of the Prince Corporation, Aeger Prince, died in 1996. After the death of his father, Erik sold the business of his father and earned $1.3 billion. He then resigned from his service and in 1997, established a private military agency, the Blackwater.
He set up a war-training centre in North Carolina and provided latest war training facilities and tactics there. Nine sections are working in this centre, including the US Training Centre, which trains a common man in five days to use pistol and in the next five days, makes him an expert sniper. This centre provides many other war skills and also offers mobile training in other parts of the world.
The other branch of this centre works in the name of “Blackwater Targets System”. This vast training centre has also the Xe training system points. Sometime ago, Erik Prince invited an AP correspondent to visit this centre and despite Erik’s obstruction, the journalist succeeded in capturing some important pictures of the shoot-out system in the centre. The third branch of Blackwater or Xe is called “Blackwater Security Consultancy”. The Air Force Time of the US Air Force in its July 21, 2008, issue wrote that the Blackwater Air Ships Department, established in January 2006, was establishing its own air force.
Erik Prince, in a report one year ago, said eight Blackwater light aircrafts completed 11,000 missions in Afghanistan in only one year.
The Army Times of July 19, 2008, published a report that the Blackwater had built 400 pilot-less aircrafts that met all the needs of the US sensitive security agencies. The Blackwater has also established another institution in the name of “Solutions”, which provides naval training to the US Navy, besides it has 183-feet-long naval ships that provide the GMDSS and Siatal broadband-like sensitive facilities in the seas the world over.
The Aviation Worldwide Service, a branch of the Blackwater, owns a number of aircrafts and helicopters. The website of the Blackwater claims it employs foreigners by paying remunerations more than the world armies.
The Western media reported that the Blackwater men had shot dead 17 Iraqi women on December 16, 2007. In August 2009, some former officials in the Blackwater stated on oath at a Virginia court that Erik Prince claimed himself a crusader and wanted to eliminate Islam and the Muslims the world over. That was why he sent pro-Christian men of his agency in Iraq to kill the Iraqis. The New York Times was the first that gave the report of presence of the Blackwater on August 20, 2009, in Pakistan and the CIA was using the non-US people in drone attacks on Pakistan. The services of the Blackwater have been acquired for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The people of the Blackwater have 500-ton laser-guided missiles and bombs on drones.
Jerry Eskahal said President Barack Obama was presenting old wine in a new bottle, particularly on the private army contractors, as he was following the policy of his predecessor, George Bush. At present, 250,000 private contractors are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 130,000 fighting in Iraq, and they are 50 per cent of the US forces there.
Eskahal said 687 people were killed in Pakistan in 2006, while during the 99 days of this year, about 100 Pakistanis have been killed. He said the US was now contemplating on a new war system in which it was hiring a private army to fight wars.
Dr Shahid Masood said the world comity was spending 1.158 trillion dollars on wars and the US was spending half of this amount, about 528.7 billion dollars annually, on wars. When the US defence budget and military expenditures are included, it becomes more than one trillion dollars annually.
Wars on the one hand are destructive, while on the other, these create profitable businesses also. Private military companies are the best example of that. At present, some two-dozen private contractor firms are registered with the Pentagon and working in different parts of the world. In African countries, the US uses these private firms to launch operations. Their number is also increasing in the Gulf countries day by day. Private contractors are also working at the US camps in Qatar and Kuwait. The Obama government has signed agreements, worth 174 million dollars, with the private contractors for Iraq and Afghanistan. Condoleezza Rice had once said that due to the law and order situation in Pakistan, the US had a plan B for the security of the nuclear assets of the country.