America's Most Infamous Mercenary Now Works For China

The use of mercenaries in times of war is not a new phenomenon. From Imperial China to Rome, and then well into the Renaissance, countries would see fit to pay for others to fight their wars. For that reason, it is unsurprising that the phenomenon has carried on into the 21st century as well, except now they go by the euphemism of 'private military contractors' or PMCs.

Among these modern mercenary groups, there is none more infamous than Blackwater. Led by a self-proclaimed American patriot, Erik Prince, Blackwater played a key role in the US occupation of Iraq, before spreading across the world. Nonetheless, they suffered much criticism for their brutal tactics, and indeed the fact that the US was through them privatizing war.

But historically, mercenaries have never been patriots. They fight for who has the deepest pockets or who is willing to hire them at all. So could we really expect Prince to not follow this pattern as well?

“He cloaks himself in the American flag when he’s seeking a U.S. contract, but he is the hood ornament of the new era of the military industrial complex and a set of mercenaries who work for countries, oligarchs and random billionaires.”

With Prince now working for the Chinese, US officials — many of whom who used to work alongside Prince and Blackwater — are concerned that he has gone rogue. Through their in-depth article for the Washington Post, Marc Fisher, Ian Shapira, and Emily Rauhala show the chain of events that led to Prince 'switching sides', and how someone surrounded by so much controversy has nonetheless managed to maintain connections with some of the most powerful people on Earth.