I got this book after seeing in the news that Blackwater USA had elected to rebrand itself, jettison the top leadership, and say goodbye to its founder, Erik Prince, because of what the company called "public relations issues" with its old brand identity. As a marketing professional, I am interested in branding and public relations, and figured that any company that has to rebrand itself to get away from bad press really does have some PR issues. I got this book because I knew the exposure that Jeremy Scahill gave to Blackwater was instrumental in leading to the "PR issues" that ultimately lead to rebranding.
This book is a sprawling exploration of private contracting, the Bush administration's complete abdication of public interest in the Iraq war, the reckless profiteering of all types of war contractors (not just Blackwater), and much, much more. Almost too much. As other reviewers have said, Scahill does seem to lose focus at points - but when he ventures off-topic, it's always to make a point which is important and does relate to his overarching themes. Scahill also doesn't come off as terribly objective, but I don't think he was trying to be. I also think that it's probably hard to be objective in the face of huge amounts of evidence of treachery, incompetence, and subterfuge that resulted in enormous costs, both in taxpayer dollars and in human life.
Whether or not you agree with the war in Iraq, and whether or not you agree with the explosion of mercenary services around the world, there is important information in this book that every American should know. Anyone who still believes that the war in Iraq was about "liberating" the Iraqi people should read this book because you will quickly become disabused of that notion. I believe there was a way to wage the war in Iraq in a way that "liberated" the populace but that is not the approach Bush, Inc. took. Instead, they basically razed the country and then sent in amoral puppets who opened the country up to rabid profiteering, with absolutely no concern for the welfare of the Iraqi people. I don't think we'll ever know just how much taxpayer money went down the drain in Iraq, to contractors who produced nothing or performed incompetently; it makes the financial bailout seem like a drop in the bucket. The real story in Scahill's book isn't what Blackwater did, it's that Bush, Inc. paved the way for Blackwater and other firms like it to rape Iraq, kill its people, take its resources, squander taxpayer dollars, and do it all with the imprimatur of respectability.
A lot of people may think that because Blackwater has now been kicked out of Iraq, this story is a non-starter, but nothing could be further from the truth. The scope of malfeasance Scahill uncovers in this book is staggering and points to the need for Congressional investigations into the Bush administration's misdeeds over the 8 years he was in office. I understand President Obama's desire to look forward, not back and I also understand "forgive and forget." But I need to know what I am forgiving and so much of what was done in Iraq was obfuscated or outright concealed that I don't think any of us really know just how corrupt the system was, and how many abuses were committed, right now. We do need to know these things and it is the responsibility of our current representatives in government to investigate.
The final takeaway from this is just how far down the path of complete corporate rule we went during the Bush administration. Much of the book seems to illustrate the idea that it wasn't really the Bush administration making decisions in Iraq, so much as it was Halliburton/KBR, Blackwater, and other corrupt contractors. It's the same hubris and brazen indifference to the welfare of Americans we're seeing in the financial crisis - corporations, allowed to do whatever they want, have sucked this country dry and gotten away with it. Blackwater is one symptom of the cancer that is killing our country, and that's the overarching role of corporations in dictating public policy. Only when we cure the root cause will the symptoms fade away. Anyone who doubts that corporations have too much power and too much leeway only needs to read this book, and pick up a newspaper, to see convincing arguments to the contrary.
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Top reviews from other countries
a Punter
Chilling account of the rise of the 'private contractors
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 26, 2017
JDT
No matter what you think of a particular organisation I personally like to be presented with facts so that I can ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 21, 2015
Amazon Customer
Good read and educating it's shows how the US and ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 21, 2017D Cole
An amazing insight into corporate greed set way over the value ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 28, 2015
