59 Blackwater Tactical Weekly, August 28, 2006.
60 Author copy of memo dated September 16, 2005.
61 Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and James V. Grimaldi, “Lobby Firm Is Scandal Casualty; Abramoff, DeLay Publicity Blamed for Shutdown,” Washington Post, January 10, 2006.
62 Government lobbying records.
63 Judy Sarasohn, “Security Contractors Try Friendly Persuasion,” Washington Post, December 22, 2005; government lobbying records.
64 Government lobbying records.
65 Erik Prince bio from Prince Manufacturing.
66 Paul Kane and John Bresnahan, “Letters Depict a Softer Abramoff,” Roll Call, March 29, 2006.
67 Author copy of Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation records.
68 Toward Tradition Web site, www.towardtradition.org.
69 “The Rabbi Responds,” Seattle Weekly, January 18, 2006.
70 Jack Abramoff plea agreement, January 3, 2006.
71 David Postman and Hal Bernton, “Abramoff Used Area Foundation as Conduit for Money,” Seattle Times, January 9, 2006.
72 Ibid.
73 Ibid.
74 Kate Ackley and Tory Newmyer, “Key Clients Quit Alexander Strategy Group; Others Weigh Options,” Roll Call, January 11, 2006.
75 Anna Palmer, “Pickups,” Legal Times, March 27, 2006.
76 Ibid.
CHAPTER 20
1 Transcript, President Bush speaking in the Oval Office, November 8, 2006.
2 Renae Merle, “Census Counts 100,000 Contractors in Iraq,” Washington Post, December 5, 2006.
3 Transcript, “Remarks By Vice President Dick Cheney at an Armed Forces Full Honor Review in Honor of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,” December 15, 2006.
4 Transcript, Face the Nation, CBS, December 17, 2006.
5 Peter Baker, “Bush to Expand Size of Military,” Washington Post, December 19, 2006.
6 President George W. Bush, “State of the Union,” January 23, 2007.
7 Nathan Hodge, “Washington Urged to Save Money By Raising Private Military ‘Contractor Brigade,’” Financial Times, February 10, 2005.
8 Mark Hemingway, “Warriors for Hire: Blackwater USA and the Rise of Private Military Contractors,” The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
9 Mark Hemingway, “Warriors for Hire: Blackwater USA and the Rise of Private Military Contractors,” The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
10 Author copy of fact sheet from “6th International Special Operations Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX 2006),” held March 27-30, 2006, King Abdullah Air Base, Amman, Jordan.
11 Ibid.
12 “Record Number of Participants to Visit SOFEX 2006,” DefenseWorld.net, captured November 2, 2006.
13 BlackwaterUSA.com.
14 Official biography, “His Majesty King Abdullah II,” Jordanian Embassy to the United States, www.jordanembassyus.org/new/jib/monarchy/hmka.shtml, captured December 2, 2006.
15 Riad Kahwaji, “Jordan Forming Spec Ops Air Unit; Contracted U.S. Aviators Will Conduct Training,” Armed Forces Journal, February 1, 2005.
16 Ibid
17 Ibid.
18 Author copy of Erik Prince’s speech at West 2006.
19 Riad Kahwaji, “Jordan Leads Region in Spec Ops Capabilities,” Defense News, March 20, 2006.
20 “Exclusive Interview: Partner for Peace. His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” www.special-operations-technology.com/print_article.cfm?DocID=1361, undated.
21 Jonathan Franklin, “The SWAT Olympics: North America’s Toughest, Most Heavily Armed Cops Go Head-to-Head in Live Ammo Games to See Who’s the Ultimate Badass. What’s Not to Love?” Maxim, September 2004.
22 Blackwater USA press release, “Blackwater USA Parachute Team Launched,” March 21, 2006.
23 Kelly Kennedy, “Private Firm Pitches Army-for-Hire Plan,” Air Force Times, April 10, 2006.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 Transcript, “Private Military Firm Pitches Its Services in Darfur,” National Public Radio, All Things Considered, May 26, 2006.
27 Ibid.
28 E-mail to author, December 2006.
29 Transcript, Chris Taylor, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Blackwater USA, speaking at George Washington University Law School, January 28, 2005.
30 E-mail to author, December 2006.
31 Peter S. Goodman, “China Invests Heavily in Sudan’s Oil Industry; Beijing Supplies Arms Used on Villagers,” Washington Post, December 23, 2004.
32 Ibid.
33 C.I.A. World Factbook, https://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2178rank.html, captured December 6, 2006.
34 Peter S. Goodman, “China Invests Heavily In Sudan’s Oil Industry; Beijing Supplies Arms Used on Villagers,” Washington Post, December 23, 2004.
35 Sara Flounders, “The U.S. Role in Darfur, Sudan: Oil Reserves Rivaling Those of Saudi Arabia?” The Centre for Research on Globalization, June 6, 2006.
36 Mark Hemingway, “Warriors for Hire: Blackwater USA and the Rise of Private Military Contractors,” The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
37 Nathan Hodge, “Blackwater CEO Touts Private Peacekeeping Model,” Defense Daily, February 23, 2005.
38 Ibid.
39 Christian Freedom International “About Us,” www.christianfreedom.org/about_cfi/Statement%20of%20Faith.html, accessed on November 26, 2006.
40 Jim Jacobson, “Slave Redemption Money Rewards the Slaver,” Washington Times, May 30, 1999.
41 Ibid.
42 “The Danger Zone” radio program, produced by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, October 8, 2006.
43 Transcript, “Private Military Firm Pitches Its Services in Darfur,” National Public Radio, All Things Considered, May 26, 2006.
44 Willis Witter, “Private Firms Eye Darfur,” Washington Times, October 2, 2006.
45 Author copy of Erik Prince’s speech at West 2006.
46 E-mail to author, December 2006.
47 Mark Hemingway, “Warriors for Hire: Blackwater USA and the Rise of Private Military Contractors,” The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
48 Ibid.
49 Max Boot, “Darfur Solution: Send in the Mercenaries,” Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2006.
50 Ibid.
51 Max Boot, “A Mercenary Force for Darfur,” Wall Street Journal, October 25, 2006.
52 Ted Koppel, “These Guns for Hire,” New York Times, May 22, 2006.
53 See: Democracy Now! “Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship,” September 30, 1998.
54 Unless otherwise noted, comments from Representative Schakowsky are drawn from an interview in June 2006.
55 Kelly Kennedy, “Private Firm Pitches Army-for-Hire Plan,” Air Force Times, April 10, 2006.
56 Joanne Kimberlin, “Blackwater Eyes Creation of Private ‘Brigade Force,’” Virginian-Pilot, July 28, 2006.
57 Transcript, “Hearing of the National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee,” June 13, 2006.
58 IPOA Member List, http://ipoaonline.org/php/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=30, accessed December 7, 2006.
59 J. J. Messner, letter to the editor, “Don’t Call Us Mercenaries!,” The Nation, July 10, 2006.