Inside Erik Prince’s secret proposal to outsource the war in Afghanistan

Washington Post ^ | 09 August 2017 | Josh Rogin

[Lorianne]

Businessman and Blackwater founder Erik Prince has been shopping around Washington a detailed proposal for replacing thousands of American soldiers in Afghanistan with contractors from foreign countries led by a “viceroy” with almost unfettered power over U.S. military and diplomatic policy.

Prince has been public about the broad outlines of his plan, which is reportedly supported by some senior White House officials, including chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, but many crucial details have not been brought into public view, until now. Prince has laid out his proposal in a PowerPoint presentation to government officials, lawmakers and congressional officials.

Entitled “A Strategic Economy of Force,” it is nothing less than a plan to change the way Afghanistan is governed, how the war is fought and the very nature of the U.S.-Afghan bilateral relationship.

Prince’s plan is opposed by senior military leaders including national security adviser H.R. McMaster, key lawmakers who have received Prince’s brief and senior military officials who have fought in Afghanistan over the past 16 years. Prince has described the proposal in interviews this week as a plan to send 5,500 private military contractors to embed with Afghan National Security Forces units at the battalion level to fight the Taliban, supported by a 90-plane private air force. Prince presents the plan as an alternative for President Trump to the proposal put forth by his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, who has publicly called for a “few thousand” more U.S. troops to be added to the approximately 8,200 U.S. soldiers there now.

[Lorianne]

I don't want to pay for this either. We should get out of Afghanistan. If private people want to go on their own dime to try to 'fix" Afghanistan ... go right ahead.

[angcat]

No more dead troops I'm disappointed President Trump has not gotten us out of this mess.

[bar sin·is·ter]

Outsourcing Afghanistan

"Elo... dis is Steve from Afghanistan, how may I help you?"

[exit82]

Think of the only thing in Afghanistan that has actually increased since 2001.

Opium production.

50% of the world’s production.

Now you know why we have been there for 16 years.

[Jim Noble]

I do not want to govern Afghanistan, even remotely.

[Vermont Lt]

Does he get to pay for this from the profits of a REM mining operation.

We are not there to get rid of anyone. We are not there to stop the drug trade.

We are there for the rare elements used in computers.

It is sickening.

[Vermont Lt]

And if we are going to appoint a Viceroy, shouldnt we offer the job to one of the Montbatten’s first?

[wastoute]

There maybe something to this. Bring all our guys home. Turn a blind eye while foreign mercenaries do what the hell ever they want. Wait 12 months. The Afghanis will be begging us to come save them. Tell them to pound sand.

[Alberta's Child]

Blackwater would never propose such a thing unless they knew damn well that they were getting paid in U.S. dollars -- by U.S. taxpayers.

This has to be one of the dumbest proposals I've ever seen.

[reed13k]

Letter of Marque?

[grania]

Erik Prince was on CSPAN's Washington Journal this AM, explaining his proposal. It's a forever deal with about 20% of the annual costs the US now endures. It was disturbing that it sounds a real lot like the gov would be paying private corporations to keep undesirable forces out of the government. It sounds like a new, more open, formula for regime manipulation. The questions callers asked were quite knowledgeable and very cynical of the program.

He played the "don't give ISIS and Taliban terrorists a place to flourish" card.

[DIRTYSECRET]

If it’s only money I say go for it.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Afghanistan would be good laboratory. It could be used in other areas. Why isn’t the French Foreign Legion used? Surrender monkeys?

[Zathras]

Fake News.
Bannon knows getting further involved in Afghanistan is a stupid idea...unless you are McCain and his GF

[DIRTYSECRET]

They could use UN money. Give the rest of the world some skin in the game. Then there are those in the military who cannot function outside a war zone. Sickos. Give them a big raise in pay.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Trump is a businessman. I wouldn’t bet against it. What do we have to lose? Killed contractors? They don’t have to be American, just volunteers.

[Lorianne]

I missed that but yes, his proposal does not make sense from any perspective (except as a money maker for military contractors).

Afghanistan is already (again) 2/3 controlled by the Taliban and/or AQ. We accomplished nothing there. Also the central government, such as it was, was never strong, so we would not be returning them to something at was lost ... they never have had a real ‘nation’ in the sense of a centralized government that had any kind of control militarily or otherwise in the country.

To say the goal is to return Afghanistan to a strong central government and away from tribal control is ahistorical and a lie couched in wishful thinking.

[grania]

What I cynically heard was a private corporation having a plan to take over the wealth of a dysfunctional nation, with the financing and blessing of the US. It's regime change and a confiscation of a nation's wealth without even bothering with the middleman.

Remember the quip a few years back "which corporation will be the first to be a UN member"? This seems to bring up another question "Will corporations take over some nations"?

So, I'm a conspiracy theory believer. It does seem that conspiracy theories are correct more often than they're proven incorrect.

[Lorianne]

:) very good

[DIRTYSECRET]

It would be a final step(opportunity) toward total withdrawal.